The Supreme Court of Ghana has given State Attorneys the green light to continue all processes to retrieve the GHC51.2 million illegally paid to businessman Alfred Agbesi Woyome, despite an earlier order by the African Court to Ghana to suspend the move.
Tuesday’s ruling by the Supreme Court comes on the back of last Friday’s order of the African Court on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) to Ghana to suspend all efforts at retrieving the money wrongfully paid to the embattled businessman as judgement debt.
The Tanzania-based ACHPR ordered State Attorney’s to halt any attempt to seize properties of Mr. Woyome and, “take all appropriate measures to maintain the status quo and avoid the property being sold’’ until a case brought before it by Woyome was determined.
But the Supreme Court Tuesday ruled the ACHPR does not have the jurisdiction over Ghana’s constitutional mandate, hence dismissed an application for stay of proceedings filed by Mr Woyome to stop the Attorney General from orally examining him on the amount, TV3’s Selorm Amenya reported from the court.
The five member panel unanimously held Woyome’s application for stay of proceedings lacked merit, our correspondent reported.
Legal gymnastic
The five member panel unanimously held Woyome’s application for stay of proceedings lacked merit, our correspondent reported from the court.
The Attorney General has since July this year tried without success to examine Mr. Woyome on the amount, which was wrongfully paid to him in a bid by the State to determine his properties and use same to recover the money.
Mr. Woyome has used the legal processes both locally and international to prevent the oral examination from happening.
He currently has an appeal pending at the African Court African Court for People and Human Rights based in Arusha, Tanzania, regarding some declarations made by Ghana’s Supreme Court.
“The Supreme Court of Ghana erred by linking Alfred Agbesi Woyome to the Waterville contract by ‘necessary linkage’ using the now ‘residual unspecified Jurisdiction’ to ground ‘Justice ‘as their main Principle in ordering a refund of monies paid to Mr. Alfred Agbesi Woyome legally under the laws of Ghana,” Mr Woyome claimed in his case before the African Court of Justice.
In view of the pending case, Woyome caused his lawyers to file an application for praying the Supreme Court to suspend the oral examination until the case at the African court is determined.
At the hearing of the application on November 21, his lawyer, Osafo Buabeng, argued that the Supreme Court ought to suspend all proceedings in Ghana until the African Court for People and Human Rights makes a determination in his case.
But the Deputy Attorney General, Godred Yeboah Dame opposed the application, stating it is an affront to the country’s 1992 constitution, our correspondent reported.
The Supreme Court then fixed Tuesday, November 28 to determine whether to accept the argument by Woyome’s counsel or that of the State.
Ahead of that, The ACHPR on Friday, November 24 unanimously ruled that all efforts by Ghana to retrieve the GH¢51.2 million judgement debt paid to Woyome should ceased until it has determined the appeal filed by Woyome.
The Supreme Court of Ghana, however, held today the ACHPR does not have jurisdiction over Ghana’s constitution which places the sovereignty of the nation on the people.
Per this ruling, the Attorney General can resume its move to orally examine Woyome who is employing all legal avenues to prove the money was legitimately paid to him by the State.
By Stephen Kwabena Effah|3news.com|Ghana
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