Alfred Agbesi Woyome
Embattled businessman Alfred Agbesi Woyome has once again failed to appear before the Supreme Court to continue with the oral examination process initiated against him by the Attorney General.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) financier is facing an oral examination at the apex court in connection with the GH¢51.2 million he fraudulently received from the state as judgement debt.
But Mr. Woyome did not show up in court yesterday and one of his lawyers, Osafo Boabeng, presented the court with an excuse writ that his client was not feeling well and had received medical attention at the Ridge Hospital in Accra.
He was represented by his wife, Nelly Woyome.
Fresh Motions
Meanwhile, lawyers for the embattled businessman have filed two fresh motions at the Supreme Court in an attempt to delay the payment of the huge money paid to him by the erstwhile NDC government (as judgement debt).
The Deputy Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, in July this year, began an inquiry into sources of income and assets of the businessman in order to recover the money.
At the last hearing of the case which lasted for almost two hours, Mr. Woyome argued that it was an error for the Attorney General to haul him before the Supreme Court.
The businessman has now begun a new move ostensibly to swerve paying or at least delay the payment of the money by filing the two motions.
One of the motions seeks to declare the action by the AG to evaluate the businessman’s properties as illegal, while the other writ is seeking to stop the oral examination proceedings at the court.
It would be recalled that armed security operatives on September 19, 2017 stormed the Trassacco residence of Mr. Woyome to value his property in connection with his GH¢51.2 million indebtedness to the state.
The armed operatives were accompanying a joint taskforce of personnel from the National Security and the Land Valuation Board, following a September 13 court warrant.
But lawyers for Mr. Woyome are contending the evaluation process as unlawful.
According to them, the writ of execution being used by the state to do the evaluation was unlawfully obtained as the January 9, 2015 writ had not expired but the AG managed to get it renewed, which is against the state.
He said before the state could renew the said writ, it ought to have elapsed the 12-month period, which is the legal procedure for renewing writs of execution.
He therefore prayed the court to halt the evaluation process.
However, Godfred Dame challenged the motion saying the state had not renewed the January 9, 2015 writ of execution but rather got a new one, therefore making it legal and binding.
The two motions – stay of proceedings and illegal evaluation of property – filed by Mr. Woyome’s lawyers, would be heard on October 20, 2017.
By Gibril Abdul Razak