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Former President Jerry John Rawlings appears highly displeased with the disservice done the nation by the shoddy work performed by state prosecutors resulting in an Accra High Court ruling that Mr Alfred Agbesi Woyome be acquitted and discharged on two counts of causing financial loss to the state and defrauding by false pretence.

Mr Woyome was accused of illegally recieving 51 million cedis in 2010 for his role in the construction of stadia for the CAN 2008 tournament held in Ghana. 

In a landmark ruling Thursday, Justice Ajet-Nasam said the prosecution failed to prove its case against the accused person.

The presiding Judge took on the prosecution for failing to call former Attorney-General, Mrs Betty Mould Iddrisu, Rex Magnus Danquah, Ebo Barton Odro, Paul Asimenu, Samuel Nerquaye-Tetteh and others who all had given written opinion that Woyome was entitled to the claim. He said the State had also failed to put up a defence when Woyome went to the Commercial Court and, therefore, found it absurd for the State to turn around and accuse Woyome of Causing financial loss.

The Judge queried, "where lies the charge of causing financial loss when the state failed to fight the case on its merit at the Commercial Court?"

He also said there were inconsistencies in the evidence led by the prosecution witness. Based on the foregoing, the court said there was no legal basis for Woyome to be convicted. Immediately after the judgement, an elated Woyome was whisked away from court.

Clearly incensed at the wave of corruption sweeping through the country and the scruffy handling of the case by the Attorney-General's Department, Mr Rawlings said; “this is the extent of corruption I keep talking about." 

"Today I read the newspaper and heard that they have released the thief called Woyome. Why? Because some of our friends in government who were part of could not produce vital document for interrogation to incriminate him and this shows that they are thieves.... Because his collaborators were untouched he was also freed. The rot in government keeps aggravating. The Attorney General had let loose the collaborators so how can Woyome be prosecuted?...We are not serious! Is that how to fight corruption? They are rather holding key positions in the party. Are we so stupid? What is wrong with our support base, can’t they observe what is going on?” the ex-military leader rhetorically asked in Ga in the presence of the family of one Isaac Tetteh when they called on him at his residence to inform him about the death of their loved one.




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