Reports that investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas would testify for the prosecution without his signature facial beads have been refuted by his legal team.
Cromwell Gray LLP claims that the famed investigative journalist has not yet decided whether or not he will testify in the case involving former Ghana Football Association (GFA) president Kwesi Nyantakyi, especially since he only agreed to do so after the murder of the Republic’s star witness, Ahmed Suale, in 2019.
Earlier on Tuesday, November 8th, the Supreme Court ruled that Anas must testify without any special treatment.
That way, he may be forced to not only appear in court without his mask, but also in open court.
Anas had agreed to take the stand in place of Ahmed Suale provided he could do it behind closed doors.
Although the High Court approved this motion, Mr. Nyantakyi, who was featured in the devastating 2018 documentary titled “Number 12: When Greed and Corruption Become the Norm,” appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.
Mr. Nyantakyi’s application was approved by JSC Justice Baffoe-Bonnie.
But a statement issued by Cromwell Gray LLP, the lawyers for Anas Aremeyaw Anas, later on Tuesday said: “The public should disregard false reportage that Anas has been ordered by the Supreme Court or is being compelled by the Supreme Court to appear in court without his trademark face beads.
“Anas may choose to testify as a prosecution witness or not,” it added.
The statement further indicated that Anas and his Tiger Eye PI team will continue to wear the iconic face beads as “a symbol of impartial anonymity in investigative journalism and to highlight the extreme risks in that line of duty”.