An Accra High Court has dismissed businessman, Alfred Agbesi Woyome’s application of no case in the ongoing case involving him and the state over the controversial GHC 51 million paid to him as judgement debt.
The trial judge, Justice John Najet-Assam, dismissed the application and gave Mr. Woyome, May 5, 2014 to file his defense.
Mr. Woyome suspects political machination behind the decision to put him on trial and told Citi News that he will tell the full story when he mounts the witness box to open his defense.
Mr. Woyome, who is facing charges of defrauding by false pretenses and causing financial loss to the state, has a team of four lawyers representing him in a trial that has been ongoing for nearly two years.
Mr. Woyome had filed a submission of no case through his lead counsel, Osafo Boabeng, praying the court to dismiss the charges against him. His lawyers had argued that the state had not put any concrete evidence before the court to warrant a full trial.
Mr Osafo Boabeng announced he filed the application of no case in February, immediately after the prosecution, led by Mathew Amponsah, informed Justice Najet- Assam that they had closed their case.
Mr. Amponsah, who had earlier talked about the voluminous nature of the submission of no case filed by counsel for Woyome, had since filed a response to the submission, leading to Wednesday’s ruling of the court.
So far, the state has presented nine witnesses, including Yaw Osafo- Maafo, a former Minister of Education and Sports in the Kufuor administration.
By: Mawuli Tsikata/citifmonline.com/Ghana