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General News of Tuesday, 21 May 2013

Source: Daily Guide

Minority leader fires Woyome

Minority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has fired back at Alfred Agbesi Woyome, the man caught in GH¢51million judgment debt scandal who is currently being prosecuted in court.

Mr Woyome, a financier of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), alleged in some ‘rented press’ that Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu met him at Schipol Airport Amsterdam ran away from him.

However, in a succinctly-worded statement, the minority leader described Woyome’s claim as “palpable untruth,” cautioning the NDC financier not to “over exaggerate his strength, if any.”

“The statement that I saw Alfred Agbesi Woyome at Schipol Airport and ran away can only come from somebody who wants to find relevance for himself,” Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, who is also the Member of Parliament for Suame stated.

The minority leader wondered why Woyome would even imagine that he (Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu) would see him and run away.

“The Attorney-General has stated on behalf of the people of Ghana of which Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu is one that Mr. Woyome through misrepresentation has defrauded the Republic. As a responsible andan obedient citizen, I believe same to be true.

“Alfred Woyome must be assured that I do not run away from people who engage in corruption of whatever kind and colour, I confront them.

“Woyome can tickle himself and laugh for now for whatever that is meant to achieve, but let him not over exaggerate his strength, if any. The truth certainly will catch up with him sooner or later,” Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu warned.

Explaining further, the minority leader indicated that in late March 2013, he travelled through Schipol International Airport enroute to Ecuador.

He said while in transit and upon entering the main Schipol airport building, an officer of the Ghana Embassy in Amsterdam caught up with him and said the Ambassador had requested him (Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu) to come to the VIP lounge, which he obliged.

According to him, all this happened in less than five minutes after he entered the building and there was no Woyome in sight.

“If he Woyome saw me then perhaps he found his own level and pigeon-holed himself somewhere.

“I stayed in the VIP lounge together with Hon. Hannah Tetteh, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Ambassador, Ms. Anna Ennin until our respective flights were ready and we departed from the VIP lounge. There was no Alfred Agbesi Woyome in sight at the VIP lounge,” Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu reiterated.

He explained further that on his way back from the USA, he again transited at the Schipol Airport and got to the KLM lounge.

Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu maintained that just when he found a seat at the lounge, a young man approached and introduced himself as an official of one of the petroleum exploiting firms in the Western Region and they had brief talks.

He said in the course of the discourse, an officer from the Ghana Embassy who had apparently come to the lounge, caused an announcement to be made to search for him.

“The officer and I then left together with a young boy who had just arrived from UK and who was to join me,” the minority leader pointed out.

He emphasized that after some documentation which lasted for about 10 minutes, he and the young boy boarded a KLM flight back to Accra.

“There was no Alfred Agbesi Woyome in sight, certainly nowhere near where I was with the Embassy official at Schipol airport or where I sat in the plane,” the minority leader disclosed.