Reporters Without Borders has expressed alarm over the death threats aimed at Ghanaian investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas ahead of his exposé on corruption in Ghana football set to be aired later today in Accra.
A series of outbursts from the Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong against the journalist have been widely publicised in the media.
The MP is upset with Anas and his methods and released photos he claimed are of the undercover journalist.
Kennedy Agyapong also promised to publish photos of buildings he claimed were built by Anas with money from undercover deals.
In some of the reports, Ken Agyapong is alleged to have called for Anas to be beaten.
The MP also recently called for him to be hanged describing him as “corrupt and evil”
In a statement on its website, the NGO said Anas’ “existence has become a living hell ever since word got out about his latest documentary, which exposes corruption in Ghanaian football.”
The head of RSF’s Africa desk, Arnaud Froger, said:
“It is incomprehensible that deaths threats against a journalist renowned for his professionalism are being received with widespread indifference. The government should not tolerate such comments by a ruling party MP. Such threats must be taken seriously and systematically condemned, and an investigation must be carried out in order to punish those responsible.”
The Ghana Journalists Association said some unidentified persons have also been tracking Anas’ office “and other locations ostensibly to harm him.”
“The police must act proactively and not reactively, they shouldn’t wait until something untoward happens to him,” Ghana Journalists Association president Affail Monney told RSF.
Later on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana, the Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide Newspaper, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako, hinted that some major players in Ghana football would be captured in the exposé.
Anticipation for the Anas’ documentary heightened when President Nana Akufo-Addo filed a complaint at the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service after a security briefing on the upcoming exposé.
The video implicated President of the GFA, Kwesi Nyantaky, in alleged corruption.
Kwesi Nyantakyi is said to have used the name of the President, the Vice President and other senior officers of the government to collect money and lure supposed foreign investors interested in establishing businesses in Ghana.
Below is the full statement from Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns a wave of threats against the well-known Ghanaian investigative reporter who uses the pseudonym of Anas Aremeyaw Anas, and calls on the authorities to conduct an enquiry and punish those responsible.
What with threatening calls, intimidatory messages and suspicious vehicles near his home, Anas Aremeyaw Anas’s existence has become a living hell ever since word got out about his latest documentary, which exposes corruption in Ghanaian football and is due to be screened publicly for the first time today.
It was President Nana Akufo-Addo who revealed the subject matter of Anas’s latest exposé. After being allowed to view extracts on right-of-reply grounds, Akufo-Addo ordered the arrest of the Ghana football association’s president, who was subsequently released on bail. Entitled “Number 12,” the documentary will get its first public screening today at the Accra International Conference Centre.
When reached by RSF, Anas said he had not been intimidated and he confirmed that the documentary’s release would go ahead despite the “regrettable” threats being made in various quarters, including by leading politicians. Speaking live on Adom FM on 4 June, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, a member of parliament who is named in the documentary, called Anas “a blackmailer, an extortionist” and said he should be “hanged.” He previously announced on Adom TV on 29 May that he was “going to stop him in what he is doing.”
“It is incomprehensible that deaths threats against a journalist renowned for his professionalism are being received with widespread indifference,” said Arnaud Froger, the head of RSF’s Africa desk. “The government should not tolerate such comments by a ruling party MP. Such threats must be taken seriously and systematically condemned, and an investigation must be carried out in order to punish those responsible.”
“The police must act proactively and not reactively, they shouldn’t wait until something untoward happens to him,” Ghana Journalists Association president Affail Monney told RSF. A close associate of Anas has already been the target of threats that are not just verbal. On 31 May, gunmen tried to enter the home of Saddick Adams, a sports journalist who worked with Anas on the documentary.
Anas’s real identity is unknown. His face is always masked when he appears in public. His 2015 undercover documentary about corruption in the judiciary had a big impact and led to the suspension of 34 judges who were shown taking bribes.
Ghana is ranked 23rd out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2018 World Press Freedom Index, African’s highest ranking.
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By: Edwin Kwakofi/citinewsroom.com/Ghana
