Renowned investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas has refuted allegations by some Ghanaians, including former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu, that he extorts money from people implicated in his corruption exposés.
Martin Amidu, a former Attorney General and Minister for Justice, described Anas as an ‘anti-corruption entrepreneur’ who makes money out of exposing corruption.
Reacting to this in an interview on DW Africa monitored by GhanaWeb on June 19, 2023, Anas said that he has never engaged in any corrupt activity.
He added that he would not be walking as a free man if any of the allegations against him were true.
“I have dealt with this matter before… Martin Amidu is a senior citizen of Ghana. Me and him have disagreed on this issue publicly, and it is fair. I respect his comment.
“But here I am sitting here, talking to you… Nobody has ever caught me in a bribery scandal. So, like I said, it is fair. He can describe me as he wants.
“Even before Martin Amidu, Atlantic Magazine wrote about me, and they described me as a spy and about 10 other descriptions,” he told DW's Michael Oti.
Anas, however, noted that the criticisms from Martin Amidu are welcomed because they are important in shaping Ghana’s democracy.
“The point is that how does that push the frontiers of our democracy? And I encourage people like Martin, let them stick out their necks, let them talk, let them all make their opinions clear.
"At the end of the day, I know what I’m doing, I am focused on it, and I can tell you, there will be several liberal dossiers of my journalism over a period of time,” he said.
The former Special Prosecutor said that Anas lives in the fear of his own shadow as an "anti-corruption entrepreneur" and not a genuine anti-corruption crusader.
In an article on the decision by Justice Eric Baah's High Court to dismiss a GHS 25 million defamation suit filed by the investigative journalist against Assin Central Member of Parliament Kennedy Agyapong, Amidu said that Anas may have shot himself in the foot by using a power of attorney to file the suit instead of doing that himself due to his fear of his real identity being exposed.
“The rule against the admissibility of hearsay evidence is statutory. Anas A. Anas, the plaintiff, put himself in a situation of being incapable of giving relevant and primary evidence in person and being cross-examined because he lives in the fear of his own shadow as an anti-corruption entrepreneur and not as a genuine anti-corruption crusader.
“Anas A. Anas thus lost the only opportunity to publicly tell the court his version of the facts within his personal knowledge and to be cross-examined to establish his credibility. Genuine anti-corruption crusaders do not hide their faces behind masks,” he wrote.
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Anas Aremeyaw Anas (right), Martin Amidu (left)
