Few people in
Ghana would be able to recognise Anas Aremeyaw Anas on the street -- but almost
everyone knows his name and his burgeoning reputation as the country's
anti-corruption hero.
The journalist
keeps his identity a closely-guarded secret and on camera wears a trademark
hooded tunic, his face covered by a veil of red-and-white beads.
His latest
undercover documentary, "Number 12", was released last Wednesday, and
as the start of the World Cup finals loomed, detonated with the force of a
bomb.
In it, he and
his team of reporters caught dozens of football referees and officials
accepting bribes.
The head of the
Ghana Football Association, Kwesi Nyantakyi, was accused of requesting $11
million (9.3 million euros) to secure government contracts.
He later stepped
down and apologised unreservedly after world football's governing body FIFA
launched an ethics investigation into his activities.
Ghana's
government is trying to tackle corruption, which its special prosecutor Martin
Amidu has called "an invisible violence that kills millions without
anybody seeing it".
Anas has already
shone a light on graft in the judicial system.
Football, he
says, is a symbol of a wider problem of pay-offs in Ghana and Africa as a
whole. "Football is a very powerful tool in telling the African
narrative," Anas told AFP in an interview. "We have a decision to
make, either save our continent or not.
"This is
not just about football but any other issue that affects us and will create
problems for us."
Think
twice
Anas said
despite not being a football fan, a tragedy involving a match between two teams
-- Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi's Asante Kotoko -- always stuck in his mind,
reminding him about decisions that cause a cascade of victims. On May 9, 2001,
127 fans were crushed or suffocated to death as they tried to escape tear gas
and rubber bullets fired by police trying to stop crowd trouble. The
disturbances began when the home side, Accra, scored two late goals to beat
their long-time rivals 2-1.
"Number
12" includes footage of officials planning to end a more recent game
between the two sides with a Hearts penalty.
Despite his
widespread appeal, Anas has faced some criticism for his unconventional
methods. Filming with a hidden camera,
Anas offers money to officials, who agree to taking the loot in what could be
interpreted as entrapment.
In 2015, he used
the same methods to uncover widespread corruption in the judicial system: more
than 20 judges and staff were fired. At the very least, his investigations may
have influenced court decisions, or, in the case of "Number 12",
sports scores. "I do know that if
any referee, any club official, wants to take bribe today he will think about
it twice before he does that," said Anas.
'Burned
talent'
The
thick-skinned journalist said he has no qualms about using undercover sting
operations to root out corruption in Ghana.
"If you're
a criminal, you're a criminal," he said.
"You
voluntarily went, you sat, you converse about the crime you were going to
commit and you took money for the crime you were going to commit."
In the past,
Anas has gone undercover in orphanages and psychiatric hospitals.
"Shaming
those who engage in these practices is the best way and putting them behind
bars is an additional benefit," he said.
Andrew
Muchineripi, a South Africa-based football analyst, said the revelations in
"Number 12" were not surprising.
The former
president of the Confederation of African Football, Issa Hayatou, has been
accused of accepting a $1.5 million bribe to vote for Qatar to host the 2022
World Cup.
In April, the
head of the Democratic Republic of Congo's football association was arrested on
suspicion of embezzling $1.0 million.
"It saddens
me that many football officials across Africa are not in the game for the love
of it but to gain financial reward," he said.
"I read all
too often stories from around the continent about officials being probed over
missing funds or non-payments. It's a curse that hangs over African football.
"The
temptation to take money from the kitty, which should be going to those who
play the game, seems irresistible for many African officials."
Anas equally
said it was hard to overestimate the damage that corruption may have caused to
African football.
"How come
that Africa is not doing so well in the World Cup in order to get to the
finals? Africa has some of the world's best players but how come we don't get
there?" he asked.
"Do we know
the number of talents that are burned as a result of money being taken and the
wrong players being chosen?"
With Anas,
perhaps Ghana is closer to getting an answer to those questions.
MSN