Alfred Agbesi Woyome
The Supreme Court has set December 1 to hear the motion filed by businessman Alfred Agbesi Woyome in an attempt to scuttle the oral examination by former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Martin Amidu, over the GH¢51.2 million judgement debt paid to him by the state.
The court, presided over by a sole judge, Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah, held that the date was set to afford the respondents – Mr. Amidu and the Attorney General (AG) – who had been short-served, the opportunity to respond to the motion.
Woyome, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) bankroller, is back in court seeking to reverse the Supreme Court ruling ordering Mr. Amidu to orally examine him over whether or not he has the means to pay the money.
Stay Proceedings
In the latest action, Woyome, through his agent, David Kwadzo Ametefe, has filed a motion on notice to discharge or reverse the ruling by Justice Anin-Yeboah which had paved the way for Mr. Amidu aka Citizen Vigilante to question him over the cash yesterday.
Mr Alfred Woyome is also seeking to stay proceedings at the court pending the determination of the instant action.
The processes filed at the court on Wednesday stated, “Take notice that counsel for and on behalf of the Applicant herein will move this honorable court praying for an order for the reversal of the ruling dated 16 November, 2016 of his Lordship Anin Yeboah, JSC sitting as a single justice in the above-mentioned case.”
Hearing
At the hearing yesterday, the trial judge informed the court that a motion was filed on Wednesday at 1:30 pm, wondering if the respondents had been served.
The former AG, who represented himself in the case, said he was served at the court premises at about 9:30 am yesterday.
He said he had not had the time to go and read the “bulky document,” insisting that that was not the first time he had been treated that way.
Mr. Amidu stated that it is not fair to be ambushed with document in court, stressing that he had to study the documents and oppose it.
Dorothy Afiriyie Ansah, representing the AG, said she was not sure the AG had been served.
It later emerged that the document was served at the AG’s office and received by one Mary Trebi at 3:30 pm same day.
On that, the judge argued that things ought to be done accordingly.
Justice Anin-Yeboah emphatically said, “This is a court of record, don’t let me fall into any trap so that your client (Woyome) will go and say the court is persecuting him.”
This was after Ken Anku, lawyer for Woyome, had wanted to move the application, although the two respondents had been short-served.
The judge did not reason with the assertion of Mr. Anku – whom he described as a senior person at the Bar – that they had filed their documents and that what was left was administrative procedure.
Decision
That notwithstanding, Justice Anin-Yeboah ruled that it appeared the respondents were short-served and as such the case would be adjourned to give the respondents the statutory three days to respond to Mr. Woyome’s motion to stay the proceedings.
In the view of the sole Supreme Court justice, the Applicant (Amidu) has the right to pursue the businessman over the “colossal” amount of money because he personally came to court to get a judgment to have Woyome pay back the money.
Justice Anin-Yeboah, granting the application by Mr. Amidu, stated that no serious efforts had been made by Attorney General Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong two years after the court had ordered her to retrieve the cash.
The court held that per the AG’s motion filed to discontinue the case, there was no evidence of any execution before the court by the AG currently.
Woyome Thrown Out
Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal has thrown out contempt proceedings initiated by Woyome against Citi FM, the Managing Editor of the New Crusading Guide newspaper Kweku Baako Jnr. and the Multimedia Group.
The rest are the Despite Group of Companies – owners of Peace FM and New Patriotic Party (NPP) Deputy Communications Director, Anthony Karbo.
Lawyers for Citi FM, Anthony Karbo, Despite Group of Companies and Kweku Baako argued that the Court of Appeal did not have jurisdiction to hear the contempt proceedings.
They were represented by Nii Apatu Plange, Egbert Faible Jnr and Thadeus Sory.
According to them, if anything at all, the case should be heard at a High Court, which has original jurisdiction to hear this particular contempt application.
But counsel for Woyome, David Annan, had earlier argued that the Court of Appeal has jurisdiction because the statements that amounted to the contempt were made after his [Woyome’s] acquittal from the same court.
The court, however, upheld the arguments of lawyers of Citi FM and the rest, struck out the case and subsequently awarded a GH¢9,000 cost against Mr Woyome.
By Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson
jeffdegraft44@yahoo.com