Ghanaian investigative journalist who uncovered corruption in football shot dead

Ahmed Husein helped probe which led to downfall of 'second most powerful man in African football'

Anas Aremeyaw Anas, whose undercover team Ahmed Husein worked for (REUTERS)

An investigative journalist who helped expose corruption in the highest echelons of African football has been shot dead in Ghana, police have confirmed.

Ahmed Husein was part of a team whose undercover probe led to the dramatic downfall of Kwesi Nyantakyi, the head of the country’s football association and a Fifa council member.

Dozens of officials and referees were also banned following last year’s investigation which led to Mr Nyantakyi being barred from the sport for life for bribery.

Mr Husein, 34, was shot twice in the chest and once in the neck as he walked home in Ghana’s capital Accra on Wednesday, police said.

Anas Aremeyaw Anas, the renounced reporter who led the team Mr Husein worked for, said it was “sad news”.

“We shall not be silenced. Rest in peace,” he wrote on Facebook.

The murder followed shortly after Ghanaian politician Kennedy Agyapong – who was implicated in the football corruption files – showed Mr Husein’s photo on a private TV channel and promised payment for supporters who took retribution against him.

He said: “That boy that’s very dangerous. He lives here in Madina. If he comes here, beat him.”

Speaking on Thursday, Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Dankwa, director of criminal investigations, said: “Our men are on the ground currently gathering information. Everyone connected to this murder will be invited for questioning,”

The Committee for the Protection of Journalists called on Ghanaian authorities to “ensure that threats against the press are taken seriously”.

Husein’s work led to Mr Nyantakyi – once dubbed the second most powerful man in African football – being banned from the sport for life in October.

Fifa also fined him nearly $500,000 (£387,000) after he was seen on camera accepting bribes. He was accused of requesting $11m (£8.5m) to secure government contracts.

Eight referees and assistant referees were also banned for life while 53 officials were subject to 10-year bans.

The revelations shocked Ghana, where football is the national sport and which prides itself as being a beacon of democracy in an oft turbulent region.