According to a High Court decision, investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas will testify against former Ghana Football Association (GFA) President, Kwasi Nyantakyi, in open court.
Anas’ request to testify in chambers was already approved by the High Court in Accra. However, Kwesi Nyantakyi’s Attorneys petitioned the Supreme Court for a certiorari order to overturn the High Court’s ruling.
Kwesi Nyantakyi will be permitted to glimpse Anas’ face in chambers before the proceedings, but he will be wearing his signature mask throughout the evidence proceedings. This request from the Attorneys for Nyantakyi, was granted by the court.
“Investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas will testify against former GFA President Kwasi Nyantakyi in open court but disguised in a mask. Mr. Nyantakyi will, however, have the opportunity to see his face in chambers before such testimony.”
High Court
The defendant’s application was approved by the Supreme Court on the grounds that a written application should have been used to start the case, rather than an oral one. However, when the case was brought today, on Wednesday, May 17, for a decision on another request regarding Anas Aremeyaw Anas’s closed-door testimony, the judge partially approved the request.
The court ruled that once Anas Aremeyaw Anas testifies, Kwesi Nyantakyi will always be permitted to identify Anas in chambers.
Anas Aremeyaw Anas’ Number 12 Exposé
The prosecution of Mr. Nyantakyi results from the release of the film “Number 12: When Greed and Corruption Become the Norm,” which details the widespread of corruption in Ghanaian soccer.
The case’s key witness, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, played a crucial role in exposing the alleged crime.
In its ruling, the court emphasized the need of providing persons with adequate opportunities to defend themselves when their liberty is at risk. The court acknowledged Anas Aremeyaw Anas’ importance as a witness and decided that the accused must identify him in order to effectively defend themselves.
Charges of fraud and corruption are brought against the previous GFA President. These accusations are related to the offenses that investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas documented in his documentary “Number 12”. Nyantakyi is supposedly seen receiving money and gifts from people and indulging in influence peddling in the documentary.
The journalist, whose inquiry resulted in Nyantakyi’s resignation from a number of football positions, had already asserted that testifying in court would put his life at risk. The main witness in the case was Ahmed Suale, and following his death, Anas Aremeyaw Anas offered to testify in his place.
Nyantakyi was seen on camera in June 2018, taking $65,000 in cash from an undercover reporter, who was actually Journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas. Africa Eye, a division of BBC Africa that conducts investigations, broadcasted the video.
Nyantakyi, who claims to have thought the money came from a sponsorship contract with the Ghana FA, which he had been in charge of since 2005, accepted it willingly.
However, the reporters started the arrangement with the intention of exposing Nyantakyi’s alleged misbehavior. Nyantakyi lost his position as a Member of the FIFA Council and first Vice President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), as a result of the documentary’s allegations.
READ ALSO: Mahama Should Respect The Intelligence Of Ghanaians- Kwame Bomfeh
