Kufuor Minister’s For Woyome Trail
After subjecting them to all sorts of harassment and portraying them as common criminals, the Mills-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) government is making frantic efforts to get some officials of the erstwhile Kufuor administration to testify as witnesses in the ongoing Woyome trial.
This was after several attempts by the State to get prosecution witnesses to testify in the case failed, a source at the High Court told DAILY GUIDE.
The former government officials being pursued by government to help prosecute the case against the NDC financier who has been accused of fraudulently pocketing GH¢51.2million, are former Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports under the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, Osei Bonsu Amoah, his colleague at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu and former Finance and later Education and Sports Minister, Yaw Osafo-Maafo.
DAILY GUIDE learnt that Mr Amoah would appear today at the Fast Track High Court trying the case.
The trial court issued a subpoena for the aforementioned individuals to appear before the court today, Thursday, July 12, 2012 at exactly 9:00am and serve as prosecution witnesses.
A copy of the subpoena seen by DAILY GUIDE, dated Tuesday, July 9, 2012 and signed by Chief State Attorney Cynthia Lamptey, for Attorney-General Dr Benjamin Kunbuor, was given to the witnesses.
According to the source, the Attorney-General was compelled to resort to the issuance of a court order after initial attempts to get the former government officials to testify on behalf of the State failed due to the manner in which some of them were treated.
Mr. Amoah, for instance, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Aburi-Nsawam, was arrested and detained.
The last time the case went to court, the presiding judge, Justice John Ajet-Nasam, had cause to express worry and disappointment about the manner in which State prosecutors were handling the case.
“Is the State serious in prosecuting the matter?” the judge asked after Mathew Amponsah, a Chief State Attorney, prayed for an adjournment because the State had not been able to fully confer with the witnesses who were also to tender relevant documents on the case.
The trial judge wondered why the State, which at the last hearing claimed it had witnesses to testify in the case, made a sudden u-turn with the excuse that the witnesses it wanted to use were out of the jurisdiction and therefore needed time.
However, Justice Ajet-Nasam said, “I am not doing your case for you anyway but I believe we can do this quickly and finish this case in the interest of Mother Ghana.”
It is not clear if the officials of the former administration will be forthcoming with information or act as hostile witnesses.
Woyome claimed that he had no contract with the state but succeeded in walking away with GH¢51.2million.
The money was said to have been fraudulently paid to him.