Lawyer and former Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini, has said that the state’s case against Alfred Agbesi Woyome should be retrial based on the based on different set of facts.
He said that even though the state can retrial the case, it can only do so if the facts of the case have changed as required by the legal principle that no man should be trialed more than once on the same set of facts.
He added that the law is drafted in a way that it cannot be abused by any powerful individual or entity like government. Speaking on whether or not the state attorney handling the case at the time was compromised, he answered “Your guess is as good as mine.”
He emphasized that Nerquaye-Tetteh, filed a nolle prosequi (a formal notice of abandonment by a plaintiff or prosecutor of all or part of a suit or action) while he was in charge of the case, adding that the only reason for any lawyer to file a nolle prosequi is when he or she is deeply convinced that his client had no case.
He insisted that the conduct of the Senior State Attorney was completely against the Legal Professions Act 1960 (ACT 32), but declined to answer the question of whether or not the lead prosecutor was compromised.
“Our rules as lawyers require that we uphold high professional standards. We have a high moral standing in society. We exhibit the highest ethical standards. It is unethical for a state prosecutor to be hobnobbing with an accused person.”
Inusah Fuseini
The General Legal Council (GLC) revoked the license of Mr. Nerquaye Tetteh on the 31st of January 2024 after he was invited by the Disciplinary Committee of the GLC to provide explanations for a transfer of GH₵400,000 wired directly from the account of Alfred Agbesi Woyome to the account of his wife, while he was the lead state prosecutor in a case involving the state and Mr. Woyome
In a statement by the GLC, the accused failed to provide reasonable explanations to the Disciplinary Committee for the money transfer. He was thereafter charged with misconduct per the Legal Professions Act 1960 (ACT 32) and his license was revoked.
Legal experts have suggested that the decision is too harsh and called upon the victim to appeal it.
Woyome Denies Allegations of Bribery
The businessman at the center stage of the disbarment of the lead state prosecutor, Mr. Alfred Abgesi Woyome, has denied claims that he bribed Mr. Nerquaye Tetteh as the lead prosecutor in the GHc51 million Waterville judgment debt case.
He argued that the lawyer in question never handled his file. He said that every payment he made during the trial was by the order of the court. He stressed that there were no secrets during the trial because every decision that was made was brought to the knowledge of the “then President, Chief of Staff, and other people”.
“On what basis is the Attorney General still tarnishing the image of a person for all these years? If you read deeply, you’ll realize that Mr. Nerquaye-Tetteh never handled my file. The only time Nerquaye-Tetteh was sent to court was when there was somebody out and he went to deputize and even that was after the government negotiation. Every payment was by court order and the decision was taken in the highest arm of government from the castle.”
Alfred Agbesi Woyome
He added that it is incomprehensible for the AG to suggest that a Chief State Attorney could make such important decisions alone when the President, Chief of Staff, and other top state officials were involved at every stage of the process.
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