WEBVTT 00:00:01.122 --> 00:00:05.119 I am sorry I cannot show you my face, 00:00:05.119 --> 00:00:10.205 because if I do, the bad guys will come for me. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:10.205 --> 00:00:14.293 My journey started 14 years ago. 00:00:14.293 --> 00:00:18.705 I was a young reporter. I had just come out of college. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:18.705 --> 00:00:21.407 Then I got a scoop. 00:00:21.407 --> 00:00:24.826 The scoop was quite a very simple story. 00:00:24.826 --> 00:00:27.430 Police officers were taking bribes 00:00:27.430 --> 00:00:30.966 from hawkers who were hawking on the streets. 00:00:30.966 --> 00:00:33.768 As a young reporter, I thought that I should do it 00:00:33.768 --> 00:00:37.937 in a different way, so that it has a maximum impact, 00:00:37.937 --> 00:00:39.825 since everybody knew that it was happening, 00:00:39.825 --> 00:00:43.394 and yet there was nothing that was keeping it out of the system. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:43.394 --> 00:00:45.629 So I decided to go there 00:00:45.629 --> 00:00:49.594 and act as a seller. 00:00:49.594 --> 00:00:52.847 As part of selling, I was able to document 00:00:52.847 --> 00:00:55.639 the hard core evidence. 00:00:55.639 --> 00:00:58.161 The impact was great. 00:00:58.161 --> 00:01:00.722 It was fantastic. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:00.722 --> 00:01:04.452 This was what many call immersion journalism, 00:01:04.452 --> 00:01:07.021 or undercover journalism. 00:01:07.021 --> 00:01:11.269 I am an undercover journalist. 00:01:11.269 --> 00:01:15.990 My journalism is hinged on three basic principles: 00:01:15.990 --> 00:01:20.790 naming, shaming and jailing. 00:01:20.790 --> 00:01:22.660 Journalism is about results. 00:01:22.660 --> 00:01:26.399 It's about affecting your community or your society 00:01:26.399 --> 00:01:29.036 in the most progressive way. 00:01:29.036 --> 00:01:33.594 I have worked on this for over 14 years, 00:01:33.594 --> 00:01:36.826 and I can tell you, the results are very good. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:36.826 --> 00:01:39.057 One story that comes to mind 00:01:39.057 --> 00:01:41.201 in my undercover pieces 00:01:41.201 --> 00:01:43.412 is "Spirit Child." 00:01:43.412 --> 00:01:47.488 It was about children who were born with deformities, 00:01:47.488 --> 00:01:50.233 and their parents felt that once they were born 00:01:50.233 --> 00:01:51.922 with those deformities, 00:01:51.922 --> 00:01:54.045 they were not good enough to live in the society, 00:01:54.045 --> 00:01:57.153 so they were given some concoction to take 00:01:57.153 --> 00:01:59.730 and as a result they died. 00:01:59.730 --> 00:02:02.547 So I built a prosthetic baby, 00:02:02.547 --> 00:02:04.697 and I went into the village, 00:02:04.697 --> 00:02:08.845 pretended as though this baby had been born 00:02:08.845 --> 00:02:12.932 with a deformity, and here was the guys who do the killing. 00:02:12.932 --> 00:02:15.507 They got themselves ready. 00:02:15.507 --> 00:02:19.093 In their bids to kill, I got the police on standby, 00:02:19.093 --> 00:02:21.633 and they came that fateful morning 00:02:21.633 --> 00:02:24.469 to come and kill the child. 00:02:24.469 --> 00:02:28.488 I recall how they were seriously boiling the concoction. 00:02:28.488 --> 00:02:31.408 They put it on fire. It was boiling hot, 00:02:31.408 --> 00:02:33.880 getting ready to give to the kids. 00:02:33.880 --> 00:02:35.855 Whilst this was going on, the police I had alerted, 00:02:35.855 --> 00:02:38.528 they were on standby, 00:02:38.528 --> 00:02:41.764 and just as the concoction was ready, 00:02:41.764 --> 00:02:44.864 and they were about to give it to the kids, 00:02:44.864 --> 00:02:46.813 I phoned the police, 00:02:46.813 --> 00:02:50.982 and fortunately they came and busted them. 00:02:50.982 --> 00:02:53.934 As I speak now, they are before the courts. 