The corruption woes of former President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) Kwesi Nyantakyi has deepened as he is named as a beneficiary of a pilgrimage trip to Mecca, sponsored by banned CAF president, Ahmad Ahmad.
On Monday, 23rd November 2020, CAF president Ahmad Ahmad was handed a five-year ban by World Football governing body over corruption breaching 4 articles of the FIFA Code of Ethics.
According to Accra-Based CITI News, among the beneficiaries of Ahmad’s loot is Kwasi Nyantakyi who has been banned by FIFA for life for his own accusations of corruption and match-fixing.
Nyantakyi was also caught in an undercover investigation by Ghanaian investigative journalists, Anas Aremeyaw Anas and the late Ahmed Hussein-Suale, where he was setting up a plan to bribe President Akufo Addo, Vice President Muhamadu Bawumia and other appointees to the tune of US$ 5 million in return for juicy government contracts.
Consequently, one of the investigative journalists was assassinated for the damning expose, after a bounty had been placed on his head by the governing party’s Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong.
FIFA in a statement said Ahmad was found guilty of using CAF money to finance an Umrah pilgrimage to Mecca for 11 other African FA presidents including Nyantakyi, at a total cost of US$ 42,000.
Nyantakyi reportedly jumped on Ahmad’s largesse and caught a flight to Mecca from 17th May 2018 to 25th May 2018.
The Umrah, unlike the bigger pilgrimage Hajj, is an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca that can be undertaken at any time of the year.
Some of the beneficiaries of Ahmad’s loot include FA Presidents from Uganda, Ethiopia, Gambia, Mauritania, Egypt, Mauritius, etc.
Ahmad had been under investigation by FIFA’s Ethics Committee for the period between 2017 and 2019, over irregularities concerning CAF-related governance issues.