Haruna Mohammed - Saint or Fallen One?

Jess O'Keeffe first visited Ghana in 2001 at the age of 19 and struck up a fiery friendship with the protagonist of this film, who lived in the area of Accra she was staying in. He was a journalist at the time- although he already held political ambitions- and they would debate politics, pop and all else in between into the night.

When Jess returned a few years later she found the ambitious young

journalist had turned into a budding "typical corrupt African politician". He was competing in the local elections and bribing people left, right and centre- to persuade them to vote for him. He talked openly about his desires for fast cars, big mansions and a multitude of women. Defending his actions, he would say it was "just the way African politics worked".

Jess decided to revisit Accra in 2005- this time to make a film- exploring the changes she had witnessed in her friend and the implications this had on the future of African politics. The result, Saint or Fallen One? hopes to also pose the question; are such corrupt and ego-centric traits particular to African politicians, or can they been seen in politicians the world over?

This was made as the final project of an MA in Visual Anthropology in Manchester. Jess O'Keeffe now works for BULB Magazine; a global issues magazine for young people, and makes films in her spare time.