The Court of Appeal has today, Thursday, 8 March ruled in favour of businessman Alfred Agbesi Woyome setting aside the findings of the Judgment Debt Commission chaired by Justice Yaw Appau which made adverse findings against him as far as the state’s quest to retrieve some GHS51.3million paid him illegally is concerned.
The three-member Supreme Court bench presided by Justice Victor Ofoe held that the Sole Commissioner, now a Supreme Court judge, breached the rules of natural justice by not allowing Mr Woyome an opportunity to appear before the commission.
It also made an order for the findings to be expunged from the whitepaper dated 18 November 2015 and the Report of the Sole Commissioner on the findings and decision pertaining to the businessman.
The Judgement Debt Commission was set up by former President John Mahama to look into judgement debt payment since 1992 in the wake of many judgement debt scandals that rocked the country.
It completed its work in 2016. It found among other things that some payments made to Mr. Woyome were fraudulent including the GHS51.2million.
As part of the findings, it emerged that the state prosecutor’s wife also received some GHS400,000 from Mr. Woyome to facilitate the payment of the judgement debt to him.
Mr Woyome in June 2016 headed to the Court of Appeal to set aside those portions of the Sole Commissioner’s report arguing that he was not given an opportunity to appear before the JDC to respond to the issues raised. The court agreed with the businessman and proceeded to quash those portions of the Sole Commissioner’s report.
Mr Woyome was not in court on Thursday but some relatives of his were.
Source: citifmonline.com
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Woyome's case is now like a telenovela. Always keeping people in suspense. The laws of Ghana are like spdier web. It catches the cassava and goat ***barred word*** and leaves the intellectual ***barred word***. Ghana is bleeding to death!
Richard, people like you with criminal mind-sets who or the accomplices benefited from the Woyome booty think they are free. With the Citizen Vigilante in the seat, that booty will definitely be retrieved. Those who benefited will all vomit their share.
NPP MADE THE WOYOME ISSUE THEIR POLITICAL CAPITAL WHEN IN OPPOSITION. THEY SHOULD COLLECT THE MONEY NOW. LIARS, CRIMINALS,NEPOTISTIC AND INCOMPETENT GROUP CALL NPP. 2020 IS EVEN DELAYING TOO MUCH.
THE INCOMPETENT JOHN MAHAMA GOVERNMENT APPOINTED THE INCOMPETENT JUDGEMENT DEBT COMMISSIONER IN THE PERSON OF JUSTICE APPAU WHO GAVE AN IMCOMPETENT JUDGEMENT AGAINST THE NDC FINANCIER HON. WOYOME. A CASE OF DOG BITE DOG
@Adom go and take the money for us. We are waiting.
This judgement does not change the fact that Woyome defrauded the state and the money he obtained fraudulently must be refunded.