The High Court’s decision to acquit and discharge the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of UT Bank, Prince Kofi Amoabeng of any criminal wrong doing in the sale and acquisition of a property belonging to one Naa Otua Sawyne, has suffered a big judicial setback.
The Supreme Court on Thursday, 19 February 2015, quashed the earlier decision of an Accra High Court, last year, a acquitting the CEO of UT Bank in the matter of the Republic Versus Prince Kofi Amoabeng. Naa Otua Sawyne, accused the ex-Captain of the Ghana Armed Forces of fraudulently appropriating her house located in the Ringway estates, a suburb in Accra opposite the headquarters of the Ghana National Fire Service.
The legal tussle over the building named, “Naa Otua Plaza”, has been pending at the Circuit Court, when the UT boss sought a relief at an Accra High Court – Human Rights Division, quashing the trial at the lower court. But the Supreme Court yesterday, directed that the criminal case resumes at the Circuit Court. Naa Otua, is a female chief from the Eastern region with the stool name, Naa Owusuwaa l, and a mother of two. Mr. Amoabeng, had in the past failed to appear in court personally. He had seven lawyers, led by Mr. Addo Atua representing him. It took a bench warrant from Justice Naa Adoley Azu, then at the Circuit Court to compel him to appear.
Mr. Amoabeng, an ex-accountant of the Ghana Army, is on trial with a solicitor of the State Housing Company (SHC), John Aidoo, charged with fraud. The prosecutor in the case, had earlier told the court that the complainant, Naa Otua Owusuaa, known in private life as Nana Otua Sawyne, in 2005 agreed to sell her house at no. 23 Ringway Estate- Osu for US$280,000, to the late Mr. Alex Adjei, who was supposed to have paid the money in three installments. The deceased, Mr. Adjei on October 14, 2005, made a payment of US$100,000, but failed to pay the remaining amount. Madam Sawyne, who was due to travel to the United Kingdom (UK), was convinced by a lawyer friend, Martin Nwosu, to proceed to UT Bank, where she borrowed an amount of GH¢25, 000, using the title on the house as a collateral. Martin Nwosu, introduced her to UT Bank.
The prosecutor said, Madam Sawyne, prepared and signed a deed of assignment with a condition that the final transaction would be witnessed by Martin Nwosu, and handed over to the buyer after full payment of the purchase price.
The prosecutor, however, explained that on September 27, 2007, Mr. Aidoo, without recourse to Madam Sawyne, wrote a letter to SHC, informing it that the deceased had purchased the property, therefore, requesting them to consent to it by assigning the property to him.
Prior to this, Mr. Amoabeng, had fraudulently released the title document on the house to the late Alex Aidoo, to secure a loan facility at the Home Finance Company Bank (HFC), despite knowing that the house in question, was still in the name of Madam Sawyne, as the purchase price had not been paid in full.
The building in question, has been put into a different use by the ex-accountant of the Ghana Army, for profit-making purposes.
The Herald is working on getting the Supreme Court judgment. It is however, unclear when the criminal case will resume as the Supreme Court ordered.
Mr. Amoabeng, had on the High Court decision, held a press conference on the matter, saying he was unfairly accused by Nana Otua.
The victim subsequently issued the rejoinder below;
In the November 14, 2014 and November 10, 2014, issues of the Daily Graphic and the Daily Guide, a reportage captioned ‘COURT DISCONTINUES KOFI AMOABENG’S CASE’ and ‘KOFI AMOABENG EXONERATED’ respectively, was carried in these newspapers as regards to the criminal proceedings at an Accra Circuit Court against the CEO of the UT Bank.
In the said reportage it was stated that, a High Court (Human Rights Division) had quashed a suit at an Accra Circuit Court filed by Naa Otua Swayne against Prince Kofi Amoabeng and another person by an order of certiorari.
The reportage further noted that, the court, presided over by Justice Kofi Essel Mensah, described the proceedings at the Circuit Court , where a criminal case has been brought against Prince Kofi Amoabeng and one other person, by Naa Otua Swayne, a.k.a Nana Otua Owusuaa 1st , as unlawful, and an infringement of their fundamental human rights, and therefore, by his ruling , he has prohibited the Circuit Court from hearing the said criminal case against Kofi Amoabeng and his accomplice.
