Supreme Court Orders Anas To Testify Without Mask
The Supreme Court has quashed an Accra High Court order for investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, to testify in-camera against Kwesi Nyantakyi for his documentary dubbed ‘Number 12’.
With this ruling, the ace investigative journalist has to appear in court without his trade mark mask.
Presided over by Justice Baffoe-Bonnie on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, the Judge granted an application for certiorari filed by Kwesi Nyantakyi quashing the order of High Court 2, Criminal Division, Accra granting a dispensation to Anas Aremeyaw Anas to testify in camera as a prosecution witness in the criminal case entitled Republic v Kwesi Nyantakyi & Another.
It may be recalled that in March 2022, during Case Management Conference, the High Court 2, criminal division presided over by her ladyship Elfreda Dankyi peremptorily granted an ORAL application by the prosecution for Anas Aremeyaw Anas to give evidence in camera as a prosecution witness in the case of Republic v Kwesi Nyantakyi and Another.
Dissatisfied with the said decision of the High Court, Mr Nyantakyi through lead counsel, Thaddeus Sory of Sory@Law, applied to the Supreme Court for an order of certiorari to quash the dispensation given to Anas Aremeyaw Anas by the High Court.
The application was premised on three grounds; that the order of the High Court offended the human rights of the applicant as guaranteed under the 1992 Constitution, that the order was made without regard to the procedures and rules of court which required that a formal and not an oral application be made in such circumstances; and the order of the court was made in excess of jurisdiction of the court.
The Supreme Court upheld the application and quashed the order of the High Court as having been made without the requisite legal basis.
By today’s decision, Anas Aremeyaw Anas must testify in open court as any other witness does in court without any privileges.
