Woyome’s application ‘rubbished’ by Supreme Court

An application filed by businessman Alfred Agbesi Woyome to halt his oral examination by the Attorney General has been rejected by the Supreme Court.

Mr. Woyome who was seeking to halt a request by the Attorney-General’s department to question him regarding how he intends paying off the GHC 51.2 million judgement debt awarded him, filed an application to that effect.

According to him, Article 134 (b) of the 1992 Constitution provides him the right to apply for a stay of the decision of a single Justice of the Supreme Court and to ask for a panel of three Justices of the Supreme Court to vary, discharge and or reverse the order of the single Justice of the Supreme Court.

Presiding Judge on the case, A.A Benin, ruled that the stay of the executive was baseless and had no grounds and hence dismissed the application.

Woyome was initially scheduled to be examined on Thursday, July 29 2017 but the process was put on hold after he submitted an application for a stay of proceedings.

Counsel for Alfred Woyome, Ken Anku appealed to the court to have mercy on his already overburdened client.

According to him even though Woyome believes he rightly deserved the money given to him, the court’s earlier ruling compels him to pay back.

He also disclosed that the application was filed in the interest of the rule of law. He pleaded with the court that admitting the GHC20,000 sanction will prevent others from testing the laws of the country.

Deputy Attorney General subsequently dropped his request for a GHC20,000 cost to the applicants.

Case adjourned to 24th July

The Court has set 24th July, 2017 as day for oral examination of businessman Alfred Woyome.

The new date was arrived at after Counsel for the embattled businessman presented a medical certificate from the 37 Military Hospital to the effect that his client, Woyome, is unwell.

According to him, the doctors advised that Woyome takes two weeks rest from work. He explained that that is why his client wasn’t present in court.

The presiding Judge therefore set Monday, July 24 as the day for the oral examination of the embattled businessman.

Background

Mr. Amidu in 2016, filed an application at the Supreme Court seeking to examine Alfred Woyome, on how he was going to pay back the money, after the Attorney General’s office under the Mahama Administration, led by the former Minister for Justice, Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong, discontinued a similar application.

In February 2017 however, Mr. Amdu withdrew his suit seeking an oral examination, explaining that the change of government and the assurance by the new Attorney General to retrieve all judgement debts wrongfully paid to individuals, had given him renewed confidence in the system.