Kwesi Nyantakyi Not Guilty Yet

A private legal practitioner, Yaw Oppong has urged Ghanaians not to declare the embattled President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kwesi Nyantakyi guilty yet.

Nyantakyi is accused of using the name of President Akufo-Addo and other senior officials of the government to solicit bribes from supposed foreign investors.

According to him, the announcement of a possible commission of crime by persons including Kwesi Nyantakyi often opens them up for unfair public criticisms when they could later be declared not guilty by a court.

Lawyer Yaw Oppong who was speaking on The Big Issue on Saturday said, “unfortunately, we live a society that people run with what we hear and that is why one must be careful in putting out information about the possible commission of crime by a person because there have been many instances where the police have ceased investigations after the announcement, there have been many instances where a person has been taken to court acquitted and discharged, these ones many do not even hear about them.”

“For now, I think that we all have to accept that it's only the court that upon determination of such matters can pronounce with definite orders that a person has committed A or B offence. As we do so too, we must also try not to infringe on the right of those [accused] people” he added.

GFA President, Kwesi Nyantakyi

What did Kwesi Nyantakyi do?
President Akufo-Addo on Tuesday made a formal complaint at the CID against FA boss, Kwesi Nyantakyi who was captured in Anas' video allegedly soliciting a bribe from supposed foreign investors in the name of President Akufo-Addo, Vice President Bawumia and other top government officials.

Mr Nyantakyi cut short his trip to Morocco on Tuesday and returned to Ghana on Wednesday afternoon where he turned himself into the CID for questioning.

President Nana Akufo-Addo

After almost 5 hours of questioning, Kwesi Nyantakyi was whisked away from the CID by some officers of the department to his home where a search was conducted and his mobile phones and laptops seized.

Kwesi Nyantakyi has since been granted bail.
'Is boasting about link to the presidency a crime?'

Lawyer Yaw Oppong said Kwesi Nyantakyi may not have committed a crime telling the supposed investors in the clip that he could easily influence President AKufo-Addo and other key government officials to award contracts to the investors.

“Lawyers call something mere path, where people can just sit somewhere and yob that they know this or that person. There is a very thin line between mere path and the commission of an offence.”

Yaw Oppong further indicated that Kwesi Nyantakyi could not have possibly been charged by the CID when he made his appearance there.

He said Nyantakyi must have been cautioned and the CID would most likely charge him after it has gathered enough evidence from its investigations to force a solid basis for his prosecution.

“A message from the police stated that they were investigating him in relation to some possible offences including corruption. We need to understand that he hasn't been charged and he couldn't have been charged. He has been cautioned. When they have completed the investigation or at the point when they think they have sufficient information, they can charge him and take him to court.”