Anas Aremeyaw Anas narrates how he got into investigative journalism

One of the feared and most powerful men in Ghana is the investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas. He has made a name for himself as one of the best journalists on the African continent.

For years, Anas has blown the cover of notorious ring taking bribe men and women in most of Ghana’s institutions. He has instilled fear and discipline in workers who would have otherwise taken bribes in any form to dispense unfair judgments.

Over the years, Anas has investigated institutions and such as the Immigration service, Judicial service, The practice of Galamsay in Ghana, social welfare (Specifically Orphanages), Mental Hospitals, The albino spiritual killings in Tanzania, Quack abortion clinics in Nigeria and his latest exposé in African football are some of his investigations that have shook institutions and has left many jobless and some even in prison.

What has made Anas’s work gained much attention is the fact that very few people in the world know who he is. He always appears in public with his face covered. Many people have tried to uncover his face but to avail.

With Anas being a lawyer and qualified journalist, the state has helped cover his true identity from the books in order to prevent disgruntled people with connections exposing his true identity.

Many people have been wondering how he got into the business of investigative journalism in the first place and what motivates him to do such dangerous investigative works at the peril of his life. Well, he has finally spoken up.

In a Facebook post on his personal page, Anas has revealed how he became an undercover journalist. According to him, it started about 17 years ago when he was a fresh student out of college and he heard that police were extorting money from hawkers.

With the motivation to do something different that will affect society positively, he went to work to obtain evidence by disguising himself as one of the hawkers till he gathered all evidence to shame the officers. Some even lost their jobs. And that was when Anas Aremeyaw Anas was born!



“My journey started 17 years ago, I was a young reporter, I had just come out of college. Then I got a scoop. The scoop was quite a very simple story- Police officers were taking bribes from hawkers who were hawking on the street.

As a young reporter, I thought that I should do it in a different way, so that it had a maximum impact since everybody knew that was happening, and yet there was nothing that was keeping it out of the system.

So I decided to go there and act as a seller. As part of selling, I was able to document the hardcore evidence. The impact was great, it was fantastic. This is what many call immersion journalism, or undercover journalism.