"Torture Home, when a man of god abuses children" is an investigation an Echoing Hill village orphanage run by Baptist Pastor Lawrence Lamina. It uncovers widespread child abuse, neglect and thievery of food donation at the hand of the pastor and his "caretakers".[1][2]
This investigative work by Anas focuses on corruption in the Ghana Football Association (GFA). Portions of the investigative piece were shown privately to President Nana Akufo-Addo. In the video, Kwesi Nyantakyi - the President of the GFA - is filmed appearing to be soliciting for bribes from some football investors using the name of the President, Vice President and other senior members in Government.[3] The President lodged a complaint about the conduct of Nyantakyi with the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ghana Police Service. He was arrested and later granted bail.[4]
After being provisionally banned by FIFA,[5] Nyantakyi resigned as the president of Ghana Football Association, and quit his roles as a member of the FIFA Council, member of the FIFA Associations Committee, First Vice President of CAF and President of Zone B of the West African Football Union (WAFU).[6]
The Ghana Football Association was also dissolved.[7]
December 2015: Nigeria's baby farmers
In this episode of Africa Investigates, journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas and investigative reporter Rosemary Nwaebuni went undercover to identify and expose some of those behind Nigeria's baby trade. The trade exploits couples desperate for a baby and young pregnant single mothers — often stigmatised in a country where abortion is illegal except in the most dire medical emergency. It is also a trade that international NGOs have identified as sinister and out of control.
The team found bogus doctors and clinics offering spurious fertility treatments in return for large amounts of money. In their guise as a childless couple, Anas and Rosemary were falsely diagnosed by one clinician as being unable to conceive children.[8]
September 2015: Ghana judiciary scandal
On 23 September 2015 Anas premiered, in four showings, in front of a record-breaking audience of more than 6500 people at the Accra International Conference Center,[9] his undercover film "Ghana In The Eyes Of God". It exposed widespread corruption within the judiciary and graphically showed court workers like clerks and bailiffs connive with a number of respected judges to influence court cases through bribes. 34 judges and magistrates were caught on a hidden camera receiving enticements of money, goats,[10] sheep and even foodstuff. As a result, presumed robbers, murderers, drug traffickers, rapists and litigants in land cases went free. The film effectively created a deep and destabilizing crises of conscience in Ghanaian society.[10]
A disciplinary committee of the Judicial Council was set up to probing the allegations of bribery and extortion against the thirty-four judges and magistrates. At one point it had to have suspended its sittings following a suit by 14 Circuit Court judges at the Fast Track High Court challenging the legality or otherwise of the procedure adopted by the committee to investigate the matter.
More than 100 members of staff of the Judicial Service were then investigated after Anas submitted a petition and videos showing the affected staff receiving bribes to compromise cases. Anas has asked for the dismissal of the affected persons and as a result, the Judicial Council has begun investigations into the matter once again. The affected judges have since been suspended. Anas was given protection from prosecution but the situation remains tense.[11][12] The effect of his documentary film was heightened by a number of pop songs,[13][14][15] cartoons [16] and other public shows of support.
On 7 December, The Council unanimously decided to remove from office 20 out of the 21 Judges and Magistrates cited in the petition. Some were removed from office without benefits and others with benefits. Those removed with benefits were remorseful when they appeared before the Committee and apologized profusely to the people of Ghana and the Judiciary for bringing the name of the institution into disrepute by their conduct.[17] The Council, where Anas is personally presenting the evidence, resumed sitting mid-January 2016 to continue probing into the rest of the cases.
April 2014: Ghana's soul takers
This was a three part investigative documentary that was centered on road safety. The first part looked at driver licensing and the corruption and fraud it is fraught with.
The second installment, Doom - the silent killer next door, tells three social interest stories of how families lost loved ones to the carnage on Ghana's roads, and highlighted some of the dangers associated with commercial transport.
