Catherine Afeku dragged to Court

-over non-payment of Judgment debt of $1million

Madam Catherine AblemaAfeku, theNew Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Evalue-Gwira in the Western Region is set to appear before an Accra High Court on Tuesday 31st July, 2012 to answer the circumstances leading to her inability to settle all the judgment debt which was slapped against her by an Accra High Court in 2005. The judgment was given by an Accra High Court, when her American and New York based partner Mrs. Patricia Gick, facilitator and financier of Polymath Enterprises Limited, dragged her (Madam Afeku) and her husband Mr. Seth Afeku for allegedly defrauding her under the pretext of establishing an internet café in Ghana which were later diverted into the Afeku’s name.

The Evalue-Gwira Member of Parliament (MP) who was once the Government’s Spokesperson during the NPP’s administration and her husband are expected to appear before an Accra High Court to explain why they have deliberately refused to fulfill the orders of the court to pay the recovery monies of $US 217, 462.00and all the interest at the prevailing bank rate from the date of judgment declaration (October, 2005) till the date of payment to the Plaintiff, an American Investor based in New York of the United States of America.. It could be recalled that, between the year 2007/2008 that the former Government’s Spokesperson on Infrastructure during the NPP’s regime who was also contesting for the Evalue-Gwira seat had gone to clear herself from the court and therefore was clean as reported by some sections of the media and had not defrauded the American investor and had be withdrawn out of court settlement.

According the Power of Attorney, Mr. Francis KakuNokoe, the decision to go to the court this time was as a result of Madam Afeku’s deliberate refusal to fulfill her legally mandated obligation to pay a sum amount of GH 5,000 every month from the date of the court ruling till the time of final settlement.

He added that, the MP’s refusal to settle her judgment debt has now been accumulated to a sum amount $1Million and had no option than to seek for legal justice to recover the debt owed to them by Madam Afeku and her Husband. Mrs. Gick was reported to have sued the Afeku’s in 2005 to recover her monies and equipment which she claimedwas given to the Ghanaian Couple (Mr. & Mrs. Afeku) who were formerly based in New York with the intention of establishing an internet café business in Ghana precisely Axim in the Western region, the hometown of Madam Catherine Afeku but was later diverted to Kumasi in the Ashanti region with a reason best known to them. In the final submissionof the trail judge Her Lordship Barbara Ackah-Yensuchided the defendants (the Afeku’s) and found them guilty and ordered them to pay the recovery of $US 217,462.00 to the Plaintiff Mrs. Gick with an interest on the said amount at the prevailing bank rate from October 2005 till date of payment as well as account for all the monies and equipment sent to them.

They were also mandated to return the Mitsubishi Diamante Saloon Car with registration number AS 7323W and a cost of GH 20, 000, 00 against them.

The trail judge also challenged the Afeku’s for faking documents which was made to be believed as authentic especially the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which was never signed by both parties which she found it strange over the circumstances that led to the disappearance of the original agreement letter which was on the table of the Plaintiff in New York which Mrs. Gick confirmed that to the court.

Meanwhile, available records indicate that only GH 163, 200 have been paid into the Court equipment to the American dollar where several appeals have been filed by Madam Afeku aimed at frustrating the Plaintiff and her Power of Attorney Mr. FancisKakuNokoe in their quest to recover their judgment debt and all the interest rate have been rejected by the court.

In another development, the NPP MP for Evalue-Gwira, who is also a member of the ECOWAS Parliament, has been indicted by a 2008 Auditor General’s Report on the Accounts of the Ministry of Information where she served as the Spokesperson on Infrastructure for taking away a Tata Pick Up with authority.

She was cited to have connived with the Storekeeper of the Ministry who faked documents in herfavour in other to enable her use the vehicle for her campaign activities. An amount of 1,646 Ghana cedisas cost of repairs was later slapped against her that is yet to be paid, the report added.