AG Charged GH500 For Failing To Start Woyome Case

The Commercial Court hearing the suit brought against Alfred Woyome, a businessman, on Monday awarded a cost of GHc500.00 against the Attorney General (AG) for failing to commence the case after filing its motion.

The court at its last sitting granted the AG’s request to proceed with its amended writ and directed the two parties in the suit to file their defence on the motion within a specified time for the actual case to begin.

Ms Grace Ewoo, a Senior State Attorney told the court that even though the AG had already filed its application to the writ, the defence (Woyome) was yet to file their responses to the matter.

She said the reasons why the AG could not move the motion to begin the matter were that the defence had still not filed its responses to the amended writ.

Mrs Justice Barbara Ackah-Ayensu, the trial judge who was not convinced by the explanation given by Ms Ewoo stated that the directive which the court gave to the AG was specific and within a certain time frame for them to file their defence and commence the case.

She said the AG should not worry over whether the lawyers of Mr Woyome would file their responses to the writ since that could only be determined by the court.

Mrs Ackah-Ayensu said once the lawyers of Mr Woyome had failed to act within the specified time frame then they had waived their right to file their defence to the amended writ.

“I hope this would be the last time that this incident would occur, if the matter is raised at the next sitting and nothing is done on it, the court would be forced to take its own decision on the matter” she added.

However, whiles Mrs Ackah-Ayensu was about to adjourn the case, Mr Issah Ahmed, one of the lawyers of Mr Woyome entered the court and pleaded with the judge to stand-down the case for fifteen minutes to allow for the lawyer of Mr Woyome who was in another court to come.

Later, when the case was called Mr Ahmed prayed the court to give a short adjournment to enable his client to file other applications to challenge the AG’s writ.

The court subsequently obliged and adjourned the matter to April 3, 2012.

On January 16, 2012 the former Attorney General, Mr Martin A.,B.K. Amidu, filed an affidavit to amend an earlier writ praying the court to set aside a consent judgment awarded to Mr Woyome, which the AG alleged was procured through fraud.

Mr Amidu said the new information that had come to the AG's attention, required an amendment to the writ of summons and statement of claim filed on August 18, 2010.

Mr Amidu in his amended writ said it had come to the AG's attention that Mr Woyome lacked the legal capacity to maintain his claim against the AG because there was no contract between Mr Woyome and the Government of Ghana upon which Mr Woyome could have maintained any cause of action in the suit.