The third part examines police corruption and the tacit contribution of Ghana's traffic police (the Motor Traffic and Transport Department, MTTD) of the Police Service.[18]
March 2014: Ghana sex mafia
Film built on the Chinese Sex Mafia story of February 2009. Tells the story of Chinese girls trafficked into Ghana and how Anas went undercover to bust the ring and testified in court leading to the prosecution of the traffickers
December 2014: Ghana’s food for thought
Focuses on stealing and corruption in the process of supplying donated food to its intended recipients. Anas went undercover to expose the activities of some Ghana Health Service officers who ran a corrupt business selling food donated by the World Food Program (WFP) and destined free-of-charge to disadvantaged children in the north. Three people were arrested.[19]
November 2014: Al Jazeera Africa iInvestigates - Nigeria’s fake doctors
Anas teamed up with colleague Rosemary Nwaebuni to investigate the activities of quack doctors who risk the lives of vulnerable people in Nigeria. The film led to the arrest of two people who were using pharmacy shops and beer parlours as operating theaters for patients who were in desperate need of medical attention. It presents bogus doctors with no medical qualifications and little knowledge providing illegal abortions and the resultant fatal injuries.[20]
January 2013: Spirit child
Filmed in Northern Ghana, where Anas exposed the barbaric sacrifices of children who were believed to bring ill luck to their families. The story led to the arrest of some fetish priests, with Anas advocating for the prosecution of such persons.[21]
January 2013: Al Jazeera - People and power, how to rob Africa
This was a film on how African businesses fleece their governments and stash these stolen funds in off-shore accounts. With journalist Stanley Kwenda.[22]
May 2013: The Messiah of Mentukwa
The story of how one woman, Helen Jesus Christ, set up a church in a remote village in Ghana’s hinterland and convinced members that Jesus Christ was coming soon and they could only be saved if they cut themselves off the rest of the world. With that came physical abuse and children being denied access to school.[23]
January 2012 - The Prez’s Assignment - Stealing the people’s power
A three-phase investigation into the power distribution sector in Ghana. Exposed acts of corruption on the part of employees of power distribution company ECG (electricity company of Ghana) and indebtedness on the part of individuals and companies[24]
June 2012 - Dons of the forest
A follow-up to "In The Interest of The State" operation to busted a ring of people who diverted and sold fertilizers meant for the cocoa farmer.
July 2012 - Deadly gold
An investigation into the negative effects of illegal gold mining in Ghana.
September 2012 - Wild Ghana Project
A look at how gullible and vulnerable customers can be exploited, featuring the "Abortion Lord" who had sex with his female clients when they came to him for abortions.[25]
February 2011 - Enemies of the nation
Undercover to expose fraud and corruption at one of Ghana’s key points of entry, the Tema harbor.[26]
December 2011 Al Jazeera Africa investigates (Four films)
Undercover in Ghana’s biggest psychiatric hospital Anas exposed patient human rights abuses.[31]
April 2010 - In the interest of the State
Exposed cocoa smugglers and their cohorts in Ghana’s security system[32]
September 2010 - Orphans home of hell – Osu
Undercover in Ghana’s biggest state run orphanage. Exposed corruption and abuse of children in the facility[33]
Humans for Sale: Dons exposed (2008)
This was an investigation Anas carried out over an eight-month period. It spanned over five countries in West Africa and Europe. He worked to penetrate an international trafficking ring, gathered evidence to prosecute a political figure, rescued 17 girls about to be trafficked, exposed corrupt immigration officials, and stood as a witness in the trial.
August 2008 - Imam's school of shock
This is a story of a slave master who trafficked and abused 15 children in Ghana and Togo using an Islamic school as bait. He recruited young victims into a life of begging, using their efforts to amass significant wealth. Anas gathered evidence through the use of a hidden camera, which led to the arrest of the slave master.
September 2007 Soja Bar prostitution
An investigation into one of the largest brothels in Ghana at the time. Anas went undercover by posing as a cleaner. He exposed how some teenagers were forced into prostitution.
He also exposed Soja Bar as a place for hardened criminals and the exploitation of women. Soja Bar was later demolished by Ghanaian authorities and some of the under-aged prostitutes were taken in by Ghana's Social Welfare.
June 13 - Eurofood scandal (2006)
An investigation by Anas in which he went undercover as menial worker at Eurofood, a biscuit and confectionery factory in Ghana. Eurofood was using expired and maggot-infested flour to produce biscuits for public consumption in Ghana and other parts of Africa.
