Good Morning POU!
Today’s featured journalist does such dangerous work that he can never show his face in public, ever. There are actual bounties on his head because of his reporting against corruption.
Ghanaian investigative reporter Anas Aremeyaw Anas – who does not show his face in public and uses his anonymity to his advantage – has gone undercover dozens of times in his native city of Accra. A multimedia journalist who specializes in print media and documentary, Anas focuses on issues of human rights and anti-corruption in Ghana and sub-Saharan Africa.
From the beginning, Anas, who started out with a clear career path as a student reporter, wanted to begin exposing corruption. He was soon in charge of investigative journalism at Ghanaian newspaper The Crusading Guide, which he now co-owns as The New Crusading Guide.
Anas has posed as a janitor in a brothel to expose child prostitution, pretended to be an assembly-line worker at a cookie factory (where maggot-infested flour was being used), and even checked into a psychiatric ward as a patient. While there, he caught one of the orderlies selling drugs (and recorded himself buying them), saw unfed patients eating from dumpsters, and documented how a corpse was left for days in a ditch until it was taken away in a van used to transport food.
Speaking at Ashesi University in 2013
Anas’s goal is to make sure his government does something about corruption and crimes by providing it with evidence.
His investigative works have won him worldwide acclaim with President Barack Obama highlighting his virtues in a speech during his 2009 visit to Ghana: “An independent press. A vibrant private sector. A civil society. Those are the things that give life to democracy. We see that spirit in courageous journalists like Anas Aremeyaw Anas, who risked his life to report the truth.” Anas has won over fourteen international awards for his investigative work. He was polled as the 5th most influential Ghanaian in 2011 by ETV and named one of the “Most Influential Africans of the Year “by the New African Magazine in December 2014. “Chameleon” a documentary about Anas’ life and work by Ryan Mullins was premiered at the 2014 IDFA festival in Amsterdam.
Anas in various disguises
Anas’s notable investigative works include:
January 2010
Inside Ghana’s Madhouse Undercover in Ghana’s biggest psychiatric hospital Anas exposed patient’s human rights abuses.
April 2010
In The Interest Of The State Exposed cocoa smugglers and their cohorts in Ghana’s security system[8]
September 2010
Orphans Home Of Hell – Osu Undercover in Ghana’s biggest state run orphanage. Exposed corruption and abuse of children in the facility
February 2011
Enemies Of The Nation Undercover to expose fraud and corruption at one of Ghana’s key points of entry, the Tema harbor.
December 2011
Al Jazeera Africa Investigates (Four films) a. Sierra Leone – Timber b. Ghana’s Gold c. Fools’ Gold d. Spell of the Albino -Tanzania
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
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 being the ‘Abortion Lord’ who had sex with his female clients when they came to him for abortions.
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.
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.
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.
April 2014
Ghana Sex Mafia Film built on the Chinese Sex Mafia story of February 2009. Tells the story of how Chinese girls were trafficked into Ghana and how Anas went undercover to bust the ring and testified in court leading to the prosecution of the traffickers
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 entitled ‘Doom – the silent killer next door, tells three social interest stories of how families lost loved ones to the carnage on our roads. it also 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.
December 2014
AL Jazeera Africa Investigates _ Season 2 Nigeria’s Fake Doctors Anas teamed up with colleague Rosemary Nwaebuni to blow the lid off the activities of quack doctors who are risking the lives of vulnerable people in Africa’s most populous nation. The film led to the arrest of two such bogus medics who were using pharmacy shops and even beer parlours as operating theaters for persons who were in desperate need of medical attention. It presents persons who have no medical qualification or knowledge whatsoever placing women in need of abortion under the knife with the resultant fatal injuries.
Ghana’s Food For Thought Focuses on the problem of stealing and corruption in the process of getting donated food to the starving to whom it is destined. Anas went undercover to expose the activities of the Ghana Health Service officers who ran a corrupt business by commercially selling specialized foods donated by the World Food Program (WFP) and destined free-of-charge to malnourished children in the north. It resulted in the dramatic arrest of three persons. All the suspects captured in the act of committing this crime are currently in police custody.