The Court of Appeal has requested that investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas come before them to testify in person without his mask.
Justices Anthony Oppong, Ackaah Boafo, and Aboagye Tandoh were among the panel members who unanimously ruled on Thursday, January 30, 2025, that Anas was not allowed to testify with his face concealed.
The state's referenced witness protection laws are superseded by an accused person's basic right to a fair trial, according to Ackaah Boafo JA's opinion.
The accused person's right to see and confront their accuser was deemed to be paramount in a criminal trial by the court.
The Court of Appeal also disapproved of the High Court's decision to reconsider the state's appeal for Anas to testify under false pretenses.
It came to the conclusion that, due to limitations imposed by a previous Supreme Court ruling, the High Court should not have heard a second application on the same matter.
The majority said, "The High Court erred in revisiting an issue already settled by the Supreme Court because the doctrine of stare decisis binds lower courts to the decisions of higher courts."
This verdict would require Anas, who is renowned for his undercover investigations, to testify in court without wearing his characteristic hood in the case against former President Kwesi Nyantakyi of the Ghana Football Association (GFA).
Nyantakyi is facing charges in connection with Anas' 2018 Number 12 documentary, which exposed alleged corruption in Ghanaian football.
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