Torture chamber of Bangkok prisons (2006)
An Anas undercover investigation where he travelled to Thailand to infiltrate its prisons as a Catholic priest. He interviewed some Ghanaian and West African prisoners about the maltreatment and deaths of foreign prisoners in jail, exposing the abuse of expatriates in Thai prisons.
As a result of Anas' work, the government of Ghana successfully negotiated with the Thai government for the transfer of all convicted Ghanaian prisoners in Thailand to Ghana.
April 2006 Passport scandal
Posing as a rich businessman, Anas worked to expose officials within Ghana's passport office who provided Ghanaian passports to non-citizens for a fee. He made hundreds of passports using fake identities. Passports were made in the name of the then President, the Inspector General of Police and other high political and national characters to prove the system was corrupt. This led to the fast track introduction of biometric passport for Ghanaians.
April Bole rebel raid (2005)
An investigative story which exposed how Ivorian rebels invaded Ghanaian territories in 2005, made incursions into some northern communities, and subjected the inhabitants to constant torture and abuse.
In this story Anas went undercover in the villages of Saru and Walata. Ivorian rebels had invaded and captured the chief of Saru and some of his elders. As part of the investigation, Anas went as the 'Prince of Walata' and managed to meet the rebel leader, receiving information about the rebels' camp and operations.
After the story was reported, the government of John Kufuor took steps to address the lack of security in the affected communities. The chief and elders were released, security for the affected Ghanaian communities was provided by the government, and the borders were secured.
July - Torture on the high seas (2003)
Anas went undercover aboard a shipping vessel from Afko fisheries to expose the maltreatment of Ghanaian workers by a Korean employer.
The burger story (1999)
This was the first undercover investigation by Anas. He worked as a street hawker to expose police officers who took bribes from unlicensed traders on a major highway in Accra.
Related Research Articles
Undercover journalism is a form of journalism in which a reporter tries to infiltrate in a community by posing as somebody friendly to that community.
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) is the governing body of association football in Ghana and it based in Accra the capital of Ghana. Founded in 1957, the Association was dissolved by the Ghanaian Minister of Sport, Isaac Kwame Asiamah, on 7th June, 2018, after the discovery of corruption in the association through investigative videos. In October 2019, a new president, Kurt Okraku, was elected as the association reconvened upon the completion of the work of the FIFA Normalization Committee. Mark Addo was later elected vice president in November 2019. Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku has been re-elected as President of the Ghana Football Association during their 2023 Elective Congress in Tamale in the Northern region Ghana.
Articles related to Ghana include:
Political corruption in Ghana has been common since independence. Since 2017, Ghana's score on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index has improved slightly from its low point that year, a score of 40 on a scale from 0 to 100. In the succeeding years, Ghana's score has either risen or remained steady: in the year 2022, Ghana scored 43. When ranked by score among the 180 countries in the 2022 Index, Ghana ranked 72nd, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. For comparison, the best score in 2022 was 90 and the worst score was 12.
Prostitution in Ghana is illegal but widespread, so much so that many Ghanaians are unaware that it is prohibited. There are growing sex tourism, child prostitution and human trafficking. High rates of unemployment and poverty in Ghana are believed to be causing a drastic growth in the sex industry. Unemployment is a reason the teenage engage in sex trade. A high percentage of sex workers are vulnerable to HIV.
Anas Aremeyaw Anas, better known as Anas, is a Ghanaian journalist born in the late 1970s. He utilizes his anonymity as a tool in his investigative journalism work. Anas is a politically non-aligned multimedia journalist who specializes in print media and documentaries. He focuses on issues of human rights and anti-corruption in Ghana and sub-Saharan Africa. In December 2015 Foreign Policy magazine named Anas one of 2015's leading global thinkers. In 2016 Anas had a "Best Journalist" award named after him by the Press Foundation in Ghana.
Ohene Djan was a Ghanaian sports administrator. He was the First Director (Minister) of Sports of Ghana at the Central Organisation of Sports (COS) and was also vice-president of the Confederation of African Football.
