Day 28: Why Nyantakyi swore with the Qur’an, and did he lie?

“Fired up” and “ready to fight” best describe Kwesi Nyantakyi on Tuesday when he appeared at the Presidential Commission of Inquiry.

Before 10am one would have thought the entire day was to be dedicated to him. The FA boss came with an entourage.

Fans. Well wishers. Serial callers. And his fellow FA members. They sang. They danced. And they besieged the Media Center of the Accra Sports Stadium.

He did not disappoint on day 28, although the weightier matters were shifted until the following day.

Kwesi Nyantakyi the Muslim
The GFA president’s appearance was always going to have subplots and it began right from the beginning.

Justice Dzamefe: “What book would you want to swear by?”

Nyantakyi: “The Qu’ran.”

This completely took the gallery off guard, and it showed in the inflected tone of Moses Foh-Amoaning.
“Are you a muslim?”

Nyantakyi: “Yes.”

With an absence of a muslim name and a religious life out of public view, Nyantakyi’s decision to swear by the Islamic holy book raised a few eyebrows, especially as he is known to frequent the Trinity Baptist Church at East Legon, where his wife also worships.

FA sources close to the GFA boss told Citi Sports a bit more.

“Nyantakyi’s mother is muslim and that’s where his Northern accent comes from. He was raised a muslim and was actually incredibly active as a member of the National Muslim Students Union in his tertiary days.”

In fact, to be sure that Nyantakyi is really a muslim (as there is still some doubt), our sources say he may be asked to swear again on Wednesday.

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By: Godwin Allotey Akweiteh and Gary Al-Smith/Citifmonline.com/Ghana