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Politics of Sunday, 30 June 2019

Source: 3news.com

Woyome’s case: Osafo-Maafo, Betty Mould Iddrisu must tell their story – Bernard Mornah

Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo-Maafo Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo-Maafo

Chairman of the People’s National Congress (PNC) Bernard Mornah says the real stories behind the judgment debt case involving businessman Alfred Agbesi Woyome has not been told to Ghanaians.

According to Mr. Mornah, some key actors in the person of former Youth and Sports Minister, Yaw Osafo-Maafo and former Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Betty Mould Iddrisu ought to have been questioned over their role in the judgment debt saga.

“Half of the story has been told, the other side has not been told. The role of Osafo-Maafo and Betty Mould Iddrisu is not known; so we should be interested in getting to the bottom of this.”

The PNC Chairman made this observation while speaking on TV3’s The Key Points program on Saturday. He said Mr. Osafo-Maafo, who was the then Sports Minister at the time Woyome claimed he secured a contract from the state, ought to have been a material witness in the case regarding the GH?51.2 million judgment debt paid to Mr. Woyome.

“This whole issue began with the CAN 2008, and at the time, we had sitting ministers. The material witness that we are talking about would have been Yaw Osafo-Marfo who was then the Minister of Youth and Sports.

“And to the extent, that this whole processes went without the minister appearing before the court, we say one key witness was not available to say what happened.”

Mr. Mornah questioned, “How come the minister went into an agreement without any proper documentation?”

Mr. Mornah also noted that the state through the court of competent jurisdiction failed to do justice to the case by not inviting Mr. Osafo-Maafo as a key witness in the case.

“The state did not do all of us good by refusing to invite the most important person and actors in this, so as to hear their story. Maybe if that has happened and there was an error, we would all be saved.”



Woyome judgement debt case

Mr. Woyome has been in a legal tussle since 2014 when the Supreme Court ordered him to refund the GH?51.2 million judgment debt paid him.

Out of the amount to be paid back, Mr. Woyome has only paid GH?4 million to government.

He ran to the African Courts on Human and People’s Right to seek redress over what he called, abuse of his human rights by the Supreme Court of Ghana.

On Thursday, June 28, the African Court dismissed his application, stating that his right to non-discrimination, equality before the law, and equal protection of the law guaranteed under Article 2 and 3 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights was not violated by the state.

This ruling came a day after the Supreme Court of Ghana ordered the sale of Mr. Woyome’s properties to pay the remaining debt owed the state.