Kwesi Nyantakyi is a Ghanaian banker, lawyer and former football administrator. He was the president of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) from 30 December 2005 until 7 June 2018. Nyantakyi officially resigned a day later. However, four hours to the release of his resignation letter FIFA had issued a statement announcing his ban from all football related activities for a period of 90 days pending investigations. Circumstances surrounding his resignation include a video released by investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas in which Nyantakyi was found taking a bribe and purporting to have the ability to "take over the whole country". In an interview with Super Sports South Africa a few days after the video of the investigation was slated to go public, Nyantakyi denied any wrongdoing regarding match fixing. On 30 October 2018 FIFA officially issued a statement that officially bans Kwesi Nantakyi from football related activities for life. In October 2020, the ban was reduced to 15 years after a reconsideration by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Elizabeth Akua Ohene is a Ghanaian journalist and a politician. She served as Minister of State for Tertiary Education in Ghana under President John Kufuor. She had previously served as the Editor of the Daily Graphic, the first woman in the role.
A corruption scandal in the Judiciary of Ghana in September 2015 following an exposé by investigative journalist Anas Aremyaw Anas
Kennedy Ohene Agyapong is a Ghanaian politician and businessman who represents Assin Central in parliament as a member of the New Patriotic Party. He was first elected as a member of parliament in 2000 to the seat of Assin North. He retained his seat in the year 2004 and 2008 parliamentary elections. In 2012, he was elected in the new seat of Assin Central and was re-elected in 2016. He also retained his seat in the 2020 general elections. He is currently the Chairman of the Parliament's Defense and Interior Committee. As an aspirant in 2023 for the presidential candidacy of the NPP, he lost to Mahamudu Bawumia.
A spirit child in Ghana is a disabled child who is believed to possess magical powers to cause misfortune. Disability in Ghana is greatly stigmatized and the only way considered acceptable to deal with the problem is to kill them via advice by a witchdoctor. Spirit children are referred to as chichuru or kinkiriko in the Kassena-Nankana district in Northern Ghana. These children primarily come from poor, rural areas. However, if a spirit child is known to be "good" there are no punishments for the child or their family.
Charles Kofi Adu Boahen is a Ghanaian politician and a public servant. He is a member of the New Patriotic Party and was the deputy minister for Finance in Ghana until November 2022. He is the son of Mrs Mary Adu Boahen and Prof. Albert Adu Boahen, a global academician, historian and politician who became the New Patriotic Party's flagbearer in the 1992 Ghanaian general elections. He was the Minister of State at the Finance Ministry but was dismissed after allegations of corruption.
Leanier Afiyea-Obo Addy is a Ghanaian association football executive and administrator. She previously served as the Chairperson of the Ghana Women's League Board and as head of the women football in the country. She also served on the Ghana Football Association Executive Committee, making her the first female to do so.
Number 12: When Greed and Corruption Become the Norm is an investigative documentary by Ghanaian award-winning journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas and his investigative group, Tiger Eye P. I.
#IAmAnas is a Twitter hashtag and social media campaign that started in 2015. Users tweet to express support for the undercover investigative works of Ghanaian journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas.
Tiger Eye P. I. is an investigative organization based in Accra, Ghana. It is headed by multiple award-winning investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas. The organization has undertaken several high-profile investigation to expose corruption, human trafficking, smuggling, human rights abuses among other. It regularly collaborates with international organizations to bring to global attention issues that relate to a wide array of human institution. Some of such collaboration have been with the British Broadcasting Corporation, Al Jazeera, the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, the Government of Ghana.
Ahmed Hussein-Suale was a Ghanaian undercover investigative journalist and an associate of fellow Ghanaian investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas. He died on Wednesday, 16 January 2019 when unidentified men on motorbikes shot him three times, twice in the chest and once in his neck in his vehicle.
BBC Africa Eye is an investigative branch of the BBC World Service. It has a network of local and investigative journalists and researchers working across Africa and produces an award-winning bi-weekly TV and online investigations series broadcast in English, Hausa, Swahili and French. The series focuses on topics that are of interest and concern to young and underserved audience and aims to strengthen and encourage investigative journalism across Africa.
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