Woyome Objection Dismissed

The Supreme Court yesterday dismissed a preliminary objection by Osafo Boabeng, counsel for National Democratic Congress (NDC) bankroller and businessman, Alfred Agbesi Woyome, in a review praying the court to order a refund of the GH�51.28 million allegedly owed the State by Woyome through an alleged fraudulent judgment debt paid to him. Martin Alimisi Amidu, former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, filed the application for the court to take a second look at some aspects of an earlier judgment in which it declined to call for a refund of the said amount, which Amidu believed should be returned to the state. Osafo Boabeng prayed the court to give him a few days to file their statement of case after an initial preliminary objection was dismissed by the court, presided over by the Chief Justice, Mrs. Georgina Theodora Wood. Earlier, Woyome�s counsel had told the eleven-member panel of Supreme Court judges that the statement of case of the plaintiff, Amidu, was not authenticated and so remained a draft and the court could therefore not make reference to it. According to Boabeng, the rules of procedure indicated that to apply for a review, a statement of case is distinct and does not form part of an affidavit. However, the judges, who did not agree with him, asked if a verifying affidavit was sworn to by the former Attorney-General (A-G), to which counsel for Woyome answered in the affirmative. The case was dismissed by the Chief Justice after which Mr. Boabeng prayed for a few days to file all the statements of case.