00:02:53.934 --> 00:02:55.748 Don't forget the key principles: 00:02:55.748 --> 00:02:58.574 naming, shaming and jailing. 00:02:58.574 --> 00:03:00.587 The court process is taking place, 00:03:00.587 --> 00:03:02.670 and I'm very sure at the end of the day 00:03:02.670 --> 00:03:05.119 we will find them, and we will put them 00:03:05.119 --> 00:03:07.862 where they belong too. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:07.862 --> 00:03:10.550 Another key story that comes to mind, 00:03:10.550 --> 00:03:14.897 which relates to this spirit child phenomenon, 00:03:14.897 --> 00:03:20.373 is "The Spell of the Albinos." 00:03:20.373 --> 00:03:23.864 I'm sure most of you may have heard, in Tanzania, 00:03:23.864 --> 00:03:26.240 children who are born with albinism 00:03:26.240 --> 00:03:30.293 are sometimes considered as being unfit 00:03:30.293 --> 00:03:32.992 to live in society. 00:03:32.992 --> 00:03:36.880 Their bodies are chopped up with machetes 00:03:36.880 --> 00:03:40.208 and are supposed to be used for some concoctions 00:03:40.208 --> 00:03:43.090 or some potions for people to get money -- 00:03:43.090 --> 00:03:46.885 or so many, many stories people would tell about it. 00:03:46.885 --> 00:03:49.441 It was time to go undercover again. 00:03:49.441 --> 00:03:52.890 So I went undercover as a man who was interested 00:03:52.890 --> 00:03:55.023 in this particular business, of course. 00:03:55.023 --> 00:03:57.593 Again, a prosthetic arm was built. 00:03:57.593 --> 00:04:01.172 For the first time, I filmed on hidden camera 00:04:01.172 --> 00:04:05.916 the guys who do this, and they were ready to buy the arm 00:04:05.916 --> 00:04:08.066 and they were ready to use it to prepare 00:04:08.066 --> 00:04:11.730 those potions for people. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:11.730 --> 00:04:15.306 I am glad today the Tanzanian government has taken action, 00:04:15.306 --> 00:04:18.448 but the key issue is that the Tanzanian government 00:04:18.448 --> 00:04:22.637 could only take action because the evidence was available. 00:04:22.637 --> 00:04:26.532 My journalism is about hard core evidence. 00:04:26.532 --> 00:04:28.931 If I say you have stolen, I show you the evidence 00:04:28.931 --> 00:04:30.434 that you have stolen. 00:04:30.434 --> 00:04:32.751 I show you how you stole it 00:04:32.751 --> 00:04:34.471 and when, or what you used 00:04:34.471 --> 00:04:36.739 what you had stolen to do. 00:04:36.739 --> 00:04:41.309 What is the essence of journalism if it doesn't benefit society? NOTE Paragraph 00:04:41.309 --> 00:04:43.753 My kind of journalism is a product 00:04:43.753 --> 00:04:47.170 of my society. 00:04:47.170 --> 00:04:50.348 I know that sometimes 00:04:50.348 --> 00:04:54.020 people have their own criticisms 00:04:54.020 --> 00:04:57.508 about undercover journalism. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:57.508 --> 00:05:01.686 (Video) Official: He brought out some money from his pockets 00:05:01.686 --> 00:05:04.640 and put it on the table, 00:05:04.640 --> 00:05:07.955 so that we should not be afraid. 00:05:07.955 --> 00:05:13.738 He wants to bring the cocoa and send it to Cote d'Ivoire. 00:05:13.738 --> 00:05:17.426 So with my hidden intention, I kept quiet. 