<<Print>>The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong has denied accusations that she omitted the Supreme Court declarations that affected Austro-Invest and the then Attorney General, Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu, whose conduct in facilitating the payment of the over GH₵51million to Alfred Agbesi Woyome were also declared unconstitutional when she filed the entry of judgment in the case.
Mr Martin Amidu in a rejoinder to an interview granted graphiconline by Mr Tony Lithur had said that after the Supreme Court unanimously decided on July 26, 2014 that the purported contract that earned Woyome the judgment debt was unconstitutional, the Entry of Judgment filed by the Attorney-General, Mrs. Brew Appiah-Opong at the Supreme Court was selective.
He accused Mrs Appiah-Opong of omitting the declarations that affected Austro-Invest and the then Attorney General, Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu, whose conduct in facilitating the payment of the "Gargantuan over GH₵51million were also declared unconstitutional."
"Woyome and I opposed the selective entry of judgment in our respective affidavits to the entry of judgment. The Supreme Court agreed with me and struck out the offending entry of judgment for non-compliance with the decision of the Supreme Court," Mr Amidu said.
Following from that, Mr Amidu said the perception that he got in his handling of the Constitutional cases against the Attorney General, Waterville, and Woyome/Austro-Invest was that, "the John Dramani Mahama NDC Government under its Attorney General, Mrs. Brew Appiah-Opong has at every step done everything in its power to impede the success of the cases."
"I had made it clear to the Mills/Mahama Government as its Attorney General that no prosecution in the scam involving the over GH₵51million will succeed by targeting Woyome alone without Waterville, Austro-Invest, Samuel Nerquaye-Tetteh, the Chief State Attorney whose spouse EOCO reveal had received GH₵400,000 from Woyome while he was handling the case as an Attorney for the Government, and others.
But in a response, Mrs Appiah-Opong told graphiconline, "I deny his allegations. In any case we are working with Chief State Attorneys on this case. I'm not working on it alone,"
She said Woyome's lawyers opposed the entry of judgment on a completely different ground.
"On that day, Woyome's lawyers went to the court to withdraw the application but I understand Martin Amidu was there to insist it should be struck out."
"How do we serve an entry of judgment on a Entity which he says had been dissolved and which by his own statement, it's name had been struck out from?"
"I will not be moved by diversionary tactics from any quarter."
She said Lithur Brew was never part of the process of making the claim on government and that Austro Invest only instructed subsequently to issue the writ against Woyome and upon advice was discontinued.
"Neither Tony Lithur or I or Lithur Brew have denied that Lithur Brew was instructed by Austro Invest in November 2011 to file / issue a writ against Woyme in respect of the Ghc51 million."
Upon his advice, she said the action was discontinued in January 2012 after more facts showed that the sum of Ghc51.2 million was not lawfully due.
She said Tony Lithur spoke to this in his interview of 14th March 2015, Daily Graphic. " I have also spoken to the issue in my various interviews over the last few days."
Again I have indicated all the time that I never ever handled any of these matters personally even though my Law firm did handle them, she added.
Austro-Invest was at the request of Martin Amidu struck out of the Supreme Court Suit. From the date the name of Austro Invest was struck out they ceased to be parties to the suit.
Continuing, she said judgment was subsequently given against Woyome in a review application filed by Martin Amidu. The Attorney General’s Department did not oppose it and indeed filed submissions to support the review application.
The entry of judgment filed by the Department was directed specifically at recovering from Woyome the sum he had been ordered to pay by the Supreme Court.
An application was filed by Woyome’s Lawyers to strike out the entry of judgment. Their case was that Article 2 provided the method for enforcing that is prosecuting Woyome for high crimes. However, Woyome’s lawyers went to the Supreme Court on the scheduled date to withdraw the application. Martin Amidu insisted that it should be struck out. The Supreme Court Judge Justice Enin Yeboah struck it out. He assigned no reasons for his decision to strike it out, she said.
We have since filed a new entry of judgment and application to ask the SC for directions on recovery of this money, she added.
Adding, she said in all the cases filed by Martin Amidu, the AG's submissions have supported him.
"How can he say I have impeded the process"