Abdul Malik Kweku Baako
The Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, Abdul-Malik Kweku Baako Jnr, has revealed that he conciliated an out-of-court settlement between his protégé Anas Aremeyaw Anas and the Multimedia Group Limited (MGL).
In an interview on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana show on Thursday, 13 August 2020, Kweku Baako indicated that the management of the Multimedia Group pleaded with him to intervene and talk to Anas on their behalf to put the matter to rest, adding that, delays from both sides could not bring the settlement to fruition.
He intimated that the management of Multimedia has “done justice and done the retraction and apology.”
He said: “The Multimedia people last year made an intervention, they came to me and pleaded for me to talk to Anas to let them off. That time Anas was in the UK, so I even called him in their presence at the base and they agreed that they would do a retraction and apology and Anas agreed.
“I was surprised that it took so long because it was last year that we did the negotiation. I have double-checked and I realised that the delay was on both sides in a way but more on the side of the Anas side, I think they were very strict and I have no problems with that in terms of the content and things. But, bottom line, I think the Multimedia people have done justice and done the retraction and apology, now the out-of-court settlement is a consent judgement which has the effect of a legal judgement”.
He, however, refused to pass any comments on the pending defamatory suit between Anas and Mr Agyapong.
The Multimedia Group Limited apologised to the investigative journalist for allegations of bribery, corruption, extortion and impersonation levelled against him on one of its platforms.
The group rendered the apology in a statement signed by the Management of Adom TV in a publication in the Daily Graphic.
According to the management, the allegations suggested that the investigative journalist was a criminal who engaged in illegal mining, popularly called galamsey.
It also alleged that Mr Anas impersonated army officers.
The group said such allegations against the investigative journalist were false and should not have been broadcast on its platform.
The apology and retraction read: “The said allegations have been found to be false and same should not have been on the programme. The publication of such words against Anas Aremeyaw Anas is most regrettable”.
“The Management of the Multimedia Group, Benjamin Kwame Asante, Dominic Kissi Yeboah and Abdulai Awudu do hereby apologise and unconditionally and unreservedly retract the allegations and comments made against Anas Aremeyaw Anas”.
The MGL further indicated that it will not broadcast or further publish such untruths on its platforms.
“Management undertakes not to further publish or reproduce the said allegations and comments on any of its platforms”.
Anas sued 3 staff of MGL along with the company for defamation in April 2019.
The investigative journalist, in that suit, noted that his reputation as a globally-acclaimed investigative journalist had been injured and prayed the court to award him damages: costs, which included lawyers’ fees following defamatory comments by the Member of Parliament for Assin Central Kennedy Agyapong on 26 February 2019 on Adom TV, which is part of the Multimedia Group.