Hearing of the appeal filed by the state to overturn the acquittal and discharge of businessman Alfred Agbesi Woyome over a GH¢51.2 million judgement debt payment has been adjourned sine die.
The adjournment came after the court had asked the Attorney-General to file a written submission in three weeks’ time.
The court also gave the defence team three weeks to obtain copies of the record of proceedings to review and file their written responses.
When the case was called Tuesday, the acting Director of Public Prosecutions, Mrs Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa, in the company of two other state attorneys, told the court that the state had received the record of proceedings of the case.
However, the defence team, led by Mr Kofi Coka, informed the court that they were yet to receive the record of proceedings of the case.
Woyome appeared in court dressed in his usual African white outfit.
Challenge
The Attorney-General’s Department, on March 13, 2015, filed a notice of appeal to overturn the High Court’s exoneration of Woyome.
It said the judgement acquitting and discharging the respondent for the offences of defrauding by false pretences and causing financial loss to the state should be set aside.
“That the accused person be convicted of the offences of defrauding by false pretences and causing financial loss to the state,” the notice of appeal said.
It said the judge erred in law when he stated that the prosecution had woefully failed to establish a case against the accused when he had established a prima facie case against him.
“That having called upon the accused person to open his defence, the judge had established a prima facie case against the accused person and his failure thereon to assess the defence of the accused person as against the evidence led by the prosecution was wrong in law,” the notice of appeal stated.
It further stated that the judgement could not be supported, having regard to the evidence adduced at the trial.
More grounds
According to the notice, the finding of the trial judge that persons such as Betty Mould Idrissu, Barton Odro, Samuel Nerquaye Tetteh and Paul Asimenu were material witnesses and failure to call them was fatal to the case of the prosecution was wrong in law.
“The judge erred by displaying a biased assessment of the evidence of the prosecution and mounting unwarranted attacks on the prosecution,” it stated.
Background
Woyome was on Thursday, March 12, 2015, acquitted and discharged on two counts of defrauding by false pretences and causing financial loss to the state.
The High Court, presided over by Mr Justice John Ajet-Nasam, took on the Attorney-General’s Department for paying GH¢51.2 million to Woyome in 2010 only to turn around to prosecute him.
It said the prosecutors failed to prove the ingredients of fraud to warrant the court to convict Woyome.
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