Unlike apologists of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) and its media hirelings would want Ghanaians to believe that the former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs. Betty Mould-Iddrisu, had done something untoward by giving businessman Alfred Agbesi Woyome the edge to be paid Ghc51 million as judgment debt, the court yesterday cleared her of any wrongdoing.

Mr. Woyome was paid professional fees as judgment debt upon the authority of a court of competent jurisdiction in 2010 for his role, prior to the hosting of CAN 2008 tournament held in Ghana.

As a result, Madam Betty Mould, the Attorney-General at the time of the payment, suffered various forms of public attacks and criticisms to the rather nauseating extent that, many ill-informed Ghanaians were baselessly calling for her prosecution.

Now, the court has spoken; Justice Ajet-Nasam, in his ruling made known that the former Attorney-General acted on the counsel of lawyers from the Ministry of Finance, the Attorney-General’s department and other consultants in the case, and that, the state’s criticism of Mrs. Mould was “misplaced”.

We reproduce unedited, yesterday’s judgment delivered by Mr. Justice Ajet-Nasam as published by Graphiconline.com for readers comments:

Attorney-General To Appeal Woyome's Acquittal

The state has indicated it would appeal the acquittal and discharge of businessman Alfred Agbesi Woyome.

We disagree completely with the judgement of the court,” the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong said in an interview with Graphiconline.

“We are applying for a copy of the judgement, study it carefully and appeal accordingly,” Mrs Appiah-Opong noted.

One of her predecessors, Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu, in 2010 advised that Woyome be paid the amount.

According to the court, the state’s criticism of Mrs Mould-Iddrisu was “misplaced,” because she (Mrs Mould-Iddrisu) acted on advise from lawyers from the Ministry of Finance, the Attorney-General’s department and other consultants.

Woyome was Thursday morning acquitted and discharged by the High Court on two counts of defrauding by false pretence and causing financial loss to the state.

According to Graphiconline's Court Correspondent, Mabel Aku Baneseh, the court said the state failed to prove he fraudulently obtained GHC51.2 million.

Baneseh reported that the presiding Judge, Mr Justice John Ajet-Nasam, took on the prosecution for failing to call former Attorney-General, Mrs Betty Mould Iddrisu, Rex Magnus Danquah, Ebo Barton Odro, Paul Asimenu, Samuel Nerquaye-Tetteh and others who all had given written opinion that Woyome was entitled to the claim.

He said the State had also failed to put up a defence when Woyome went to the Commercial Court and, therefore, found it absurd for the State to turn around and accuse Woyome of Causing financial loss. The Judge queried, "where lies the charge of causing financial loss when the state failed to fight the case on its merit at the Commercial Court?"

He also said there were inconsistencies in the evidence led by the prosecution witness. Based on the foregoing, the court said there was no legal basis for Woyome to be convicted. Immediately after the judgement, an elated Woyome was whisked away from court.

Background

Woyome was arrested on February 3, 2012 after the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), which was commissioned by the late President John Evans Atta Mills to investigate payment to him, had implicated him for wrongdoing.

He was first arraigned on February 6, 2012 together with three others.

Three others

The three people suspected to have aided Woyome were a Chief State Attorney, Mr Samuel Nerquaye-Tetteh; his wife, Mrs Gifty Nerquaye-Tetteh, and the Director of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Paul Asimenu.

Woyome was initially charged with conspiracy, defrauding by false pretence and corrupting a public officer, while Mr Nerquaye-Tetteh was charged with conspiracy and corrupting a public officer. Asimenu and Mrs Nerquaye-Tetteh were charged with abetment of crime.

He was alleged to have paid GH¢400,000 to the couple but they and Mr Asimenu were, on June 5, 2012, freed, following the state’s declaration of filing a nolle prosequi to discontinue trying them.

Woyome was, however, re-arraigned and charged with two counts of causing financial loss to the state and defrauding by false pretence.

Feb 13, 2012 – Woyome, was on February 13, 2012 granted a Ghc54 million but his lawyers applied for variation and on February 20, 2012, the bail condition was reviewed and reduced to Ghc20 million.

Indictments, resignations and dismissals

The interim report of EOCO, which was presented to the President on February 2, 2012, also indicted two former government officials under whose watch the procurement process was carried out.

They were Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, the Minister of Education, Youth and Sports at the time, and his deputy, Mr O. B. Amoah. But Mr Osafo-Maafo secured a court order which, declared EOCO’s investigation of him as illegal.

