A Ghanaian high court has discharged Kwesi Nyantakyi, the former president of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), following a complex and drawn-out five-year legal battle. Nyantakyi, who was initially charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and corruption after being filmed accepting bribes in 2018, has faced a tumultuous journey through the legal system.
Nyantakyi, who also served as vice-president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and was a member of the FIFA Council, found himself at the center of a highly publicized scandal after an undercover investigation by BBC Africa Eye. The investigation, known as the “Number 12” documentary, secretly recorded Nyantakyi accepting $65,000 (£51,500) in cash from an undercover reporter posing as a businessman interested in investing in Ghanaian football.
Following the release of the documentary, Nyantakyi denied any wrongdoing, arguing that the footage had been doctored to incriminate him and claiming the money was intended as reimbursement for travel expenses. He dismissed the investigation as “shoddy work with cut and paste.” Despite his denials, Nyantakyi resigned from his positions at the GFA, CAF, and FIFA. FIFA subsequently imposed a life ban on him for violating bribery and corruption rules, although this sanction was later reduced to 15 years on appeal.
The criminal charges against Nyantakyi included conspiracy, fraud, and corruption, and he was expected to face trial. However, the case against him ultimately collapsed due to the failure of Ghanaian state prosecutors to present any of their five key witnesses, including the undercover journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas. Anas had been expected to testify while wearing a protective beaded mask to maintain his anonymity and safeguard his security, following threats he had received in the wake of his investigative work. However, an appeal court had ruled that Anas must testify without his mask, which contributed to delays in the trial.
The case was further complicated by the murder of Ahmed Hussein-Suale, a colleague of Anas who had also been involved in the “Number 12” investigation. Hussein-Suale was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in January 2019, just months after the documentary aired. His death left a significant void, as he would have been a key witness in the prosecution of Nyantakyi.
Despite the documentary’s damning footage and the widespread public outcry surrounding the scandal, the inability of prosecutors to secure crucial testimony led to the court’s decision to discharge Nyantakyi. Although he has been acquitted, Ghanaian authorities have not ruled out the possibility of revisiting the case if new evidence emerges in the future.
The “Number 12” investigation, which implicated over 100 football officials and referees, including many from West Africa, remains one of the most significant efforts to expose corruption in African football. FIFA’s stringent rules prohibit officials from accepting cash gifts, and the scandal has cast a long shadow over the governance of the sport in the region.
For now, the case against Nyantakyi has come to an end, but the impact of the “Number 12” documentary continues to resonate in the world of African football, with many calling for deeper reforms to address corruption and improve transparency.
