0:00:01.122,0:00:05.119
I am sorry I cannot show you my face,

0:00:05.119,0:00:10.205
because if I do, the bad guys will come for me.

0:00:10.205,0:00:14.293
My journey started 14 years ago.

0:00:14.293,0:00:18.705
I was a young reporter. I had just come out of college.

0:00:18.705,0:00:21.407
Then I got a scoop.

0:00:21.407,0:00:24.826
The scoop was quite a very simple story.

0:00:24.826,0:00:27.430
Police officers were taking bribes

0:00:27.430,0:00:30.966
from hawkers who were hawking on the streets.

0:00:30.966,0:00:33.768
As a young reporter, I thought that I should do it

0:00:33.768,0:00:37.937
in a different way, so that it has a maximum impact,

0:00:37.937,0:00:39.825
since everybody knew that it was happening,

0:00:39.825,0:00:43.394
and yet there was nothing that was keeping it out of the system.

0:00:43.394,0:00:45.629
So I decided to go there

0:00:45.629,0:00:49.594
and act as a seller.

0:00:49.594,0:00:52.847
As part of selling, I was able to document

0:00:52.847,0:00:55.639
the hard core evidence.

0:00:55.639,0:00:58.161
The impact was great.

0:00:58.161,0:01:00.722
It was fantastic.

0:01:00.722,0:01:04.452
This was what many call immersion journalism,

0:01:04.452,0:01:07.021
or undercover journalism.

0:01:07.021,0:01:11.269
I am an undercover journalist.

0:01:11.269,0:01:15.990
My journalism is hinged on three basic principles:

0:01:15.990,0:01:20.790
naming, shaming and jailing.

0:01:20.790,0:01:22.660
Journalism is about results.

0:01:22.660,0:01:26.399
It's about affecting your community or your society

0:01:26.399,0:01:29.036
in the most progressive way.

0:01:29.036,0:01:33.594
I have worked on this for over 14 years,

0:01:33.594,0:01:36.826
and I can tell you, the results are very good.

0:01:36.826,0:01:39.057
One story that comes to mind

0:01:39.057,0:01:41.201
in my undercover pieces

0:01:41.201,0:01:43.412
is "Spirit Child."

0:01:43.412,0:01:47.488
It was about children who were born with deformities,

0:01:47.488,0:01:50.233
and their parents felt that once they were born

0:01:50.233,0:01:51.922
with those deformities,

0:01:51.922,0:01:54.045
they were not good enough to live in the society,

0:01:54.045,0:01:57.153
so they were given some concoction to take

0:01:57.153,0:01:59.730
and as a result they died.

0:01:59.730,0:02:02.547
So I built a prosthetic baby,

0:02:02.547,0:02:04.697
and I went into the village,

0:02:04.697,0:02:08.845
pretended as though this baby had been born

0:02:08.845,0:02:12.932
with a deformity, and here was the guys who do the killing.

0:02:12.932,0:02:15.507
They got themselves ready.

0:02:15.507,0:02:19.093
In their bids to kill, I got the police on standby,

0:02:19.093,0:02:21.633
and they came that fateful morning

0:02:21.633,0:02:24.469
to come and kill the child.

0:02:24.469,0:02:28.488
I recall how they were seriously boiling the concoction.

0:02:28.488,0:02:31.408
They put it on fire. It was boiling hot,

0:02:31.408,0:02:33.880
getting ready to give to the kids.

0:02:33.880,0:02:35.855
Whilst this was going on, the police I had alerted,

0:02:35.855,0:02:38.528
they were on standby,

0:02:38.528,0:02:41.764
and just as the concoction was ready,

0:02:41.764,0:02:44.864
and they were about to give it to the kids,

0:02:44.864,0:02:46.813
I phoned the police,

0:02:46.813,0:02:50.982
and fortunately they came and busted them.

0:02:50.982,0:02:53.934
As I speak now, they are before the courts.

0:02:53.934,0:02:55.748
Don't forget the key principles:

0:02:55.748,0:02:58.574
naming, shaming and jailing.

0:02:58.574,0:03:00.587
The court process is taking place,

0:03:00.587,0:03:02.670
and I'm very sure at the end of the day

0:03:02.670,0:03:05.119
we will find them, and we will put them

0:03:05.119,0:03:07.862
where they belong too.

0:03:07.862,0:03:10.550
Another key story that comes to mind,

0:03:10.550,0:03:14.897
which relates to this spirit child phenomenon,

0:03:14.897,0:03:20.373
is "The Spell of the Albinos."

