The trial of former President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kwasi Nyantakyi, has taken a three-month long adjournment as the court awaits the decision of the Court of Appeal.
The long adjournment is primarily as a result of the impeding legal vacation which commences on August 1, ushering in the 2024/25 legal year in the first week of October 2024.
Mr. Nyantakyi and Former Northern Regional Representative of the GFA, Abdulai Alhassan, are before the court charged with three counts of conspiracy to commit fraud, fraud and corruption.
The trial is as a result of alleged corrupt dealings at the GFA which were exposed by Anas Aremeyaw Anas in his ‘Number 12’ investigative piece.
Justice Marie-Louise Simmons, the presiding judge was expected to hear the outcome of an appeal filed by the prosecution challenging a decision by the court to allow Mr. Nyantakyi to see Anas Aremeyaw Anas’ face in chambers before he testifies.
The court could not sit yesterday and information gathered indicated that the case was adjourned to October 16, 2024, as the appeal is yet to be heard by the Court of Appeal.
The trial judge has in the past expressed dissatisfaction about all the delays occasioned in the trial.
Justice Simmons during one of the hearing had warned that if by the end of April 2024, no meaningful steps have been taken in the appeal against the court ordering Anas Aremeyaw Anas to show his face to Mr. Nyantakyi in chambers before testifying, the two accused persons would be discharged.
That notwithstanding, the court reluctantly turned down a request by the defence attorney in May this year, for the court to follow its previous directive and discharge the accused persons.
Unmasking Anas
A High Court in Accra on May 17, 2023, directed that Mr. Nyantakyi would be allowed to see Anas’ face in the Judge’s chambers prior to Anas entering the witness box to testify.
It was the opinion of the court that Anas being a principal witness in the trial against Mr. Nyantakyi, his identity becomes crucial to allow the accused to identify him, in order to be able to defend himself.
The prosecution has since filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal challenging the decision and hopes to have it set aside as Anas has indicated his unwillingness to testify for the prosecution if he would have to show the accused person his face.
Trial
The two are in court over their alleged deals which were exposed by popular investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, in his ‘Number 12’ investigative piece.
Mr. Nyatakyi amd Mr. Alhassan have been charged with three counts of conspiracy to commit fraud, fraud and corruption by a public officer to which they pleaded not guilty.
The two, according to the prosecution, executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on behalf of a non-existent company, claiming to be attracting sponsorship for the Ghana Premier League (GPL).
They were further alleged to have demanded US$12 million from the supposed investors, promising to land them major contracts in Ghana.
The investigative piece by Anas and his Tiger Eye PI covered the 2018 Commonwealth Games, 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the Ministry of Youth & Sports, GFA, the Ghana FA Cup and the Women’s Football League.
The private investigations which initially focused on football matters in the country eventually ‘diverted’ to political and investment matters as the ex-GFA boss tried to allegedly convince the ‘investors’ he had what it took to influence the business community in Ghana.
He discussed a US$12 million deal with his ‘investors’, who unknown to him were from the Tiger Eye PI – and that was how the name of the President, his Vice and some government officials came in.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak