Woyome’s fate to be decided on November 28

Legal moves by Mr Alfred Agbesi Woyome to stop the state from pursuing him to collect the Gh₵ 51.2 judgement debt that was wrongfully paid to him would be decided by the Supreme Court on November 28, 2017.

The court would decide whether or not to suspend proceedings in the court and moves by the state meant to retrieve the money until the African Court on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) based in Tanzania determines a case filed by Mr Woyome.

The five-member panel hearing the case is presided over by Mr Justice Jones Dotse with Mr Justice Anin Yeboah, Mrs Justice Vida Akoto-Bamfo, Mr Justice Alfred Anthony Benin and Mr Justice Yaw Apau as the other members.

Woyome’s argument

At Tuesday’s hearing, counsel for Mr Woyome, Mr Osafo Buabeng, prayed the court to suspend any ongoing proceeding in relation to the retrieval of the money because Ghana was a signatory to the charter that established the ACHPR

According to him, on February 9, 2011, the government signed a declaration that allowed the African Court of Justice to accept cases from Ghana and also to comply with the decision of the court.

“It is our submission that proceedings in the Supreme Court will have a bearing on the case in the African Court of Justice based in Arusha Tanzania and, therefore, they must be stayed,’’ counsel argued.

Constitutional violation

In his response, however, a Deputy Attorney-General, Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame, argued that the case filed by Mr Woyome at the ACHPR was an affront to the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.

According to him, Article 129 clause 1 of the 1992 constitution made the Supreme Court the highest court of the country while Article 130 clause 1 of the constitution gave the court the exclusive jurisdiction over all constitutional matters.

Mr Dame contended that the 2014 Supreme Court decision that ordered Mr Woyome to repay the money was a constitutional matter and, therefore, its enforcement cannot be subject to a review before any international tribunal or court.

Background

The Supreme Court, on July 29, 2014, ordered Mr Woyome to refund GH¢51.2 million to the state on the grounds that he got the money out of unconstitutional and invalid contracts between the state and Waterville Holdings Limited in 2006 for the construction of stadia for CAN 2008.

The court held that the contracts upon which Mr Woyome made and received the claim were in contravention of Article 181 (5) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, which requires such contracts to be laid before and approved by Parliament.

On March 1, 2016, Mr Woyome prayed the court to give him three years to pay back the money but the court declined to grant his wish.

He, however, refunded GH¢4 million in November 2016 and promised to pay the outstanding balance by quarterly instalments of GH¢5 million, commencing April 1, 2017.

That did not materialise after the businessman initiated a litany of legal cases at the Supreme Court to either challenge the method employed by the state to collect the money or to have the judgement thrown out.

All his legal moves had failed with the Supreme Court dismissing all of them. His latest defeat was on October 20, 2017, when the court dismissed his attempt to stop the valuation of his properties by state officials.

Writer’s email: emma.hawkson@graphic.com.gh