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Businessman, Alfred Agbesi Kofi Woyome, has taken a swipe at the National Democratic Congress (NDC) following the Supreme Court’s ruling in favour of the Majority Caucus of Parliament on March 9, 2022.
The Supreme Court in effect of the ruling, struck out Parliament’s standing order 109 (3), declaring it unconstitutional because it prevented a deputy speaker who was presiding over Parliamentary business from casting vote during decision-making process.
The NDC caucus in their reaction to the verdict delivered by the seven-member panel led by Justice Jones Dotse, described the decision as “Judiciary interference on time tested Parliamentary practice and established conventions…”.
Thus, they accused the Court of breaching the rule of Separation of Powers as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.
Mr. Woyome, who considers himself a victim of wrong interpretation of constitutional provisions, alleged that the NDC was responsible for what it suffers from the decision of the court in the writ filed by the law lecturer, Justice Abdulai.
According to him, the party in government formed an ally with the New Patriotic Party in the famous prosecution case filed against him on the Waterville project. He noted that though the court ruled in his favour based on “properly interpreted constitutional provisions” the decision was overturned after a commissioner who was appointed to investigate him had wrongly indicted him.
“The sole commissioner did his job by INDICTING me wrongly, and over ruled the judgement of the high court presided over by Justice Tanko, which ordered payment to me even though he the sole commissioner had no such powers to do so,” Mr Woyome said.
He therefore held that the alleged action by the party set the precedent for the Judiciary to breach the Separation of Powers as apparently is the case in the recent ruling.
“The NDC’s repugnant collaboration with the NPP against justice created everything the Ghanaian public are crying about today,” his statement sighted by Angelonline.com.gh. added.
There is more in his reaction below:
A RESPONSE TO THE SUPREME COURT RULING ON THE RULES GOVERNING A QUORUM IN THE THIRD PARLIAMENT OF GHANA
Anytime a supreme court delivers a judgement/interpretation on constitutional provisions and defer the reasoning behind the so-called judgement/interpretation to another day; and you see citizens who are directly affected give their various counter interpretations, we should all be concerned.
This very case is a classical mimicking of the Martin Amidu vrs Alfred Agbesi Woyome Constitutional Case in major ways. The case mentioned supra was an embarrassing one for the Ghanaian jurisprudence. I came out and warned the nation on how dangerous the underlying arrangements and manipulation was to the future of this Country and its constitutional dispensation but I was ignored, abhorred, jettisoned, and persecuted. The truth eventually stood its ground as it will eventually be in this e-levy case in disguise at the Supreme court as a constitutional interpretation case.
The Separation of Powers as enshrined in article 101 and 102 of the 1992 constitution stand attacked by Justice Dotse’s ruling again. The members of the panel are all traditional allies of the President and active NPP sympathisers/UP apologists as was my grandfather before his abdication to neutrality in politics of Ghana in 1963 until his parting to Glory in 1969.
Why should the Supreme Court delve into grave areas of the law where its arms are not permitted by the Supreme law to overreach but did so only by a reason of mere allegiance to principles not embraced by the constitution and the peoples’ inherent rights as is clearly clothed in the Supreme Law of the 1992 constitution of Ghana.
In my case, Justice Dotse was able to falsely link the substance of the Martin Amidu vrs Attorney General, Waterville, and Alfred Woyome case (which was purely a breach of procurement procedure that caused my consortium, including Ghanaian banks, collateral sums of money) that occurred in 2005 to an independent construction contract of a foreign entity that I was not linked to in any way except that they had previously been my client, whose construction contract was signed in 2006, a year after the procurement breach.
The major reasoning of the ruling and its subsequent orders was that the Government of Ghana had not sent the contract to parliament and therefore Waterville must refund monies paid it in total for the construction of the two stadia.
Waterville has since not been chased for the said refund but Alfred Woyome has been hounded to refund back to the State a court ordered payment to him. Is it the duty of Waterville to send Government contracts to parliament?
There were no subsequent orders against the Kuffuor Government that caused the breaches and illegalities including borrowing at a higher rate and using it to pay the Chinese companies that built the Takoradi and Esipong Stadia! These illegalities were orchestrated by President Kuffour who went to China himself and brought the Chinese through the Ghana Embassy in Beijing. Hon Yaw Osafo Marfo and ” Dr” Kofi Amoah went to China with President Kuffour. The Chinese did not participate in the International Bidding process, but my Consortium’s contract that had received a concurrent approval by the National procurement board was cancelled and given to the Chinese.
All these facts were before the Supreme Court review panel but they ignored it and stated that they must make a decision that must not be counted by the lower courts, who might come out with a contrary decision. They therefore unilaterally struck out all the related cases in the lower courts except the criminal case. Indeed, the criminal case was given a ruling contrary to that of the review panel of the Supreme Court unanimously by The Court of Appeal where the rules of evidence was triumphant.
The case of the procurement breach and the justification of payment to me and my consortium was clearly won by me in both the High Court and subsequently in the Court of Appeal when the Attorney General then appealed against the verdict of the High Court in my favour in a matter of 24 hours, an indication that the NDC government wanted me jailed for daring to touch the Kuffour’s Government officials.
The NDC government in collaboration with the then opposition, after suffering a defeat in the Supreme Court ordinary bench case, (unanimously, 9 against zero, although a careful read of Justice Dotse’s concurrent opinion would have rather been referred to as a dissenting one), supported Martin Amidu as per the Attorney General’s depositions in support of the Surrogate Martin Amidu in the subsequent review that was filed three weeks or so after the ordinary bench decision.
At the time of the filing of the review application, Justice Darte Bah, the lead Justice in the ordinary bench decision, had retired honourably. Justice Darte Bah wrote in his book, “the Reflections of Supreme Court Decisions”, a scanty rebuke of the review bench of 11 Justices which overturned a properly interpreted constitutional provisions on foreign loans and the infringement of the rights of Ghanaians concerning those provisions. He actually said the review decision was an overthrow of the constitution and called on Ghanaians to resist it.
The NDC government having predicted my triumph in the criminal case by unanimous decision, constituted a sole commission to investigate judgement debts, mainly focused on me. When I complained, the so called policy makers made the President come out to dispute my claims, and what happened subsequently proved me right.
The sole commissioner did his job by INDICTING me wrongly, and over ruled the judgement of the high court presided over by Justice Tanko, which ordered payment to me even though he the sole commissioner had no such powers to do so. I was not even heard by his panel as I refused to appear before it in accordance with the double jeopardy rule.
In spite of the above, the judgement debt case involving me became the front page of his report, indicting me and Justice Tanko’s Court and making scanty remarks containing words such as ‘NOTORIETY’, etc.
The Government later issued a white paper on only the portions concerning me and thereby banning me extremely and extensively in any public, political, and other activities in Ghana for 15 years.
The sole commissioner’s report concerning me, the judgement of Justice Tanko, and the white paper were subsequently quashed unanimously by the Court of Appeal after I instituted an action before it six months after the report as required by law. The Justice Tanko’s High Court decision was brought before the Court of Appeal by a private citizen. These cases won in the Court of Appeal have become Res Judicata.
The sole commissioner was later rewarded and appointed by the NDC Government to the Supreme Court of Ghana. In the recent elections petition case before the Supreme Court, the sole commissioner referred to supra, ruled against the NDC in every single opportunity which comes across him. Strange. Karma.
Who created Justice Dotse and Amidu? Who created the Sole Commissioner?
The NDC’s repugnant collaboration with the NPP against justice created everything the Ghanaian public are crying about today.
Who encouraged the one who filed this constitutional case against the independent institution of the Parliament of Ghana established by the Supreme Law of Ghana (Independent in terms of the separation of powers as enshrined in the 1992 Republican Constitution of Ghana)? The outcome was clearly anticipated. Why the shedding of crocodile tears?
NDC! Check within yourselves so you may not be found to be collaborating in the weakening of the 1992 Republican Constitution together with its cherished institutions further into its disarray. The Constitution thrived on the blood of innocent colleagues who shed it believing that Ghana would take its proper glorious place in Africa and in World Affairs.
The NDC should ensure that they against all odds win the true trust of the population again. TRUISM hurts but is the surest way of purging. The NDC owes it as a duty both to the People and the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana to do the painful duty of purging itself to genuinely reflect the true ideals of Probity and Accountability in the Spirit of True Democracy and Pan-Africanism.
Those that were punished ultra-judiciary and those who were also put through wrongful trials have given their ultimate to this constitution and Country. We must defend the constitution in its entirety in honor of the dead Patriots, the living ones, and future generations as suggestively instructed by His Lordship, the academic and a great member of the intelligentsia, Justice Darte Bah in his book, “The Reflections of the Judgements of the Supreme Court of Ghana.”
God bless our Homeland Ghana, and Make Our Nation Stronger Again.
By ALFRED AGBESI KOFI WOYOME
