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Press Release
May 9, 2012
WOYOME’S PROSECUTION: “ZERO TOLERANCE” TO
FURTHER DELAYS
Good Morning ladies & gentlemen of the Press!..\\
AFAG has invited you here this morning to focus public
attention on an important national issue, which has become the
next in a long line of events on the part of the President JEA
Mills government to cover up the biggest series of corruption
cases in Ghana’s history, the dubious payment of some GHC642
million in judgment debts, with about half of them being
tainted with corruption.
Today, we want to focus on the “criminal trial” against
businessman and self-confessed NDC financier, Alfred Agbesi
Woyome. We sense something very suspicious about the way
government is dealing with this matter. Our suspicion, based
on both intelligence that we have gathered and the
prosecution’s own unprofessional approach to this matter, is
that the government has no intention and, indeed, no appetite
to go ahead with the prosecution of the man that has been
accused of defrauding the state of some GHC51 million.
The Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) wishes to state
un-equivocally that, as a public interest case, the
long-suffering people of Ghana will not tolerate any attempt
by this government to frustrate the prosecution of this case.
We do not accept the excuse by the prosecution that the case
needed to be returned to the police for further investigation.
It is just the next in a series of delay tactics that
government intends to deploy between now and the end of 2012.
What else is left for the state to investigate? All the
documents connected to this case are available. Our checks
with the police show that neither Woyome nor anyone else
connected to this case has been since invited by the police
for any investigation to be undertaken.
EOCO was instructed by the President to investigate this
matter and this was even after the Attorney-General had
concluded, based on all the evidence available, that Woyome
had defrauded the state. EOCO came to the same conclusion.
So what is it that is left to be investigated?
Ladies & gentlemen, it will be re-called that the former
Attorney General, Mr. Martin A.B.K Amidu, on the 16th of
January 2012, filed an affidavit to amend an earlier writ,
praying the court to set aside a consent judgment awarded to
Woyome, in which the A-G alleged the negotiated judgment
payment by his predecessor to Mr Woyome was procured through
fraud. Indeed, the fact that Mr Amidu was forced to resign
after revealing that there was a grand scheme to cover up this
‘gargantuan crime’ against the state, adds to the suspicion
that President Mills has no intention to prosecute his
financier for stealing from the state.
Is it not strange that since EOCO finished its investigations,
some names have been mentioned as people who allegedly
benefited from Woyome’s tainted millions and yet not a single
one of these names is connected to the ruling party, the party
that Woyome admits to funding?
What accounts for this? Is it, as some intelligence has it,
that the concealment of the names is serving as a bargaining
chip? Could it be true, as published some months back that
Woyome has threatened to release names of top people in
government that he has given money to if the state goes ahead
to prosecute and convict him?
We are of the strong belief that President Mills has no
appetite to see to the end of the prosecution of Woyome. If
that is the case then the Woyome case is bigger than Mr Woyome.
It adds to the suspicion that Woyome was used as a mere pawn
to steal money from the state.
The decision by the prosecution to ask more time to
investigate this matter is unacceptable. We are appalled by
this development. The A-G appears simply to be delaying
justice to deny the people of Ghana justice on this
unprecedented alleged theft of state money.
AFAG will like to caution the AG’s office that, there the
people of Ghana will not accept any cover up in this case.
AFAG would wish to advise the lawyers in the A-G’s Department
not to allow themselves to be used as instruments to cover up
this alleged fraud and shield the perpetrators from justice.
Indeed, Mr Woyome should not be the only person on trial. He
ought to have been joined by Mrs Betty Mould Iddrisu, Dr
Kwabena Duffour and Hon Ebo Barton-Oduro, to mention but a
few.
AFAG will therefore urge the AG’s office to stop dragging its
feet, as the threshold of public tolerance to the opening of
the case and the commencement of this trial, is already
out-stretched. Ghanaians are running out of patience with this
government in the way it is taking the people of this country
for granted and the way it has taken corruption to new
heights.
June 4, 2012, the case returns to court. There is no reason
for the prosecution not to continue with the case on that day.
In this regard, AFAG will like to advise the lethargic and
un-willing Attorney General to take some lessons from the wise
words of the under mentioned statesmen in relation to this
case:
Former A-G Martin A.B.K Amidu on the 29th of February 2012
stated: “Time is of essence now otherwise the Republic would
be perceived as unnecessarily delaying the case”.
The trial judge, Mr Justice Ajet-Nassam on March 26th 2012,
said, “throw in the towel or get serious “,as an advice to the
prosecution.
The President must certainly get serious as the continuous
stay in office of Hon Ebo Barton Oduro, Dr Kwabena Duffour and
Mr Henry Martey Newman only adds more salt to the growing
perception that he is neck deep in this payment debt
corruption scandal. We repeat our earlier call for them to be
fired. It is only their questioning by the police that can be
justified. But, sadly that has not happened and may never
happen under President Mills.
On this note, AFAG will like to salute the President of
Tanzania for his firm commitment to the fight against
corruption, as promised in November 2011. His commitment to
the present day fight against corruption in Africa south of
the Sahara is un-precedented, and his colleagues including our
President must be willing to gather such courage in the fight
against corruption especially on the Woyome scandal.
President Mills, according to your colleague, President Jakaya
Kikwete of Tanzania who last week sacked 6 cabinet ministers
on an allegation of corruption, he stated “it is not enough
for a minster to take responsibility alone, but the new
approach is that, even those who caused the mishap will be to
taken task as well”. President Kikwete appears to be up for
the fight against corruption. Is President Mills? Unhappily
for the Ghanaian people, it appears not.
The AG and his men, are therefore cautioned, that, if their
un-preparedness remain at the time of the next hearing on the
4th of June 2012, AFAG will have no option than to press
forward a series of actions sufficient to re-assure government
and the AG of the public’s keen interest in having this matter
prosecuted with all the seriousness it deserves.
Signed:
Dr. Nana Ayew Afriyie 0244780359
Abu Ramadan 0244570006
Arnold Boateng 0244294754
Bright Acheampong 0545230621
Zalia Yakubu 0262481240
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