Mathew Amponsah, the State Attorney prosecuting the National Democratic Congress (NDC) financier, Alfred Agbesi Woyome, on Thursday prayed the Accra Financial Court to give the State some time to go through the record of proceedings on the trial before going ahead with cross-examining the accused.
He told the court that they were yet to get a full record of the court proceedings of the Woyome trial.
He is on trial for the alleged fraudulent receipt of GH¢51.28 judgment debt from the State.
Justice Najet-Assam informed Mr. Mathew Amponsah that the records had been ready since the beginning of the week but the staff from the Attorney- General’s Department (A-G) was told to return them [records].
Meanwhile, the court had received a copy of the letter allegedly written by Yaw Osafo-Marfo, former Minister of Education, Youth and Sport, telling Dr. Kofi Amoah, then Chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the Confederation of African Cup (CAN 2008) that he (Osafo-Maafo) could not include Shanghai Construction after he (Woyome) had suggested that the company should be included.
The judge acknowledged receipt of the letter made available to the court by the Chief Director of the Ministry on June 23, 2014, which was addressed to counsel for Woyome and copied to the High Court Registry.
It contained documents on procurement procedures which the trial judge said was explained in an accompanying letter.
It would be recalled that Woyome had in the course of his cross-examination said Dr. Amoah had written to Osafo-Maafo asking him to include Shanghai in the list of bidders after the closing date, to which the former Minister said he could not do.
The trial judge ordered Mathew Amponsah to ask Woyome a few questions; and he [Amposah asked Woyome what he meant at the last hearing when he described himself as a diplomat.
Woyome replied that he was the former Consul of Austria to Ghana.
Justice Najet-Assam later asked the State Attorneys when they would be ready for hearing of the case to continue, and they reiterated that they needed to go through the records.
The case has consequently been adjourned to July21, 2014.
The accused person at the last hearing stated in his cross-examination in-chief that the GH¢51.28 million he received was known to the former President, John Evans Atta-Mills, the former Chief of Staff and the former Attorney-General, Betty Mould-Iddrisu because they were involved in the whole process.
He said that he obtained the money through a consent judgment given by a court of competent jurisdiction.
Source: Daily Guide