The Anas-Kwesi Nyantakyi issue has taken a different twist. Kennedy Agyapong is waging a campaign to discredit the man known for his impactful exposes, and the wearing of facial masks.
I agree with Ken Agyapong; the alleged method of extracting information from Anas’ victims look unethical, and blackmailing. I am not in this case impugning that Anas is blackmailing his victims to extort money. But if you set me up to become a victim, you are blackmailing me, and I believe that must not be allowed to persist.
The real investigation is when a Journalist tracks illegal activity, real time, to collect concrete evidence, in their naturally unfolding environment, and presents the evidence as prove of wrongdoing. Anas’ investigation into the Osu Children’s Home, where he became a worker in that facility, and filmed real time abuses, is an example of what is authentic investigation.
No matter how we feel about Kwesi Nyantekyi, it is wrong for Anas to set him up, induce him with corrupt money, and turn around to accuse him of being corrupt. We are all anti-corruption campaigners. But we must uphold the dignity of those we suspect to be corrupt. We cannot, in our quest to fight corruption, present ourselves in a manner that victimizes our targets, no!
We seek justice, and so in seeking this justice, we must ourselves protect our targets in manners that gives them the same justice we seek – fairness that ensures justice for all.
If Anas’ alleged method holds, in getting Kwesi Nyantakyi convicted, then he, Anas, himself, must necessarily stand accuse of bribery, because that is the law, the giver and the receiver are both guilty. So if setting up one person is good enough to achieve conviction, then the act of setting up the other person, regardless of the intention, must necessarily attract the equivalent penalty. We cannot save one, and leave the other to go, no!
I did not watch the last episode on the judges. My understanding of that expose was that Anas monitored some judges, on real time cases, as the bribing occurred alongside the twisted judgments, and that caused the judges to lose their jobs.
If that was not the case, then I guess I will like to agree with Kennedy Agyapong, that we need to revisit their cases. For if Anas and his Tiger Eye PI team, bribed the judges, themselves, and got the judges to twist judgment in the direction of their bribes, then we must take a look at the circumstances of the bribery, and how it might have impacted justice, or how it would have impacted justice, if those circumstances were not as artificial as it was presented.
I have also heard accusations of Anas blackmailing people to acquire high rise buildings. Of course these are legitimate questions to raise, if there is a reasonable cause to suspect so. If indeed Anas is blackmailing victims to extort money from them, then it raises serious criminal questions that needs to be investigated.
I expect that by now Anas would have been invited for questioning and investigations. I would have also expected that by now, if the accusations are untrue, then Anas should have issued a statement, he should have given ultimatum for retraction, and he should have been heading to court.
I have seen a new video from Tiger Eye PI, where it feels as though Anas is ignoring Kennedy Agyapong’s accusations, and calling his bluff. No! That is not respectful for those of us who admire your work, and who believes in you, that you hold a moral mantle, an integrity touch, and in whom we put our confidence, that you have become our bearer, to shine light on our darkest moments.
It is, definitely, serious to learn of some of these allegations, especially since we are aware that you, in the past, have done some investigations that never got released. What were the circumstances that prevented the release of those investigations? Were they part of the bribe collecting allegations that Ken has raised? We need answers.
If these allegations are not thoroughly dealt with, it has the potential to cast doubt on any anticorruption campaign that is waged in this country, and that will give corrupt men and women the courage to plunge our country’s resources.
So don’t ignore the allegations, even if you know for sure that they are untrue. You will have to go all the way to the courts, to sue Kennedy Agyapong for defamation, for libel, and for anything the law allows you, and you will have to take heavy compensation if you are proven to be innocent of the allegations. It is this way, of exonerating yourself, that will protect the rest of us, and instill the needed confidence to continue the fight against corruption.
My information is that the Tiger Eye PI is a for-profit company. This raises a number of questions. If Tiger Eye was an NGO, then it has the ability to receive grants, and donations. But a for-profit company has serious limitations of receiving gifts.
Which means most of the income for Tiger Eye are from charges for services they render to their clients. The question then is, who are his clients, and how much do they pay the company? There are UN guidelines for charging clients per hour, and per day. Since Tiger Eye PI is a service company, it means they will have to conform to those per hour, per day charge guidelines. So it should be easy to verify income, expenses, and to ascertain obligations.
If the allegation of Anas owning several high rise buildings in prime areas in Accra, are true, then we will have to ask whether Tiger Eye has received contracts sufficient enough to acquire all those properties, especially within the spate of time the company began to operate.