00:05:17.426 --> 00:05:19.816 I didn't utter a word. 00:05:19.816 --> 00:05:21.674 But my colleagues didn't know. 00:05:21.674 --> 00:05:24.895 So after collecting the money, 00:05:24.895 --> 00:05:28.023 when he left, we were waiting for him to bring the goods. 00:05:28.023 --> 00:05:31.458 Immediately after he left, I told my colleagues that 00:05:31.458 --> 00:05:32.975 since I was the leader of the group, 00:05:32.975 --> 00:05:35.972 I told my colleagues that if they come, 00:05:35.972 --> 00:05:37.273 we will arrest them. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:37.273 --> 00:05:41.500 Second official: I don't even know the place called [unclear]. 00:05:41.500 --> 00:05:43.084 I've never stepped there before. 00:05:43.084 --> 00:05:44.051 So I'm surprised. 00:05:44.051 --> 00:05:49.865 You see a hand counting money just in front of me. 00:05:49.865 --> 00:05:53.209 The next moment, you see the money in my hands, 00:05:53.209 --> 00:05:56.530 counting, whereas I have not come into contact with anybody. 00:05:56.530 --> 00:05:59.095 I have not done any business with anybody. 00:05:59.095 --> 00:06:01.435 Reporter: When Metro News contacted investigative reporter NOTE Paragraph 00:06:01.435 --> 00:06:03.616 Anas Aremeyaw Anas for his reaction, 00:06:03.616 --> 00:06:06.490 he just smiled and gave this video extract 00:06:06.490 --> 00:06:11.245 he did not use in the documentary recently shown onscreen. 00:06:11.245 --> 00:06:13.594 The officer who earlier denied involvement 00:06:13.594 --> 00:06:16.656 pecks a calculator to compute the amount of money 00:06:16.656 --> 00:06:21.248 they will charge on the cocoa to be smuggled. NOTE Paragraph 00:06:21.248 --> 00:06:23.858 Anas Aremeyaw Anas: This was another story on anticorruption. 00:06:23.858 --> 00:06:25.750 And here was him, denying. 00:06:25.750 --> 00:06:27.711 But you see, when you have the hard core evidence, 00:06:27.711 --> 00:06:31.071 you are able to affect society. 00:06:31.071 --> 00:06:33.378 Sometimes these are some of the headlines that come. (Music) NOTE Paragraph 00:06:33.378 --> 00:06:35.144 [I will curse Anas to death] NOTE Paragraph 00:06:35.144 --> 00:06:37.508 [Anas Lies] NOTE Paragraph 00:06:37.508 --> 00:06:40.865 [Alarm Blows Over Anas' News for Cash Video] NOTE Paragraph 00:06:40.865 --> 00:06:43.718 [Agenda Against Top CEPS Officials Exposed] NOTE Paragraph 00:06:43.718 --> 00:06:46.920 [Anas Operates with Invisible Powers?] NOTE Paragraph 00:06:46.920 --> 00:06:49.498 [Gov't Wobbles Over Anas Video] NOTE Paragraph 00:06:49.498 --> 00:06:52.306 [Hunting the Hunter] NOTE Paragraph 00:06:52.306 --> 00:06:55.041 [Anas 'Bribe' Men in Court] NOTE Paragraph 00:06:55.041 --> 00:06:59.165 [15 Heads Roll Over Anas Tape] NOTE Paragraph 00:06:59.165 --> 00:07:03.126 [Finance Minister Backs Anas] NOTE Paragraph 00:07:03.126 --> 00:07:06.254 [11 Given Queries Over Anas' Story] NOTE Paragraph 00:07:06.254 --> 00:07:09.641 [GJA Stands By Anas] NOTE Paragraph 00:07:09.641 --> 00:07:13.406 [Prez. Mills Storms Tema Harbour Over Anas Video] 00:07:13.406 --> 00:07:17.121 ["Late Prof. John Evans Atta Mills: Former president of Ghana"] NOTE Paragraph 00:07:17.121 --> 00:07:19.298 John Evans Atta Mills: What Anas says 00:07:19.298 --> 00:07:23.204 is not something which is unknown to many of us, 00:07:23.204 --> 00:07:27.308 but please, those of you who are agents, 00:07:27.308 --> 00:07:31.891 and who are leading the customs officers into temptation, 00:07:31.891 --> 00:07:36.244 I'm telling you, Ghana is not going to say 00:07:36.244 --> 00:07:38.843 any good things to you about this. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:38.843 --> 00:07:41.186 AAA: That was my president. