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The Accra High Court yesterday dismissed all charges against Kwesi Nyantakyi, the former President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), following five years of legal proceedings linked to the "Number 12" exposé.
The court, presided over by Justice Marie-Louise Simmonds, ruled in Nyantakyi's favour after the prosecution failed to present its key witness, investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas. Despite naming five potential witnesses, the prosecution was unable to provide sufficient evidence to move the case forward, leading to Nyantakyi’s discharge.
Anas’ "Number 12" video documentary exposed bribery and corruption activities on the part of Ghana football officials and referees. The huge scandal led to the collapse of the Kwesi Nyantakyi-led GFA administration. The investigative piece revealed widespread corruption in football in Ghana. Several match referees were caught receiving bribes in order to favour certain teams.
Since the "Number 12" exposé premiered on June 6, 2018, many have questioned Anas’ modus operandi and highlighted the supposed effects of the investigative documentary on Ghana football.
While some believe the ace investigative journalist did his duty by exposing the rot in the country’s beautiful game, others also argue piece slowed down football’s progress and ultimately ruined various aspects of the game.
Here, Pulse Ghana presents five notable people who have attributed football’s sorry state to Anas.
1. Coach Yusif Basigi
Not long after the documentary, then head coach of the Black Princesses of Ghana, Yussif Basigi blamed the poor showing of national teams in international competitions on the "Number 12" exposé.
After Basigi’s team crashed out of the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in France, he was quoted by Ghanasoccernet.com as saying the following:
I'm sad our national teams are not doing well. It's not one or two national teams but it is generally across all the national teams. I'll attribute it to the Anas expose because I don't think I would have been beaten 4:0 by both France and Holland if not because of the exposé.
2. Reverend Owusu Bempah
In January 2024 around the time the Black Stars drew 2-2 to Mozambique, which increased their risk of AFCON group stage elimination, founder of the Glorious Word Power Ministries, Reverend Owusu Bempah, said the challenges confronting Ghana football was because of Anas’ documentary piece.
He told Okay FM in an interview in Twi:
Anas is the cause of our problems. What he did to Nyantakyi was wrong. That’s why Ghana is not thriving.
3. Eric Alagidede
Former Business and Communications Manager of Karela United, Eric Alagidede, lamenting about the poor officiating in the domestic league, also ended up claiming Anas’ exposè took away all the experienced referees in the system.
In 2021, he was quoted by Opemsuo.com as saying:
Anas should be blamed for the bad officiating happening in the League because his exposé took away the experienced referees we have in the system.
4. Paul Adom-Otchere
Even journalist like renowned journalist and host of Good Evening Ghana, Paul Adom-Otchere also blamed “Number 12” for the Black Stars' abysmal performance at the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, in Cameroon.
He said the following on the editorial segment of his show on January 18, 2022, as quoted by sankofaradio.com:
I think the reason for the Black Stars performance [at the AFCON] is the way in which we ditched this man [referring to Kwesi Nyantakyi’s photo on his TV touchscreen]. What we did to Kwesi Nyantakyi because of a documentary, how we threw the baby away with the bathwater is what has occasioned this problem.
5. Takyi Arhin
The most recent criticism is from the General Manager of Aduana Stars, Takyi Arhin, who claims the investigative piece has set the game back at least five decades.
Arhin said on Channel One TV:
The Anas exposé has taken us back about 50 years. Our football has not been the same as it was during the days of Kwesi.
In as much as there might be adverse effects as the game went under the normalisation committee, all the blame cannot be placed at the doorsteps of Anas and his team, that is even if there are any.
The real architects of football’s shameful state in Ghana are still up and running, and ruining the game. The “Number 12” exposé should have been a learning curve for the so-called football people which they have so far failed to do.