GHC51M Judgement debt trial: Blame State, not Woyome

A private legal practitioner who is also a research fellow at the Institute for Development Studies (IDS) at the University of Cape Coast (UCC,) Mr. Kwadwo Addo Tuffuor, has asked Ghanaians to direct their anger at the State and not Mr. Alfred Agbesie Woyome.

“What wrong did Woyome commit? In fact, he did not defraud the State as he acted on the Directive Principles of State Policy by going to court to demand judgment on his case. He [Woyome] should rather be praised and not to be condemned,” the UCC lecturer stressed.

He could not understand why Ghanaians were so incensed about last Thursday, March, 12, 2015 ruling by an Accra High Court in the matter in which Mr. Woyome who was standing trial for defrauding the State of GHC51 million by false pretence was acquitted and discharged on the basis of lack of evidence.

The UCC lecturer made these observations at the weekend on Ghana, Great and Strong, a non-partisan programme which is broadcast every Saturday from 7:00 P.M., -8:00 P.M., on Ghana’s internet-based radio, www.hedjorleonlineradio.com.

In the view of Mr. Addo Tuffuor, if there was anybody to be blamed it should be the State and those who paid the huge sum of money to Mr. Woyome when indeed a court of competent jurisdiction had ruled that only one third of the said money should be paid to him.

He was commenting on the topic; “The Woyome effect, its impact on the rule of law, the nation’s finances and corruption.”

Mr. Addo Tuffuor pointed out that it was the duty of the State to have protected the national purse.

He went on to explain that the State should have ensured that the former Minister of Justice and Attorney General (AG) and her deputy, Betty Mould Iddrisu, and Barton-Odro, respectively appeared before the court to testify in the case.

He indicated that the State had every opportunity to put up a strong defence when there was three long adjournments during the trial between 2012-2013.

That, the lawyer said, was not the case. Instead Mr. Addo Tuffuor indicated that from the very onset the State showed no interest in the matter hence its laxity during the trial.

“Right from day one, it was obvious that the State was not interested in the case,” Mr. Addo Tuffuor opined.

The lawyer was also disquieted at the posture of the government for not fulfilling its side of the social contract it had with Ghanaians.

“Every government has a social contract with the people and that is a perfect example of an institution of modern form of civil government,” he said.

And while urging the State to chase Woyome for the GHC51 million paid to him wrongfully, he advised the ruling government not to spend its energy and resources to go for an appeal against the ruling.

According to Mr. Addo Tuffuor, contrary to the perception in the public discourse, there was no way the recent high court’s ruling could undermine the Supreme Court’s ruling where it ordered Mr. Woyome to refund the GHC51 million to the State.

The intended appeal, he asserted, was “dead on arrival since the State Prosecutor has to prove beyond every reasonable doubt that indeed Mr. Woyome defrauded the State by false pretence.

Contributing on the programme, an Investment Banker, Mr. Andrews Sefa, was not enthused about the failure of the State prosecutors to invite Betty Mould Iddrisu and Ebo Barton-Odro to testify during the trial.

“The two [Betty Mould Iddrisu and Ebo Barton-Odro] are not dead and they were in the country during the trial so why were they not invited to testify? he asked.

The decision by the Attorney General (AG) not to invite the former AG and her deputy, the investment banker pointed out, was a classical case of “incompetence and laziness on the part of the Attorney General.

He said it was due to that reason that the AG presented weak evidence.

“In fact the posture of the AG was pure acceptance of corruption in the country,” he stated.

He observed however that the country needed an independent prosecutor if it wanted to fight corruption.

For his part, the 2012 flag-bearer of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, who is the host of the programme, noted that the Accra High Court’s ruling on Woyome confirmed the need for the State to have an independent prosecutor.

He reiterated the position of the PPP to have the office of the Attorney General separated from the Ministry of Justice.

That, he said, would ensure fairness in the dispensation of justice.

He contended that that was the only way the country could wage war against corrupt officials.

Quoting Chapter 8, Article 88 of the 1992 Constitution which states that there shall be an Attorney General who will be the principal legal advisor to the president, Dr. Nduom noted that this is enshrined in the Constitution.

He admitted that since it was enshrined in the constitution the situation can only be changed by amending the Constitution accordingly.

To this end, he called on every Ghanaian to join the crusade for an independent prosecutor.