The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) has dismissed the case brought against the state by Alfred Agbesi Woyome against the state on the former’s quest to retrieve illegal payments made to the businessman.

The court said Woyome’s right to non-discrimination, right to equalilty before the law, equal protection before the law and his right to be heard by an impartial tribunal had all not been violated.

This comes after Mr Woyome dragged the government  to the ACHPR in January 2017 in response to the judgement of the Supreme Court of Ghana on July 29, 2014 that ordered him to pay the GH¢51.2m on the grounds that he got the money out of unconstitutional and invalid contracts between the state and Waterville Holdings Limited in 2006 for the construction of stadia for the African Cup of Nations (CAN) 2008.

Mr Woyome alleged in his application that the manner in which he was ordered to repay the money violated his rights under the ACHPR Charter.

Background

The court sitting in Tanzania ordered the Government to suspend prosecuting the matter in the Local Court until its final ruling on the case.

The apex court gave the Attorney-General the order on Thursday to sell off assets of the businessman to defray part of the amount owed the state.

Two Executive buildings and two other residential facilities at Caprice and Abelenkpe in Accra; are part of properties earmarked for sale under the court order.

He told Accra-based radio station, Citi FM, that he will seek a review of the judgement since he believes that the judgement was unlawful and based on wrong facts.

“I believe that the sole judge erred both in fact and in law. So far as he has erred I still have a right to review. I will exercise that right of review,” he said.

The two properties identified by the courts are estimated at GH₵20 million and the court believes that their sale could prove vital in retrieving the full amount of GH¢51.2 million judgement debt he allegedly received from the state unlawfully.

The now-defunct UT Bank has claimed some of the properties identified by the state were theirs. It was the claim of lawyers of the defunct UT Bank that Woyome, used the said properties as collateral for loans at the bank, which he failed to pay back. Ownership of the properties according to UT Bank, based on the failure to pay back the loans, transferred to the bank automatically.

But Woyome has rejected the claim. He said there was neither a loan nor any act of collusion with the now defunct bank.