The trial of former president of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kwesi Nyantakyi, will begin in a fortnight, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Miss Gloria Akuffo told Parliament yesterday.
She explained that the prosecution delayed because of the murder of a principal witness, Mohammed Ahmed-Suale in January this year.
She said the death then necessitated a review of the docket which has since been completed for the case to be presented in court.
The Attorney-General was on the floor of parliament to respond to a question by Mohammed Abdul Aziz, the Member of Parliament for Mion Constituency, who wanted to know what had happened to case after the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo lodged a complaint against Kwesi Nyantakyi following the Number 12 expose by Anas Aremeyaw Anas’s Tiger Eye P.I. in 2018.
Miss Akuffo said on November, 2, 2018, her office received a duplicate docket from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
The Attorney-General said after an initial review of the docket by a team of prosecutors, the police were requested on January 10, 2019 to furnish the Attorney-General’s Department with further documents to facilitate the completion of the review.
She said Tiger Eye was also requested to furnish the Attorney-General with an updated report covering all videos.
The prosecution of Mr Nyantakyi emanated from the expose dubbed Number 12, an investigative piece by the Tiger Eye team which fingered some personalities in Ghana’s football administration including referees.
President Akufo-Addo after watching the expose reported Mr Nyantakyi to
the police for investigation of a possible crime of fraud.
This was after it was revealed in the video that
Mr Nyantakyi suggested he would influence the President and Vice President, Dr
Mahamudu Bawumia and other senior government officials to illegally request for
various sums of money from investors.
The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) as
part of its investigations, seized mobile phones and laptops of the embattled
football administrator as he was formally charged with defrauding by false
pretence.
But more than a year down the line, not much has
been seen about the case until the announcement yesterday.
BY LAWRENCE MARKWEI