He also testified as a prosecution witness and ended his examination-in-chief on July 30, 2012.

A fallout from the Woyome scandal led to the dismissal of the then Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Mr Martin Amidu, who later managed to secure judgement against Woyome at the Supreme Court.

It also led to the resignation of the Minister of Education, Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu, who, as Attorney General and Minister of Justice, had recommended that the money be paid to Woyome.

Witnesses

The prosecution called nine witnesses, but Woyome did not call any. He testified on his own behalf. The crux of the prosecution’s case is that Woyome put in false claims by stating he was entitled to the amount because government had abrogated a contract for the construction of stadia for CAN 2008 when, in fact, there was no such contract.

Woyome on his part is arguing he was entitled to the money because a court of competent jurisdiction (Commercial Court) awarded him a default judgement in 2010 after the state had failed to put in a defence.

The prosecution, which has since closed its case, began calling its witnesses in June 2012.

Persons who testified on behalf of the state were Mrs Mangowa Ghanney of the MOFEP; Mr Osafo-Maafo; a former Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr Kwaku Agyeman Manu; Ms Yvonne Quansah of MOFEP and a former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Mr Lionel Van Lare Dosoo.

Ms Lesley Dodoo of the Public Procurement Authority; Mr Andrea Orlandi, then Managing Director of Waterville Holdings, and Mr Ahmed Sulemana, the acting Chief Director of the Ministry of Justice, and the investigator in the case, Assistant Superintendent of Police Mr Odame Okyere, also testified.

Woyome had sued the state for a breach of contract relating to the construction of some stadia for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations hosted by Ghana and was awarded a default judgement to that tune because the state failed to put in a defence.

Submission of no case

Woyome on February 27, 2014 filed a submission of no case after the state had closed its case but the court on April 30, 2014 ordered him to open his defence. He opened his defence on May 6, 2014 and ended on December 12, 2014.

Supreme Court on Woyome’s heels

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is on the heels of Woyome to refund the Ghc51.2 million.

The highest court of the land on July 29, 2014, ordered Woyome to refund GH¢51.2 million to the state on the grounds that he got the money out of unconstitutional and invalid contracts between the state and Waterville Holdings Limited in 2006 for the construction of stadia for CAN 2008.

It held, in a unanimous decision, that the contracts upon which Woyome made and received the claim were in contravention of Article 181 (5) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, which requires such contracts to be laid before and approved by Parliament.

The 11-member court, presided over by the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, was ruling on a review application filed by a former Attorney- General and Minister of Justice, Mr Martin Amidu.

Other members of the panel were Justices Julius Ansah, Sophia Adinyira, Rose Owusu, Jones Dotse, Anin Yeboah, Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, N. S. Gbadegbe, Vida Akoto Bamfo, A. A. Bennin and J.B. Akamba.

June 14, 2013 judgement

The court had on June 14, 2013, directed the international construction firm, Waterville Holdings Limited (BVI), to refund all the money paid to it by the Ghana government on the premise that it had no valid and constitutional contractual agreement with the government.

Waterville is expected to refund 25 million euros it received from the government, following the court’s judgement that the said contract it entered into with the government for stadia construction for CAN 2008 was unconstitutional.

Mr Amidu had, in the original suit, prayed the court to order Woyome to refund the money he had received as a result of the void contract the government had entered into with Waterville Holdings.

But the court declined jurisdiction over the issue, with the reason that the Attorney-General was pursuing the matter at the Commercial Court to retrieve the money.

The review

According to the applicant, who filed the application for review on July 12, 2013, he had read the two judgements delivered by the Supreme Court very carefully, along with other Ghanaians of like thinking, and had come to the conclusion that some aspects of the judgement contained “exceptional circumstances that have resulted in what we perceive may constitute a miscarriage of justice”.

He said the 1992 Constitution imposed both rights and obligations, particularly under articles 2 and 3, on every Ghanaian citizen to ensure that the constitutional order established by the Constitution was not threatened or by an unlawful means abrogated.

The court in its July 29, 2014 decision upheld Mr Amidu’s review application and granted his prayer.

Enforcement

The Attorney-General has since filed an application to enforce the Supreme Court’s July 29, 2014 judgement. Hearing of the application has been adjourned indefinitely to enable bailiffs to serve hearing notices on Woyome and Waterville Holdings.