The Human Rights Court in Accra presided over by Justice Nicholas Abodakpi has dismissed Ibrahim Saanie Daara’s privacy case against investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas.
Sannie Daara brought an application before the court after he was captured in the #Number12 documentary by Anas and his Tiger Eye crew allegedly taking a bribe to influence the selection of a player to the senior football team, the Black Stars.
Mr. Daara, who until the #Number12 documentary, was the deputy General Secretary and Director of Communications of the Ghana Football Association asked the court to declare the secret recording of his conduct as a violation of his right to privacy under Article 18 (2) of the Constitution.
He also prayed the court to order Anas and Tiger Eye PI to cease forthwith the broadcast and publicity of the #Number12 documentary and cause all copies to be removed from all electronic platforms.
He also sought a perpetual injunction restraining Anas and Tiger Eye from any future secret recording of his conduct.
But lawyers for Anas argued that the secret recording and publication were justified in the public interest.
They argued that, by not rejecting the cash offered and further directing the Tiger Eye crew to hand over the money to the intermediary, Sannie Daara assumed ownership of the bribe money and thereby facilitated the alleged corrupt scheme.
The judge upheld the arguments made by lawyers for Anas and Tiger Eye PI.
In dismissing Saanie’s suit, Justice Abodakpi said the meeting between Sannie and Tiger Eye PI in which he was recorded was not a private communication.
He further said Sannie Daara breached his own organization’s code of ethics and that of FIFA by putting himself in a compromising situation.
The judge said, in coming to that conclusion, he did a balancing act between Sannie Daara’s right to privacy as enshrined in article 18 (2) and the right of the public to know.
He also noted that although GFA was a private organization per its incorporation, it performs public functions, thus the public has a strong interest in what GFA does.
The court awarded costs of Ten Thousand cedis (GH¢ 10,000.00) in favour of Anas and Tiger Eye PI.