And as someone who is fighting corruption, I expect that Tiger Eye, and Anas for that matter, should be fatefully paying their taxes. I expect the Ghana Revenue Authority to move in quickly to assess those properties known to belong to the anticorruption fighter, to satisfy itself that the man has diligently paid all of his tax obligations to the state. If he has not, and there is a clear case of deliberate attempt to evade tax payments, then Anas has serious questions to answer, of his integrity, and questions of his Journalism.
I have done it thrice in the past case or so, when under some hoax allegations, I published, fully, every single thing that belongs to me, and how I came by them – although they are only a very few assets with very insignificant values, and although I do not hold any legal obligation to do so.
Of course sometimes people wrongly assume that what belongs to the company, or the organization, belongs to the leader personally. So for instance, people see a giant cold store in Winneba and instantly thinks that it belongs to me personally. So those wrong attributions are common, but we cannot ignore them. We must provide answers when asked, just as we demand answers, when we ask.
I am a social entrepreneur. For the avoidance of doubt, I have decided to personally own nothing, even if the thing owned is in my personal name – that my children will have nothing as their inheritance from me.
But beyond this resolve, and in the meantime that I am alive, and have somethings ascribed to my name, I should be able to prove to anyone, whether a stranger, or a casual man, I should be able to prove the source of every single thing that I own, and I should be able to justify those sources.
I believe that is an important way for me to hold another person accountable. I cannot hide the source of my wealth from the public, even if I am a private person, but hold myself publicly in fighting public corruption, when I know that my tax obligations are inextricably linked to my moral courage to demand of the other person’s accountability.
We cannot present ourselves as thin gods, untouchables, just because we wear masks, we carry cameras, and we hold pens. We must hold ourselves as nothing as our calling demands, so that in presenting our nothingness, we shall be seen worthy of society’s light and trust. We hold the same obligations towards society, to live our practice, in much the same way as we hold public office holders to their office.
Source: James Kofi Annan/[email protected]
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This is the second article on Anas Expose that James kofi Annan has done. It should be placed on record that 1. James is an NPP sympathizer by now, 2. He thinks that in caese were currupt practices are strongly guarded and one cannot record along-side real time the committal of such crimes, then acting as one ready to commit the crime can gather credible evidence, 3. Kennedy Agyapong is know to make the most baseless accusation especially when he finds himself politically cornered, 4. If Ken and people like James Annan think Anas has blackmailed anybody to own high-rising buildings, they should just list the buildings and we shall do our own investigations to know the true circumstances under which the former owners ceded them to Anas or his surrogates, 5. Tiger PI as a company files their audited accounts on an annual basis to the register generals department, James Annan must have concrete evidence that the audited accounts have something fishy rather than just casting aspertions on individauls and a full company, 6. I don't know what you have at stake in this case, but your situation and Anas' are completely different. Don't let your political lenses damage the good works you have done in the past. If you are craving for riches, stop the social enterprenuear thing and go back to your banking career.
Anas can go ahead and show his latest video on 06/06/18. Fine. But we expect him to show the one he did on the Parliamentarians. Failure to do will mean he is collaborating with people in authority to stop showing that one too.
I don't blame kennedy for his mental retardness but I blame the people who voted for him in order to drag the name of Ghana in the mad . Anas has delivered more sensitive investigative work in other countries such as Tanzanaia concerning the killing of albino's for money rituals and it was a world class assignmene. Tanzania today of grateful to Anas and his team of experts . I feel very pitty for the people who voted for his guy to sit in parliament , that's all I will say because he is very happy people are miappropriating our scares resources . If he is affected he should go to the international criminal court .
Why don't they investigate Anas if truly he owns those said properties in Ghana, There is no way a genuine journalist of just yesterday could achieved all this within this short time even if is within 20years.
The net always catches the greedy fish, because I think for instance when you are in trotro you can vividly see a driver dashing money to some officers for wrong doing on the side of the driver and we all see it. So by getting enough evidence you also have to go through same process as investigator before you can get the so call where is your evidence.
So Anas has the right to show us what he wants...but we do not have the right to critique him? I just wrote that we are interested in all his work..that is all....if there is nothing to hide.....And by the way..i hv my own mind...nothing ***barred word*** abt this..
Did you pay Anas to investigate parliament. Be a rational human being and don't follow fooooooooooooools.
Nothing on earth will stop the premiering of this video, not even the president....stop wasting your time. Write all the articles, bark all the barks, shout all the shout. It will still happen 5 days to go.
Anas, where is your Parliament undercover investigations? Bring that video also out... We need all your work....
What exactly is Ken afraid of? He should just forget it.. when Anas has done this work for long and we know he is doing the right thing.. when it was Judges, you kept quiet and now that is your turn, you are running away, the judges are waiting for u people at the court, since their's wasn't spare then don't expect your to be as well. it will be aired whether you like it or not..***barred word*** ***barred word***