Businessman Alfred Agbesi Woyome failed to show up at the Supreme Court for the second leg of his oral examination in relation to his GHC47.2 million debt to the state.

His counsel, Mr Osofo Buabeng, told the Supreme Court that, Woyome was absent because he was sick.

Counsel, therefore, tendered in a medical form explaining that his client had been granted a two week excuse duty by the Accra Regional Hospital [Ridge].

Meanwhile, lawyers for the businessman has filed two applications challenging the legality of the valuation of the businessman's properties and also for the court to put the oral examination on hold.

In his submission, Mr Buabeng argued that the A-G failed to seek the permission of the court in renewing the valuation execution order, which was issued on January 9, 2015, as required by law.

Rather, he said, the A-G renewed the order on January 6, 2016 without permission from the court.

According to him, the order on which the state is relying to embark on the valuation process has elapsed and hence cannot be used.

Earlier this month, the government began a valuation of Woyome’s properties in a quest to retrieve the GHC51m wrongfully paid to him.

Some security personnel and officials from the Ghana Valuation Board, were sent to the Trasacco residence of Mr. Woyome to conduct the valuation to build concrete evidence on his ability to pay the debt for his trial.

But Mr Godfred Dame, rejected the argument of Woyome's counsel; Mr Buabeng.

A Deputy Attorney General, Godfred Dame, responding to the arguments said the state’s action was based on a new order on the 6th January 2016, far different from the one being referred to by the businessman.

According to him, the January 9, 2015 order did not expire, but rather the A-G decided to go for another order on January 6, 2016.

The court, presided over by Mr Justice Anthony A Benin, will rule on the businessman's application on Friday, October 20, 2017.

Background

Mr. Woyome was paid the GHc 51 million after claiming he helped Ghana raise funds to construct stadia for the hosting of the 2008 African Cup of Nations. However, an Auditor General’s report released in 2010, held that the amount was paid illegally to him.

Subsequently, the Supreme Court in 2014 ordered Mr. Woyome to pay back the money, after a former Attorney General, Martin Amidu, challenged the legality of the payments.

Following delays in retrieving the money, Supreme Court judges unanimously granted the Attorney-General clearance to execute the court’s judgment, ordering Mr. Woyome to refund the cash to the state.

There had been previous attempts to orally examine Mr. Woyome with Mr. Amidu himself, in 2016, filed an application at the Supreme Court seeking to examine Alfred Woyome, on how he was going to pay back the money, after the Attorney General’s office under the Mahama Administration, led by the former Minister for Justice, Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong, discontinued a similar application.

In February 2017 however, Mr. Amidu withdrew his suit seeking an oral examination, explaining that the change of government and the assurance by the new Attorney General to retrieve all judgement debts wrongfully paid to individuals, had given him renewed confidence in the system.