Martin Amidu withdraws case against Woyome

The Supreme Court has struck out an application filed by former Attorney General Martin Amidu to cross-examine businessman Alfred Agbesi Woyome in connection with the GHS51million judgement saga.

Mr Amidu, who filed the case ahead of the 2016 general elections, told the court on Wednesday, 8 February that since there has been a change in government, he would leave the matter to new Attorney General and Minister of Justice Gloria Akuffo to retrieve the money, Accra100.5FM’s Court Correspondent Ama Brako Ampofo reported.

Mr Amidu filed the application in November last year. He said in a statement at the time that: “…I have this morning 4th November, 2016 filed an application at the Supreme Court for leave to examine the judgment debtor as the citizen public interest plaintiff in favour of whom the case was decided for the Republic of Ghana.”

Mr Amidu’s action followed a move by then Attorney General Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong to discontinue oral examination of Mr Woyome in connection with the judgment debt.

The then-AG had said in a notice that: “Please take notice that the 1st Defendant Judgment Creditor [Attorney General] herein has this day [26th day of October 2016] discontinued the present application to orally examine the 3rd defendant Judgment Debtor [Alfred Agesi Woyome] with liberty to reapply.”

Before filing his application in November, Mr Amidu said: “I have examined the circumstances surrounding the government’s reluctance to enforce the judgment and orders of the court with the seriousness which the matter deserves. I share the view expressed by objective and reasonable members of the public that because the government was the 1st defendant/respondent against whom the Supreme Court made declarations of unconstitutional conduct in paying the judgment debt to Alfred Agbesi Woyome, the government has been pretending for purely political reasons at each turn to take steps to enforce the judgment and orders of the court only to deliberately abort them.

“I agree that the government’s objective has always been to create the appearance and impression in the minds of the unsuspecting public that it is complying with the enforcement orders. The Attorney General’s latest application to discontinue the government’s application to examine its financier, Alfred Agbesi Woyome, is one more such trick to deceive the public and obstruct the course of justice.”

Mr Woyome was paid the money by the Mills administration following the cancellation by the Kufuor administration of a contract he allegedly had with the state. The Supreme Court later ruled, following an application by Mr Amidu that Mr Woyome got the money fraudulently and unconstitutionally. He was directed to refund the money to the state. So far, Mr Agbesi has refunded only GHS4million.