Woyome, Others Charged
Alfred Agbesi Woyome and three others who are standing trial for their role in the payment of the GH¢51.2 million judgement debt to Woyome have not been charged yet.
A Chief State Attorney, Ms Cynthia Lamptey, Monday told the Financial Division of the Accra Fast Track High Court that the accused persons had not been charged because the prosecution needed some more time to conclude investigations into the matter.
“We do not even have a docket to prosecute because investigations are still ongoing and under the circumstances we pray for more time for the police to complete their investigations,” she told the court.
She said if the prosecution did not get a docket on the matter, prosecuting would not start and that the first time that the suspects were arraigned, they were sent to court for remand purposes in order to beat the 48-hour rule.
The team of defence lawyers said under normal circumstances, they would have applied to the court to discharge the suspects because investigations had to be concluded before they were charged.
Consequently, the court adjourned the matter to March 26, 2012, with a word of caution to the parties in the matter not to try their case in the media, since that would not influence or affect the decision of the court.
According to Justice John Ajet-Nasam, it was not good for anybody to do his or her case on the airwaves, saying one should rather use the court and assist it with whatever documents one had for the benefit of the court.
Woyome is standing trial alongside Samuel Nerquaye-Tetteh, a Chief State Attorney; Paul Asimenu, the Director of Legal Services at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, and Mrs Gifty Nerquaye-Tetteh, Nerquaye-Tetteh’s wife.
Mrs Nerquaye-Tetteh has been granted bail in the sum of GH¢500,000 with two sureties.
Woyome has pleaded not guilty to three counts of conspiracy, defrauding by false pretence and corrupting a public officer and has been granted bail in the sum of GH¢20 million with three sureties to be justified.
Nerquaye-Tetteh has been charged with two counts of conspiracy and corruption of a public officer and has pleaded not guilty to the offence, while his wife faces one count of abetment of crime.
Asimenu has pleaded not guilty to one count of abetment of crime.
Nerquaye-Tetteh and Asimenu have also been granted bail in the sum of GH¢6,000 each, with two sureties each, one each to be justified.
The facts of the case are that in 2009, Woyome made a false representation to the then Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu, stating that he had a contract with the government of Ghana regarding the construction of sports stadia for CAN 2008 but that the contract had unlawfully been abrogated.
According to the prosecution, Woyome subsequently filed a writ at the High Court, claiming he was owed GH¢41 million and interest of GH¢10.2 million, bringing the total to GH¢51.2 million.
The prosecution said moneys paid were GH¢17.9 million in February 2010, GH¢10 million on January 27, 2011, GH¢10 million on April 18, 2011 and GH¢14.1 million on September 12, 2011.
It said investigations showed that the government did not owe Woyome any money, while Nerquaye-Tetteh failed to go to court to defend the action Woyome had instituted against the state.