A High Court has discharged former President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kwesi Nyantakyi, who was standing trial over alleged shady deals which were exposed by investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas in his ‘Number 12’ investigative piece.
The decision was largely because the prosecution has not been able to call a single witness in the trial.
Anas, who is their prime witness, is unwilling to unmask and testify in open court because he fears for his life.
Mr. Nyantakyi was before the court together with a former member of the executive committee of the GFA, Abdulai Alhassan, charged with three counts of conspiracy to commit fraud, fraud and corruption.
Disclosures
The prosecution had filed its disclosures on July 6, 2022, in which it indicated that it will be calling five witnesses, including Anas.
But they have not been able to do so and rather chose to pursue an appeal against the court’s decision to allow Mr. Nyantakyi to see Anas’ face in chambers before coming to testify in open court while wearing the mask.
Despite the court suggesting that the prosecution could call other witnesses while waiting for the Court of Appeal’s decision on Anas, the prosecution decided to have that sought out first.
The Court of Appeal on January 30, 2025, ruled that Anas must testify in open court without his mask, holding that Anas has not made a case that he fell under the exception rules for him to conceal his face while testifying in the trial.
The court acknowledged the controversy surrounding Anas Aremeyaw Anas and his investigative methods, but asserted that these broader public policy debates were not relevant to this proceeding.
The prosecution has not been able to take any further steps in the case since then until yesterday when Derick Ackah Nyamekye, a State Attorney prayed the court for a one-month adjournment.
His reason was that, based on the decision of the Court of Appeal, they have written an internal memo to the Attorney General for his advice on the way forward in the case.
Opposition
The request for an adjournment was vehemently opposed by Baffour Gyau Bonsu Ashia, counsel for Mr. Nyantakyi, who rather prayed the court to strike the case out if the prosecution was not ready to prosecute the case.
This was the fifth time he had made the request, citing various reasons, including the fact that the matter had delayed.
He added that in order not to keep the charges hanging on the accused, the court should exercise its discretion and strike out the charges against the accused persons.
The prosecutor, in view of this, decided to request a shorter adjournment, indicating that the court can consider the request of the defence lawyer at the next sitting.
Delay
Justice Marie Louise Simmons, the presiding judge, noted that the court has for some years now waited for prosecution to start, including waiting for the decision of the Court of Appeal, but the trial has since not commenced.
The court noted that the accused persons’ time has been wasted over the years, hence they should be discharged. Justice Simmons subsequently discharged the two.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak