Ace Investigative Journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, on Monday won yet another award after he picked the maiden International Sports Press  Association Media Awards for Investigative Reporting in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The undercover journalist who picked one of the two special awards for his two-year investigations into corruption in football dubbed 'Betraying the Game,'  immediately dedicated the award to the slain member of his Tiger Eye PI team, Ahmed Divela  Hussein-Suale.

 

The over 200 journalists drawn from 100 countries in attendance at Monday night's event, including IOC President, Thomas Bach and other representatives of the world sport also observed a minute silence in remembrance of the late Ahmed Divela who was killed last week by two unknown assailants at Madina, Accra.

His picture was also displayed on the large screen as the auditorium went dead silent ahead of a short speech by Anas Aremeyaw Anas who was led to the podium by Master of Ceremony of the night.

" I receive this award in honour of my colleague Ahmed Divela Hussein-Suale and I know that he would have been with me here to receive this award. 

"But for the unfortunate incident, Ahmed, as you all know, was shot a few days ago; two in his heart and one on his neck. And if there is any message that Ahmed would have loved me to give to all of you it would've been this simple: journalism is not a crime," says Anas Aremeyaw Anas in his 31-seconds speech.

Ahmed Divela was one of the key investigators that worked on the 'Betraying the Game'  documentary which saw the work of over 70 match officials and football administrators across Africa come under scrutiny. 

He was also instrumental in  Ghana's version of the project dubbed 'Number 12'.

His murder on last Wednesday night shook the foundations of the nation respected for press freedom, attracting wild condemnation from the international community.

Police have since interrogated some key people including the Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, former President of the Ghana Football Association, Kwesi Nyantakyi, among others in connection with the murder.

A statement signed by Director-General of Public Affairs Unit of the Ghana Police Service urged the general public to volunteer information on the murder to police.

The first AIPS Media awards also coincided with the  95-years founding of the peak international body on January 21, 2019, in Lausanne, Switzerland was to reward most deserving sports media to recognise them for their work across eight journalistic categories.

The awards  also included two special awards for A Life in Sport and Investigative Reporting

"I think it is important that the future generation of journalists understand how vital it is for our profession to continue to monitor for the world of sport and to fight for transparency and promote work against every aspect of corruption," AIPS President, Giani Merlo said.