Court issues arrest warrant for Ken Agyapong

An Accra High Court, on Friday issued a bench warrant for the arrest of New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Assin North, Hon Kennedy Agyapong, for failing to appear before it to answer charges of contempt filed against him and four (4) others.

The contempt suit was filed on June 26th, by Lawyer David Annan, one of the counsel for embattled businessman, financial engineer and a former Deputy Consul of Austria, Alfred Agbesi Woyome, in the infamous GH¢51.2million judgment debt payout.

The other respondents are the Minority Leader, Hon Osei Kyei Mensah; Despite Company Ltd., Osei Kwame, Chief Executive Officer of PeaceFM and Nana Kwadwo Asante, Editor of Peacefmonline.com

He is seeking an order of perpetual injunction restraining Ken Agyapong, also a businessman, from further making any remarks on the case.

The outspoken Assin North MP, clearly sickened by the doling out of such a huge amount of state money to Mr Woyome, told Net2 Television in an interview last year that even if Alfred Woyome dies, he (Agyapong) will ensure that his (Woyome’s) corpse is exhumed and tried in court.

"I have already told you that Woyome would go to jail. No matter the outcome, if it even takes hundred years, he will still go to jail. Even if it happens that he is found dead, we will unearth his remains, bring out his bones...take it court, prosecute it and jail his bones. He has defrauded the nation and so splashes the monies affluently claiming that he is a bank roller,” the NPP MP reportedly said.

Lawyer David Annan claims the comments and pronouncements Ken Agyapong made on the case, and which were later published on peacefmonline and captioned “You’ll Vomit The Monies And If You Happen To Die We’ll Exhume Your Body…And Jail Your Dead Bones – Ken Tells Woyome”, could have an impact on the final determination of a suit filed by another member of Alfred Woyome’s legal team, Chris Ackumey.

Among other reliefs, he also avers that the comments also tend to bring the administration of justice into disrepute, and therefore filed the contempt suit against the Assin North MP and the four others who in various ways, helped in the dissemination of that contemptuous statement.

The case was originally scheduled to be heard on July 5th but was adjourned to today, October 19th, since the trial judge was said to be indisposed and also because of the judicial break.

When the case was called today, Lawyer Annan told the court that he has filed a writ of discontinuance against the Minority Leader because it has been difficult serving him.

He, however, told the court that the NPP MP has a penchant for disregarding suits filed against him and making appearance in court, even when he has been served, and therefore prayed the court to issue a bench warrant for his arrest to serve as a deterrent since the case is of “quasi-criminal” nature.

The court, presided over by His Lordship, Justice Godwin Gabor, upon careful consideration agreed to the plaintiff’s request and asked that a bench warrant be issued for the NPP MPs arrest and he (Ken) be committed to a GHC 20,000 bail bond.

The case has been adjourned to November 7th.

Meanwhile, peacefmonline.com understands that Assin North MP is on way to Accra from his constituency to ascertain the veracity of the report, whiles his Lawyers are bracing themselves up for any eventuality.