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:41.186 --> 00:07:43.546 I thought that I couldn't come here 00:07:43.546 --> 00:07:46.026 without giving you something special. 00:07:46.026 --> 00:07:49.517 I have a piece, and I'm excited that 00:07:49.517 --> 00:07:53.599 I'm sharing it for the first time with you here. 00:07:53.599 --> 00:07:57.705 I have been undercover in the prisons. 00:07:57.705 --> 00:08:01.891 I have been there for a long time. 00:08:01.891 --> 00:08:06.920 And I can tell you, what I saw is not nice. 00:08:06.920 --> 00:08:09.821 But again, I can only affect society 00:08:09.821 --> 00:08:13.397 and affect government if I bring out the hard core evidence. 00:08:13.397 --> 00:08:16.769 Many times, the prison authorities have denied 00:08:16.769 --> 00:08:19.317 ever having issues of drug abuse, 00:08:19.317 --> 00:08:23.297 issues of sodomy, so many issues they would deny 00:08:23.297 --> 00:08:24.747 that it ever happens. 00:08:24.747 --> 00:08:28.111 How can you obtain the hard core evidence? NOTE Paragraph 00:08:28.111 --> 00:08:32.011 So I was in the prison. ["Nsawan Prison"] 00:08:32.011 --> 00:08:36.197 Now, what you are seeing is a pile of dead bodies. 00:08:36.197 --> 00:08:39.267 Now, I happen to have followed one of my inmates, 00:08:39.267 --> 00:08:43.823 one of my friends, from his sick bed till death, 00:08:43.823 --> 00:08:47.464 and I can tell you it was not a nice thing at all. 00:08:47.464 --> 00:08:50.546 There were issues of bad food being served 00:08:50.546 --> 00:08:55.456 as I recall that some of the food I ate 00:08:55.456 --> 00:08:59.717 is just not good for a human being. 00:08:59.717 --> 00:09:03.868 Toilet facilities: very bad. 00:09:03.868 --> 00:09:08.261 I mean, you had to queue to get proper toilets to attend -- 00:09:08.292 --> 00:09:11.008 and that's what I call proper, 00:09:11.008 --> 00:09:14.417 when four of us are on a manhole. 00:09:14.417 --> 00:09:18.157 It is something that if you narrate it to somebody, 00:09:18.157 --> 00:09:19.991 the person wouldn't believe it. 00:09:19.991 --> 00:09:22.197 The only way that you can let the person believe 00:09:22.197 --> 00:09:24.309 is when you show hard core evidence. 00:09:24.309 --> 00:09:27.437 Of course, drugs were abundant. 00:09:27.437 --> 00:09:30.182 It was easier to get cannabis, heroin and cocaine, 00:09:30.182 --> 00:09:33.885 faster even, in the prison than outside the prison. NOTE Paragraph 00:09:33.885 --> 00:09:38.596 Evil in the society is an extreme disease. 00:09:38.596 --> 00:09:40.518 If you have extreme diseases, 00:09:40.518 --> 00:09:43.445 you need to get extreme remedies. 00:09:43.445 --> 00:09:46.179 My kind of journalism might not fit in other continents 00:09:46.179 --> 00:09:47.861 or other countries, 00:09:47.861 --> 00:09:51.309 but I can tell you, it works in my part of the continent 00:09:51.309 --> 00:09:53.517 of Africa, because usually, when people talk 00:09:53.517 --> 00:09:56.242 about corruption, they ask, "Where is the evidence? 00:09:56.242 --> 00:09:57.423 Show me the evidence." 00:09:57.423 --> 00:09:59.328 I say, "This is the evidence." 00:09:59.328 --> 00:10:04.209 And that has aided in me putting a lot of people behind bars. NOTE Paragraph 00:10:04.209 --> 00:10:07.729 You see, we on the continent are able 00:10:07.729 --> 00:10:10.313 to tell the story better because we face the conditions 00:10:10.313 --> 00:10:12.713 and we see the conditions. 00:10:12.713 --> 00:10:14.500 That is why I was particularly excited 00:10:14.500 --> 00:10:16.880 when we launched our "Africa Investigates" series 00:10:16.880 --> 00:10:20.081 where we investigated a lot of African countries. 