A retired Court of Appeal judge, Isaac Duose, has shared valuable insights into the defamation case between investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas and the former Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong.

Speaking on whether there was a mistrial in the defamation case, in which the Essex County Court awarded $18 million in damages to Anas Aremeyaw Anas against Kennedy Agyapong, Duose stated that claims suggesting the case was a mistrial were inaccurate.

According to him, if any errors had occurred that would have resulted in a mistrial, the judge presiding over the case would have explicitly mentioned it.

Duose added that there would have been no reason for the judge to wait or delay if there had been grounds for declaring a mistrial.

"If the jury made any significant error which would lead to a mistrial, the judge would have said it immediately. If, for any reason, the judge thinks that the decision they have taken did not follow the direction he had given them, by way of finding facts, he would say it immediately. He doesn't have to wait," he told factcheckghana.com.

The legal luminary expressed his belief that the team of former lawmaker Kennedy Agyapong was propagating the claims and suggestions of a mistrial.

He reiterated that the judge would have declared a mistrial if that had been the case.

He, therefore, advised the politician's legal team to file an application to substantiate their claims of a mistrial if they continue to uphold that position.

"They have to put in an application and prove that there was a mistrial. The judge himself, on the spur of the moment, would have declared that there was a mistrial and then discharged the jury," Justice Duose said.

He added, "If the judge didn't disagree with the jury at that point, anybody else who says there is a mistrial would have to bring the facts to support the claim."

An Essex County Court in New Jersey awarded $18 million to investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas in a defamation lawsuit against Kennedy Agyapong.

The lawsuit, filed on May 17, 2022, in the Essex County Superior Court, accused Kennedy Agyapong and media personality Frederick Asamoah of making defamatory statements about Anas during an episode of The Daddy Fred Show, an online program popular among Ghanaian audiences in the United States.

During the program, Agyapong allegedly made a series of false and damaging claims, including accusing Anas of being a criminal, a thief, and responsible for the murder of investigative journalist Ahmed Suale.

However, some individuals have suggested that the case was a mistrial and that reports claiming the judge awarded $18 million in favour of Anas were false.

MAG/EK

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