Supreme Court Pushes Domelevo Kroll Case Back To High Court

The Supreme Court yesterday struck out a case referred to it by an Accra High Court which is hearing an appeal by the Senior Minister and four others in the $1million Kroll and Associates Limited surcharge case.

This was after the Office of the Auditor General had expressed satisfaction with the records presented by Kroll and Associates Limited as proof of work done which was a subject of controversy between the Senior Minister and the Auditor General, Daniel Domelevo.

Senior Minister Yaw Osafo-Maafo and four officials from the Ministry of Finance, namely Michael Ayesu, Abraham Kofi Tawiah, Eva Asselba Mends, and Patrick Nom, had filed an appeal in court challenging the decision of Mr. Domelevo to disallow and surcharge them following accusation that they authorized payment of $1 million to Kroll and Associates for no work done.

During the hearing of the case at the High Court, the report presented by Kroll and Associates for proof of work became a bone of contention and lawyers for the firm contested that the document was of security nature and per the terms of their agreement with the appointing authority, they could not disclose the content of the document.

Yaw Oppong, counsel for the Senior Minister, subsequently made a copy of the document available to the High Court and told the court that at the time Mr. Domelevo had disallowed and surcharged the Senior Minister and the others, they had written to inform him that the documents were available and he could inspect them.

Due to the nature of the document bordering on national security as pushed by counsel for the Senior Minister, the High Court referred the matter to the Supreme Court for direction as to whether those documents could be disclosed.

Counsel had earlier informed the Supreme Court yesterday that at the time the High Court referred the matter to the Supreme Court, they had made a copy of the document available to the High Court.

He also told the panel that a copy of the document was available in the Senior Minister's office and Mr. Domelevo could come by and have a look at documents covering work done to warrant the payment to Kroll and Associates.

The court, upon agreement between the parties in the matter, ordered that the Auditor-General should go to the Senior Minister's office to assess the documents.

However, Mr. Domelevo was subsequently directed by the President to proceed on his 167 days accumulated leave.

Yesterday, in the presence of Mr. Domelevo, the Ag Auditor General confirmed at the Supreme Court, through counsel for the Auditor General Odikro Nyame, that a team of auditors from the Office of the Auditor-General inspected documents in the Senior Minister's office confirming work done for payment to Kroll and that they were satisfied.

The seven-member panel of the court presided over by Justice Jones Dotse subsequently struck out the reference from the High Court.

The parties are, therefore, going back to the High Court for further direction in the substantive case.

The latest revelation rubbishes earlier spurious claims that the acting Auditor-General 'cleared' Mr. Osafo-Maafo in the Kroll case immediately Mr. Domelevo was made to proceed on leave.

---Daily Guide