Counsel for Alfred Agbesi Woyome, Mr David Annan, has filed a contempt suit seeking the Accra High Court to commit five officials of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for willfully and gleefully interfering with the administration of justice and scandalising the court in the case involving his client.
The respondents are Mr Kennedy Agyapong, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin North; Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Minority Leader in Parliament and MP for Suame; Nana Akomea, the MP for Okaikoi South and Director of Communications of the NPP; Mr Samuel Awuku, a Deputy Director of Communications, and Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, the National Chairman of the NPP.
Also joined in the suit are Mr Rockson Adofo and Mr Kofi Akosah Sarpong for writing contemptuous articles about the case in which Woyome is standing trial for the payment of GH�51.2 million judgement debt to him.
The Proprietor/Director of Peace FM online, Mr Osei Kwame Despite; Nana Kwadwo Asante, the Online Editor of Peace FM online, and Mr Kwesi Twum, the Chief Executive Officer of Multimedia Limited, have also been added to the suit for offering their media to the respondents to make the alleged contemptuous statements.
The suit is scheduled to be heard on April 5, 2012.
A writ dated March 9, 2012 and filed by Mr Annan said the respondents had, over a long period of time, made constant pernicious statements and pronounced the accused and defendant in the criminal and civil matters which were pending before the court as a criminal, a thief, corrupt and fraudulent.
�That by pronouncing on the ultimate verdict and other matters subject to the jurisdiction and determination of the High Court, the respondents have prejudged the matters in contention and matters in dispute before courts of competent jurisdiction,� it said.
According to the writ, the nine officials were aware of the existence of the court cases because all their acts and statements were in response to all the cases and originated from their knowledge of the averments and charges in the said suits pending before the courts.
It said in the first case, the matter revolved around whether Woyome was entitled to GH�51 million and whether the judgment debt was procured by fraud.
It said in another case, the issues were about the money paid to Woyome and the charges were about conspiracy and fraud and so to call a party in the matter a thief, a criminal or an armed robber or unarmed robber was sub judice.
�That the respondents have, by their statements and conducts, evinced a blatant desire to subvert the constitutionally mandated duty of the courts given by Article 125 (3) BS (5), Article 127, Article 140 of the 1992 Constitution.
�That even before any final judicial decision has been taken on any of the listed court cases, the respondents had turned themselves into pseudo courts, fake judges and juries, gone into the very matters, issues and averments before the courts and delivered their judgments,� it said.
The writ added that the judgements delivered by the respondents had been stated with such alacrity, conviction, intent and malice that any contrary view by the real custodians of justices raised the eventuality that the authority and integrity of the courts would be brought into disrepute.
�That is because the respondents have, through word of mouth, the print and electronic media, widely and universally disseminated their �rulings� and �judgements� throughout the jurisdiction and beyond that any contrary view, legal opinion or real judgement rulings or decisions from any court of competent jurisdiction will be excoriated, denigrated and chastised by the ordinary man if the courts do not stand firm and protect the virtue of justice,� it said.
In the case of Mr Agyapong, the writ said he, on or around December 26, 2011, stated on Net 2 TV and other media platforms that �Woyome has caused (sic) this country 1.3 trillion cedis which needs to be retrieved�.
Again, it said Mr Agyapong said Mr Woyome was �a serious criminal� and �he should have been arrested immediately it became public that he had duped the state�.
For Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu and Nana Akomea, the writ said they held a Minority Caucus media briefing on January 5, 2012 and were reported on joyonline as saying, among others, �In all the unfolding events, we have established that there was no contract between Mr Woyome and the state. If there is not contract, there cannot be culpability or liability and that is why Ghanaians discern recklessness, improprieties, malfeasance and fraud and sniff collusion and corruption.�
The writ quoted Mr Awuku as saying that �...the diversionary tactics being employed by government to sweep the gargantuan corruption in the Woyomegate scandal under the carpet will fail because the NPP will ensure the GH�51 million is recovered from Woyome�, as reported on myjoyonline.
On Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey, it said in an interview with Peace FM on or around January 12, 2012 and reported by joyonline on January 14, 20412, he had stated that �Woyome has no right to claim any money from government because he had no contract with the state�.
It said Mr Adofo wrote a feature article and published same on peacefmonline in which he made statements headlined, �Arrest Betty Mould-Iddrisu for personally profiting from the Woyomegate scandal�, while Mr Sarpong reported in the Public Agenda newspaper and on an international website titled: �Ghana: Woyome corruption and development�.
Source: Daily Graphic/Ghana
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