Gov’t is deliberately delaying the prosecution of Woyome – Former AG: A Rejoinder by Martin A. B. K. Amidu

A former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Martin Amidu, has expressed fear that some National Democratic Congress (NDC) legal team members, whose business is to meddle in the affairs of the A-G’s department could undermine the prosecution of the infamous Alfred Agbesi Woyome case.

Mr. Amidu in a rejoinder to Citifmonline.com to support a claim by his former colleague, Ayikoi Otoo, about the seeming delay in prosecuting Mr. Woyome, said the Director of Public Prosecution’s office should be given a free hand to handle the case.

“What I fear is the so called “NDC Legal Team” some of whose members unethically make it their business to meddle in the professional affairs of the office of the Attorney-General while at the same time acting as lawyers for clients whose interest are opposed to those of the Republic,” Mr. Amidu said in the rejoinder titled "Gov’t is deliberately delaying the prosecution of Woyome – Former AG: A Rejoinder by Martin A. B. K. Amidu.

He added: “I have every confidence that if the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions is given a free hand to direct the police investigations, the resulting police docket will be solid for prosecution.”

The former A-G, who fell out with the Mills-led administration over the same Woyome case in which a judgment debt of GhC51 million was awarded the NDC financier, suggested that the Director-General of the Police Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has to “build a docket from the scratch.”

“The case to the best of my knowledge is complex and could lead to others being charged for prosecution as well. The Police cannot just rely on the report and materials supplied by EOCO without taking their own statements and going through the requisite motions. EOCO has the capacity, if left alone, to assist the Police to trace assets and do many other helpful things for the Police,” he pointed out.

Mr. Amidu said if the trial of the case does not commence as scheduled on the next adjourned date on June 4, it will “definitely create the impression that government is deliberately buying time by pushing the trial to after the legal vacation in October and thus avoid the conclusion of the trial before the elections in December.”

“But I also have an additional worry from Hon. Otoo’s. I hope the Director of Public Prosecution’s Office will have a free hand to review the docket professionally and advice the Attorney-General,” he added.

Mr. Amidu revealed that when the case first broke he “insisted on Mr. Prosper Agblor, the Director-General/CID, and his very able professional staff being allowed to investigating this matter for possible criminal prosecutions. The President told me to allow the Economic and Organized Crime Office to investigate the case and submit a report first. The Government’s inexperienced faction supporting Mr. Woyome did not want any type of police criminal investigations and surprisingly had their way.

“The subsequent decision to allow the Inspector-General of Police and his Director-General/CID to arrest and investigate Alfred Agbesi Woyome, and Samuel Nerquaye-Tetteh was clearly a victory for Ghana resulting from the intense pressure from the overwhelming public agitation against any cover up of the scandal in the circumstances of my exit from office.”



By Kent Mensah & Umaru Sanda Amadu/Citifmonline.com/Ghana