0:03:20.373,0:03:23.864
I'm sure most of you may have heard, in Tanzania,

0:03:23.864,0:03:26.240
children who are born with albinism

0:03:26.240,0:03:30.293
are sometimes considered as being unfit

0:03:30.293,0:03:32.992
to live in society.

0:03:32.992,0:03:36.880
Their bodies are chopped up with machetes

0:03:36.880,0:03:40.208
and are supposed to be used for some concoctions

0:03:40.208,0:03:43.090
or some potions for people to get money --

0:03:43.090,0:03:46.885
or so many, many stories people would tell about it.

0:03:46.885,0:03:49.441
It was time to go undercover again.

0:03:49.441,0:03:52.890
So I went undercover as a man who was interested

0:03:52.890,0:03:55.023
in this particular business, of course.

0:03:55.023,0:03:57.593
Again, a prosthetic arm was built.

0:03:57.593,0:04:01.172
For the first time, I filmed on hidden camera

0:04:01.172,0:04:05.916
the guys who do this, and they were ready to buy the arm

0:04:05.916,0:04:08.066
and they were ready to use it to prepare

0:04:08.066,0:04:11.730
those potions for people.

0:04:11.730,0:04:15.306
I am glad today the Tanzanian government has taken action,

0:04:15.306,0:04:18.448
but the key issue is that the Tanzanian government

0:04:18.448,0:04:22.637
could only take action because the evidence was available.

0:04:22.637,0:04:26.532
My journalism is about hard core evidence.

0:04:26.532,0:04:28.931
If I say you have stolen, I show you the evidence

0:04:28.931,0:04:30.434
that you have stolen.

0:04:30.434,0:04:32.751
I show you how you stole it

0:04:32.751,0:04:34.471
and when, or what you used

0:04:34.471,0:04:36.739
what you had stolen to do.

0:04:36.739,0:04:41.309
What is the essence of journalism if it doesn't benefit society?

0:04:41.309,0:04:43.753
My kind of journalism is a product

0:04:43.753,0:04:47.170
of my society.

0:04:47.170,0:04:50.348
I know that sometimes

0:04:50.348,0:04:54.020
people have their own criticisms

0:04:54.020,0:04:57.508
about undercover journalism.

0:04:57.508,0:05:01.686
(Video) Official: He brought out some money from his pockets

0:05:01.686,0:05:04.640
and put it on the table,

0:05:04.640,0:05:07.955
so that we should not be afraid.

0:05:07.955,0:05:13.738
He wants to bring the cocoa and send it to Cote d'Ivoire.

0:05:13.738,0:05:17.426
So with my hidden intention, I kept quiet.

0:05:17.426,0:05:19.816
I didn't utter a word.

0:05:19.816,0:05:21.674
But my colleagues didn't know.

0:05:21.674,0:05:24.895
So after collecting the money,

0:05:24.895,0:05:28.023
when he left, we were waiting for him to bring the goods.

0:05:28.023,0:05:31.458
Immediately after he left, I told my colleagues that

0:05:31.458,0:05:32.975
since I was the leader of the group,

0:05:32.975,0:05:35.972
I told my colleagues that if they come,

0:05:35.972,0:05:37.273
we will arrest them.

0:05:37.273,0:05:41.500
Second official: I don't even know the place called [unclear].

0:05:41.500,0:05:43.084
I've never stepped there before.

0:05:43.084,0:05:44.051
So I'm surprised.

0:05:44.051,0:05:49.865
You see a hand counting money just in front of me.

0:05:49.865,0:05:53.209
The next moment, you see the money in my hands,

0:05:53.209,0:05:56.530
counting, whereas I have not come into contact with anybody.

0:05:56.530,0:05:59.095
I have not done any business with anybody.

0:05:59.095,0:06:01.435
Reporter: When Metro News contacted investigative reporter

0:06:01.435,0:06:03.616
Anas Aremeyaw Anas for his reaction,

0:06:03.616,0:06:06.490
he just smiled and gave this video extract

0:06:06.490,0:06:11.245
he did not use in the documentary recently shown onscreen.

0:06:11.245,0:06:13.594
The officer who earlier denied involvement

0:06:13.594,0:06:16.656
pecks a calculator to compute the amount of money

0:06:16.656,0:06:21.248
they will charge on the cocoa to be smuggled.

0:06:21.248,0:06:23.858
Anas Aremeyaw Anas: This was another story on anticorruption.

0:06:23.858,0:06:25.750
And here was him, denying.

0:06:25.750,0:06:27.711
But you see, when you have the hard core evidence,

0:06:27.711,0:06:31.071
you are able to affect society.

