Anti-corruption crusader, Sydney Casely-Hayford believes government’s handling of the Woyome saga is symptomatic of Ghana’s failing democracy.
His assertion follows a move by the Attorney General’s office to discontinue an oral examination of the businessman, Alfred Agbesi Woyome, over the controversial GHs51 million judgment debt paid to him.
Mr. Casely-Hayford suggested that the AG’s office, led by the Minister for Justice, Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong, is clearly forced to protect the government, a proof that the AGs office is not independent of government.
“This now tells you why our democracy doesn’t work. It doesn’t work because the AG who is supposed to be an independent prosecutor to ensure that all of these is sorted out is now conflicted because the AG is now trying to protect its government,” he said on The Big Issue.
Appiah-Oppong’s job on the line if she follows Amidu
Mr. Casely-Hayford further opined that Mrs. Appiah-Oppong’s job would be on the line like the former AG, Martin Amidu, if she doesn’t kowtow to the government’s demands.
Mr. Amidu was sacked in 2011 for misconduct, a move Mr. Casely-Hayford described as one of the “biggest travesties of justice we ever did for the people of this country” as he contended that, the former AG was rather sacked because he decided to pursue Mr. Woyome in the judgment debt saga.
“Do you think that if the AG decided to pursue this case and follow it through, there would be no repercussions on her from government? How difficult would it be for her to be sacked tomorrow? How difficult was it for Amidu to be sacked.”
“For the first time in recent history, we had an Attorney General who was actually prepared to put his foot down and prosecute cases that he thought had to be done irrespective of whether you were government or whether you were private,” Mr. Casely-Hayford stated.
The recent turn of events has compelled Mr. Amidu to file an application at the Supreme Court, praying it to allow him to examine Mr. Woyome.
Mr. Amidu has also alleged that Mrs. Appiah-Oppong withdrew her application to examine Woyome because President John Mahama personally gave an order.
Mr. Amidu in a statement after filing the application to examine Mr. Woyome argued that the AG backtracked in order to protect some National Democratic Congress (NDC) officials, who benefited from the GHs51 million paid Mr. Woyome.
Background to Woyome saga
Alfred Woyome was paid GHs 51 million after he claimed to have helped raise funds to construct stadia for purposes of hosting the CAF 2008 Nations Cup.
However, an Auditor General’s report released in 2010 said the amount was paid illegally to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) financier.
The Supreme Court in 2014 subsequently ordered Mr. Woyome to pay back the GHs51 million fraudulently taken from the state after Mr. Amidu challenged the legality of the judgment debt paid the businessman and two other companies; Waterville and Isofoton.
Source: Citifmonline.com
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@jonathan.Lagos ; For me your comments on this Woyome matter clearly tells me that ; you do not understand the main points about this woyome robbery besides I have a strong feelings that you are an EWe/ayigbe man defending the impoosible ; the main of Wyome case are as follows;a) Woyome had no contract with the Ghana government b) the whole non -contractual obligation started with the NPP government of the Ag at the time pointed out that the government had no obligation to wyopme c) the judgement was instigated by woyome after NPP lost power because the NPP refused on grounds of legality to entertain Wyomes Claim d)woyome spurn his robbery with Betty Mould and Alex segbefia at the castle as a presidential staffer e)atta mills instructed that the money should not be paid but his oreders were ignored e)the judge who sat on the matter ruled that as there were doubts ;the cash should paid in instalmments but NDC in colluysion with the elements in the AG dept. colluded to pay the cash f)NPP did not pay any cash to woyome because woyome had no contract with Woyome but NDC paid the cash on dubious grounds on which Atta Mills was aware before he died ; this was the same man who said the cash should not be paid; now whether Woyome likes it or not he may be forced to tell the court how the cash was shared under oath and if he refuses heto say anything he could be jailed for contempt ; everybody knows the NDC conspired to use woyome to still the cash from the state ; no NPP member was a beneficiary ; if there is any evidence why does not woyome name these NPP politicians TODAY !!!!!!!; the fact is that woyome can not run away because some how he may be forced to give a list of how he spent the cash as the cash was obtained illegally; YOUR EWE?AYIGBE MAN WOYOME IS IN REAL TROUBLE : HE BETTER START RELEASING THE NAMES INCLUDING NPP AND NDC MEMBERS !!!!!!!!!
SERIOUSLY???!! DO YOU TRULY UNDERSTAND DEMOCRACY??? ONE MATTER - WOYOME - SHOWS THAT OUR DEMOCRACY IS FAILING??? YOU WANT TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY??? I UNDERSTAND YOUR FATHER OR GRANDFATHER IS THE DRUNK GUY WHO REFUSED TO TAKE HIS CAP OFF ON THE NIGHT NKRUMAH DECLARED GHANA INDEPENDENT!! NO WONDER; APPLES DON'T FALL FAR FROM THE TREE.
IT IS NOT FOR YOU TO TELL US THIS. SO GIVE US A BREAK,,, YOU PEOPLE ARE EVIL. THAT IS WHY GHANAIANS REJECTED YOU AND YOUR NPP. AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO FOR MANY YEARS TO COME. NO BODY IS A SAINT, SO LONG AS WE ARE HUMAN THESE ARE TRAITS TO REMIND US OF OUR INFALLIBILITY. OF WHICH THE WOYOME SAGA IS ONE. AND IF THIS IS THE YARDSTICK TO MEASURE FAILURE,, THEN IT IS GARGANTUANLLY BETTER THAN WHEN YOUR PARTY TOOK OFFICE IN 2000 TO 08. YOU WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHE. WHO DO YOU THINK YOU CAN DECEIVE??? I WOULD HAVE WISHED WOYOME GOES TO JAIL,, AND I FEEL DISAPPOINTED IN THE JUDGMENT. BUT THE JUDGE KNOWS THAT THE PEOPLE WHO WILL GO DOWN WITH WOYOME WILL SHAKE THE FOUNDATIONS OF THIS COUNTRY, AND WILL SHOCK THE BONES OF MANY NPP SYMPATHIZERS. BECAUSE THE GENESIS OF THIS SCANDAL HINGES FIRMLY ON THE NECKS OF THE MEMBERS OF THE NPP,,, WHERE WOYOME CLEVERLY WOVE IN TO LAY THE CLAIM, AND IF HE WOYOME HAD HONORED THE CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT,,, NONE OF THE NPP BENEFICIARIES WILL OPEN THEIR MOUTHS. AND THIS IS THE PART THAT PEEVED MARTIN HAMIDU.... WHO'S RECENT OUTBURST STEMS OUT OF BREACH OF TRUST ON THE PART OF THE WOYOME. WHO WAS TO EXPOSE THE BENEFICIARIES. AND SO LONG AS HE WOYOME KEEP MUTE, THE BENEFICIARIES STAYS OUT OF JAIL, HE KEEPS THE MONEY AND NDC TAKES THE FALL. BUT IF HE OPENS HIS MOUTH,,, MARTIN HAMIDU WILL BE VINDICATED,,, AND THIS WILL ADD SOME CREDIT TO HIS CITIZEN VIGILANTE TAG. GREEDY WOYOME, KEPT THE MONEY AND SAVE THE ***barred word*** OF SOME NPP MEMBERS BENEFICIARIES, AND GOVERNMENT LOSE THE POLITICAL WILL TO PROSECUTE. PURE POLITRICKS.
LET US VOTE FOR CHANGE. CHANGE IS COMING!