00:10:20.081 --> 00:10:23.732 As a result of the success of the "Africa Investigates" series, 00:10:23.732 --> 00:10:26.270 we are moving on to World Investigates. 00:10:26.270 --> 00:10:28.913 By the end of it, a lot more bad guys 00:10:28.913 --> 00:10:32.543 on our continent will be put behind bars. NOTE Paragraph 00:10:32.543 --> 00:10:34.170 This will not stop. 00:10:34.170 --> 00:10:37.097 I'm going to carry on with this kind of journalism, 00:10:37.097 --> 00:10:40.525 because I know that when evil men destroy, 00:10:40.525 --> 00:10:42.513 good men must build and bind. NOTE Paragraph 00:10:42.513 --> 00:10:43.786 Thank you very much. NOTE Paragraph 00:10:43.786 --> 00:10:52.694 (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:10:53.323 --> 00:10:55.021 Chris Anderson: Thank you. Thank you. 00:10:55.021 --> 00:10:57.269 I have some questions for you. 00:10:57.269 --> 00:11:01.499 How did you end up in jail? This was just a few weeks ago, I believe, yeah? NOTE Paragraph 00:11:01.499 --> 00:11:03.714 AAA: Sure. You know, undercover is all about 00:11:03.714 --> 00:11:06.580 setting the priorities right, so we got people 00:11:06.580 --> 00:11:08.418 to take me to court. 00:11:08.418 --> 00:11:10.634 So I went through the very legal process, 00:11:10.634 --> 00:11:12.858 because at the end of the day, the prison authorities 00:11:12.858 --> 00:11:15.474 want to check whether indeed you have been there or not, 00:11:15.474 --> 00:11:17.488 and that's how I got in there. NOTE Paragraph 00:11:17.488 --> 00:11:19.266 CA: So someone sued you in court, 00:11:19.266 --> 00:11:22.073 and they took you there, and you were in remand custody 00:11:22.073 --> 00:11:24.514 for part of it, and you did that deliberately. NOTE Paragraph 00:11:24.514 --> 00:11:26.205 AAA: Yes, yes. NOTE Paragraph 00:11:26.205 --> 00:11:29.368 CA: Talk to me just about fear 00:11:29.368 --> 00:11:31.177 and how you manage that, 00:11:31.177 --> 00:11:33.810 because you're regularly putting your life at risk. 00:11:33.810 --> 00:11:35.373 How do you do that? NOTE Paragraph 00:11:35.373 --> 00:11:38.563 AAA: You see, undercover is always a last resort. 00:11:38.563 --> 00:11:40.777 Before we go undercover, we follow the rules. 00:11:40.777 --> 00:11:43.847 And I'm only comfortable and I'm purged of fear 00:11:43.847 --> 00:11:46.327 whenever I am sure that all the steps 00:11:46.327 --> 00:11:49.520 have been taken. I don't do it alone. I have a backup team 00:11:49.535 --> 00:11:52.900 who help ensure that the safety and all the systems 00:11:52.900 --> 00:11:54.845 are put in place, but you've got to take 00:11:54.845 --> 00:11:57.596 very intelligent decisions whenever they are happening. 00:11:57.596 --> 00:12:00.212 If you don't, you will end up losing your life. 00:12:00.212 --> 00:12:02.716 So yes, when the backup systems are put in place, 00:12:02.716 --> 00:12:04.804 I'm okay, I go in. Risky, yes, 00:12:04.804 --> 00:12:07.460 but it's a hazard of a profession. 00:12:07.460 --> 00:12:09.013 I mean, everybody has their hazard. 00:12:09.013 --> 00:12:10.946 And once you say that is yours, 00:12:10.946 --> 00:12:13.254 you've got to take it, as and when it comes. NOTE Paragraph 00:12:13.254 --> 00:12:15.945 CA: Well, you're an amazing human and you've done amazing work 00:12:15.945 --> 00:12:17.215 and you've taught us a story 00:12:17.215 --> 00:12:20.462 like no story I think any of us have heard before. 00:12:20.462 --> 00:12:24.306 And we're appreciative. We salute you. Thank you so much, Anas. NOTE Paragraph 00:12:24.306 --> 00:12:25.430 AAA: Thank you. NOTE Paragraph 00:12:25.430 --> 00:12:29.702 CA: Thank you. Stay safe. (Applause)