0:06:31.071,0:06:33.378
Sometimes these are some of the headlines that come. (Music)

0:06:33.378,0:06:35.144
[I will curse Anas to death]

0:06:35.144,0:06:37.508
[Anas Lies]

0:06:37.508,0:06:40.865
[Alarm Blows Over Anas' News for Cash Video]

0:06:40.865,0:06:43.718
[Agenda Against Top CEPS Officials Exposed]

0:06:43.718,0:06:46.920
[Anas Operates with Invisible Powers?]

0:06:46.920,0:06:49.498
[Gov't Wobbles Over Anas Video]

0:06:49.498,0:06:52.306
[Hunting the Hunter]

0:06:52.306,0:06:55.041
[Anas 'Bribe' Men in Court]

0:06:55.041,0:06:59.165
[15 Heads Roll Over Anas Tape]

0:06:59.165,0:07:03.126
[Finance Minister Backs Anas]

0:07:03.126,0:07:06.254
[11 Given Queries Over Anas' Story]

0:07:06.254,0:07:09.641
[GJA Stands By Anas]

0:07:09.641,0:07:13.406
[Prez. Mills Storms Tema Harbour Over Anas Video]

0:07:13.406,0:07:17.121
["Late Prof. John Evans Atta Mills: Former president of Ghana"]

0:07:17.121,0:07:19.298
John Evans Atta Mills: What Anas says

0:07:19.298,0:07:23.204
is not something which is unknown to many of us,

0:07:23.204,0:07:27.308
but please, those of you who are agents,

0:07:27.308,0:07:31.891
and who are leading the customs officers into temptation,

0:07:31.891,0:07:36.244
I'm telling you, Ghana is not going to say

0:07:36.244,0:07:38.843
any good things to you about this.

0:07:38.843,0:07:41.186
AAA: That was my president.

0:07:41.186,0:07:43.546
I thought that I couldn't come here

0:07:43.546,0:07:46.026
without giving you something special.

0:07:46.026,0:07:49.517
I have a piece, and I'm excited that

0:07:49.517,0:07:53.599
I'm sharing it for the first time with you here.

0:07:53.599,0:07:57.705
I have been undercover in the prisons.

0:07:57.705,0:08:01.891
I have been there for a long time.

0:08:01.891,0:08:06.920
And I can tell you, what I saw is not nice.

0:08:06.920,0:08:09.821
But again, I can only affect society

0:08:09.821,0:08:13.397
and affect government if I bring out the hard core evidence.

0:08:13.397,0:08:16.769
Many times, the prison authorities have denied

0:08:16.769,0:08:19.317
ever having issues of drug abuse,

0:08:19.317,0:08:23.297
issues of sodomy, so many issues they would deny

0:08:23.297,0:08:24.747
that it ever happens.

0:08:24.747,0:08:28.111
How can you obtain the hard core evidence?

0:08:28.111,0:08:32.011
So I was in the prison. ["Nsawan Prison"]

0:08:32.011,0:08:36.197
Now, what you are seeing is a pile of dead bodies.

0:08:36.197,0:08:39.267
Now, I happen to have followed one of my inmates,

0:08:39.267,0:08:43.823
one of my friends, from his sick bed till death,

0:08:43.823,0:08:47.464
and I can tell you it was not a nice thing at all.

0:08:47.464,0:08:50.546
There were issues of bad food being served

0:08:50.546,0:08:55.456
as I recall that some of the food I ate

0:08:55.456,0:08:59.717
is just not good for a human being.

0:08:59.717,0:09:03.868
Toilet facilities: very bad.

0:09:03.868,0:09:08.261
I mean, you had to queue to get proper toilets to attend --

0:09:08.292,0:09:11.008
and that's what I call proper,

0:09:11.008,0:09:14.417
when four of us are on a manhole.

0:09:14.417,0:09:18.157
It is something that if you narrate it to somebody,

0:09:18.157,0:09:19.991
the person wouldn't believe it.

0:09:19.991,0:09:22.197
The only way that you can let the person believe

0:09:22.197,0:09:24.309
is when you show hard core evidence.

0:09:24.309,0:09:27.437
Of course, drugs were abundant.

0:09:27.437,0:09:30.182
It was easier to get cannabis, heroin and cocaine,

0:09:30.182,0:09:33.885
faster even, in the prison than outside the prison.

0:09:33.885,0:09:38.596
Evil in the society is an extreme disease.

0:09:38.596,0:09:40.518
If you have extreme diseases,

0:09:40.518,0:09:43.445
you need to get extreme remedies.

