The High Court judge trying the Alfred Agbesi Woyome GH�51.2million fraudulent case is angry with the Attorney General over its handling of the matter.
Justice John Ajet-Nasam yesterday expressed disappointment with the slow pace at which the prosecution was handling the case.
The judge however refused an application by the defence counsel for a submission of no case, noting that he was uncomfortable with the situation whereby the accused person, when discharged by the court, would be re-arrested and put before a different court.
According to the trial judge, Woyome was not a suspect but an accused person, since he had been properly charged with the offence of fraud and he in turn had pleaded not guilty, so the case must continue to its logical conclusion.
The judge said since state money should be protected, he could not dismiss the case.
He therefore asked the prosecution to wake up to its mandate of prosecuting serious offences.
When the case was called yesterday, Cynthia Lamptey, the principal state attorney handling the fraud case against National Democratic Congress (NDC) bankroller Alfred Woyome, and three others, told the court that the state was yet to conclude its investigations, adding that they needed more time to investigate the case.
It was based on this that defence lawyers requested the judge to discharge the accused persons because the state was not ready to proceed with the matter.
The defense counsel, Akoto Ampaw, Yoni Kulendi and Kwame Akuffo did not take kindly to the prayer for another adjournment and said the submission of the state attorney proved the state was in no way ready to start the trial and therefore the accused persons should be discharged.
Counsel contended that the excuses being given by the prosecutor was becoming too much and therefore asked the court to strike out the charges against Woyome.
They expressed disappointment that the prosecution had been unable to prove its case and to begin proceedings in court even though their clients had been charged for the various offences.
The counsel for Woyome wondered why the accused persons were arrested and brought before the court when the state knew they had not finished with investigations, adding that they should have concluded investigations and put their house in order before arresting the suspects.
Ms Lamptey admitted that the state was yet to conclude investigations due to the complexity of the case.
Justice Ajet-Nassam consequently had the matter adjourned to April 30, 2012.
Woyome had been charged with defrauding and abetment of crime along with three other persons.
Mr. Woyome is standing trial before Justice Ajet-Nassam at an Accra Fast Track High Court Financial Division, together with Samuel Nerquaye-Tetteh, the Chief State Attorney and his wife Gifty Nerquaye-Tetteh and Paul Asimenu, Legal Director at the Ministry of Finance.
Mr Woyome has been granted bail in the sum of GH�20million with three sureties after initially being granted bail in the sum of GH�54 million with two sureties to be justified, a bail condition which his lawyers had difficulty in meeting.
Woyome and Mr Nerquaye-Tetteh both pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit crime, while the NDC financier also pleaded not guilty to defrauding by false pretences and corrupting a public officer in the person of the chief state attorney with GH�400,000 (�4billion) allegedly paid into the account of the latter�s wife.
Mrs. Gifty Nerquaye-Tetteh, in whose account the GH�400,000 was deposited, has pleaded not guilty to abetment of crime while Asimenu, who has been arraigned for quoting wrong figures to enable Woyome to get the said amount, has denied abetting Woyome to defraud the state.
Former Attorney General and Minister of Justice Martin Amidu has already raised an alarm over the handling of the Woyome case by the AG�s Department, calling on all Ghanaians to become vigilantes in retrieving the GH�51.2million.
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