It is now a waiting game as former Attorney-General Martin Amidu’s oral examination of businessman Alfred Agbesi Woyome has been put on hold by the Supreme Court till January 26, 2017.
The case was adjourned last Thursday pending the determination of two other cases challenging the court’s judgement that gave Mr Amidu the green light to question Mr Woyome over the refund of a GHS51.2 million judgement debt paid to him by the government.
Mr Amidu, popularly known as ‘Citizen Vigilante’, was given the go-ahead to orally examine the businessman by the Supreme Court, presided over by Mr Justice Anin Yeboah on November 16, 2016.
That was after the Attorney-General, Mrs Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong, had filed to discontinue with the process to orally examine the embattled businessman.
Three–way case
The oral examination has now taken three different dimensions, with two cases challenging the legality of the court’s decision to allow Mr Amidu to query the businessman.
First, Mr Woyome’s legal team has filed an application for review, seeking to reverse the decision of the Supreme Court to be orally examined by the former Attorney-General.
That case has been adjourned sine die by the court following another application by a legal practitioner, Mr David Kwadzo Ametefe, seeking a constitutional interpretation of the November 16, 2016 judgement that allowed Mr Amidu to orally examine Mr Woyome.
Hearing of the constitutional interpretation of the judgement will continue on January 10, 2016.
Mr Ametefe is seeking a declaration that upon a true and proper interpretation of articles 2 (1), 128, 130 and 134 of the 1992 Constitution, a single justice of the Supreme Court has no jurisdiction to determine matters involving the interpretation of the Constitution.
He, therefore, wants an order from the court quashing the judgement that granted Mr Amidu the permission to orally examine the businessman.
Analysis
With two different legal battles seeking to stop the oral examination, it seems the oral examination will not happen as immediately as expected.
But the change in government could change everything as the incoming New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration made it a campaign promise to vigorously pursue the repayment of the GH¢51.2 million judgement debt paid to the embattled businessman.
It is, therefore, expected that the government of the President-elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, will file an application to continue the motion to orally examine the embattled businessman.
Such a situation will somehow stop Mr Amidu’s relentless effort to grill the businessman.
Background
In 2014, the Supreme Court ordered Mr Woyome to refund the GH¢51.2 million judgement debt paid to him by the government because there was no valid contract between him and the government.
The court, again on November 16, 2016, granted permission to Mr Amidu to orally examine Mr Woyome over his assets.
The court’s directive was aimed at eventually retrieving the GHS51.2 million judgement debt paid to Woyome.
Mr Justice Yeboah said Mr Amidu had the right, under Article 2 of the 1992 Constitution to invoke the original jurisdiction of the court to retrieve the money on behalf of the state.
He said Mr Amidu had locus standi, especially as it was he who had initiated the action to retrieve the money.
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