0:09:43.445,0:09:46.179
My kind of journalism might not fit in other continents

0:09:46.179,0:09:47.861
or other countries,

0:09:47.861,0:09:51.309
but I can tell you, it works in my part of the continent

0:09:51.309,0:09:53.517
of Africa, because usually, when people talk

0:09:53.517,0:09:56.242
about corruption, they ask, "Where is the evidence?

0:09:56.242,0:09:57.423
Show me the evidence."

0:09:57.423,0:09:59.328
I say, "This is the evidence."

0:09:59.328,0:10:04.209
And that has aided in me putting a lot of people behind bars.

0:10:04.209,0:10:07.729
You see, we on the continent are able

0:10:07.729,0:10:10.313
to tell the story better because we face the conditions

0:10:10.313,0:10:12.713
and we see the conditions.

0:10:12.713,0:10:14.500
That is why I was particularly excited

0:10:14.500,0:10:16.880
when we launched our "Africa Investigates" series

0:10:16.880,0:10:20.081
where we investigated a lot of African countries.

0:10:20.081,0:10:23.732
As a result of the success of the "Africa Investigates" series,

0:10:23.732,0:10:26.270
we are moving on to World Investigates.

0:10:26.270,0:10:28.913
By the end of it, a lot more bad guys

0:10:28.913,0:10:32.543
on our continent will be put behind bars.

0:10:32.543,0:10:34.170
This will not stop.

0:10:34.170,0:10:37.097
I'm going to carry on with this kind of journalism,

0:10:37.097,0:10:40.525
because I know that when evil men destroy,

0:10:40.525,0:10:42.513
good men must build and bind.

0:10:42.513,0:10:43.786
Thank you very much.

0:10:43.786,0:10:52.694
(Applause)

0:10:53.323,0:10:55.021
Chris Anderson: Thank you. Thank you.

0:10:55.021,0:10:57.269
I have some questions for you.

0:10:57.269,0:11:01.499
How did you end up in jail? This was just a few weeks ago, I believe, yeah?

0:11:01.499,0:11:03.714
AAA: Sure. You know, undercover is all about

0:11:03.714,0:11:06.580
setting the priorities right, so we got people

0:11:06.580,0:11:08.418
to take me to court.

0:11:08.418,0:11:10.634
So I went through the very legal process,

0:11:10.634,0:11:12.858
because at the end of the day, the prison authorities

0:11:12.858,0:11:15.474
want to check whether indeed you have been there or not,

0:11:15.474,0:11:17.488
and that's how I got in there.

0:11:17.488,0:11:19.266
CA: So someone sued you in court,

0:11:19.266,0:11:22.073
and they took you there, and you were in remand custody

0:11:22.073,0:11:24.514
for part of it, and you did that deliberately.

0:11:24.514,0:11:26.205
AAA: Yes, yes.

0:11:26.205,0:11:29.368
CA: Talk to me just about fear

0:11:29.368,0:11:31.177
and how you manage that,

0:11:31.177,0:11:33.810
because you're regularly putting your life at risk.

0:11:33.810,0:11:35.373
How do you do that?

0:11:35.373,0:11:38.563
AAA: You see, undercover is always a last resort.

0:11:38.563,0:11:40.777
Before we go undercover, we follow the rules.

0:11:40.777,0:11:43.847
And I'm only comfortable and I'm purged of fear

0:11:43.847,0:11:46.327
whenever I am sure that all the steps

0:11:46.327,0:11:49.520
have been taken. I don't do it alone. I have a backup team

0:11:49.535,0:11:52.900
who help ensure that the safety and all the systems

0:11:52.900,0:11:54.845
are put in place, but you've got to take

0:11:54.845,0:11:57.596
very intelligent decisions whenever they are happening.

0:11:57.596,0:12:00.212
If you don't, you will end up losing your life.

0:12:00.212,0:12:02.716
So yes, when the backup systems are put in place,

0:12:02.716,0:12:04.804
I'm okay, I go in. Risky, yes,

0:12:04.804,0:12:07.460
but it's a hazard of a profession.

0:12:07.460,0:12:09.013
I mean, everybody has their hazard.

0:12:09.013,0:12:10.946
And once you say that is yours,

0:12:10.946,0:12:13.254
you've got to take it, as and when it comes.

0:12:13.254,0:12:15.945
CA: Well, you're an amazing human and you've done amazing work

0:12:15.945,0:12:17.215
and you've taught us a story

0:12:17.215,0:12:20.462
like no story I think any of us have heard before.

0:12:20.462,0:12:24.306
And we're appreciative. We salute you. Thank you so much, Anas.

0:12:24.306,0:12:25.430
AAA: Thank you.

0:12:25.430,0:12:29.702
CA: Thank you. Stay safe. (Applause)