Misleading as this reportage was, it was also a calculated attempt by desperate Kofi Amoabeng to throw dust into the eyes of the general public, who are following with keen interest, the criminal proceedings against him. That is why I write this rejoinder so that the public will know the true state of affairs and treat the reportage with the highest level of contempt it deserves, because after all the dubious attempt at the Human Rights Court to subvert justice at the Circuit Court where he is being tried on criminal charges of fraud and abetment of crime, Kofi Amoabeng is still in the dock to answer the charges brought against him.
His lawyers were even in court on 18th November 2014 to plead with the trial judge on his behalf with the excuse that he was indisposed, and that the second accused also lost his mother, to which submission the trial judge demanded evidence.
In the first place, Kofi Amoabeng has no moral justification to run to the Human Rights Court to seek solace with the Law, because neither the Circuit Court Judge, nor the legal processes involved in the trial infringed on his human rights. If anything at all, it is his own inner fears emanating from his seared conscience that he would be exposed to the world by his inordinate acts that is giving him the greatest fright of his life.
Kofi Amoabeng has realized suddenly but belatedly, that if he did nothing to stop the proceedings at the Circuit Court, where a just Judge without fear or favour is resolute to dispense justice the best way it should be done, then he, Amoabeng would at the end become redundant and inconsequential in the eyes of the corporate world, the general public and all who hold him in high esteem. In spite of all those corporate awards rightly or wrongly conferred on him, this would not augur well for his business empire that he has built on the backs of peoples sweat, tears and blood.
The fact is that, that questionable judgement by the Human Rights Court Judge, Justice Kofi Essel Mensah has been set aside, and being challenged by a motion to be moved by my lawyer on December 2 , 2014 at the Human Rights Court, before the same Judge.
Indeed the entire judgement by Justice Essel Mensah was based on partial facts craftily presented by Amoabeng for his selfish benefit – the true facts of the matter itself is before Justice Frances Obiri ,the Circuit Court Judge.
IS IT RIGHT ?
[1] Is it right for Kofi Amoabeng himself to have used the Title Documents of my property to amass wealth, which he used to start his Banking business since 2005?
[2] Is it right for Kofi Amoabeng to falsify documentations on my property; the Naa Otua Plaza – a 30 bedroom mansion at number 23, 1st Ringway Estates at Osu, Accra with the connivance of my lawyer, Martin Nwosu who I hired to represent me in my absence and to whom I paid FOURTEEN THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS as part – payment of his legal fees?
[3] Is it also right for Kofi Amoabeng to mortgage my property multiple times to HFC Bank where his brother – in- law Asare Akuffo is the Managing Director?
[4]Is it right for Kofi Amoabeng to release the Title Documents of my property without my consent to the late Alexander Adjei , who also used it for the following:
• To secure a loan of GHc 1,279,000.00 at the H.F.C Bank
• Used my property NAA OTUA PLAZA to run a hotel – which he renamed ALEXANDER PLAZA HOTEL- all under the pretence that I sold my house to the late Alexander Adjei?
[5] Is it also right for Kofi Amoabeng who is not the lessee of the said property to write a Letter of Consent to the State Housing Corporation for my name [The Lessee, Naa Otua Swayne] to be changed on the documents of my bona fide property into the name of his closest late friend Alexander Adjei?
[6] Is it also right for Kofi Amoabeng , under false pretence to grant me a loan I had never solicited for, and never received the said loan, just to get hold of my original documents as collateral to use for his own benefit ?
[7] Is it also right for Kofi Amoabeng to take my Eighty Thousand United States Dollars as interest on an unawarded loan of Twenty Five Thousand Ghana Cedis which I signed for , but was never given till this day – of which I CHALLENGED Amoabeng in the criminal court to give me a received receipt.
[8] Is it right , that Amoabeng really thinks he has no case to answer at the Circuit Court? then why did he desperately in the past, on three occasions send people to beg me and to initiate an out of court settlement, and when that did not materialized, he sent contract-killers on motor –bike to eliminate me? I have proof of evidence to that effect.
I have evidence of all the above stated questions and I challenge Kofi Amoabeng and his chain of lawyers to challenge me on these evidences at the criminal court – the rightful place for the case to be heard.
Having said this, I doff my hat for some of the honourable men and women of conscience in this business of jurisprudence, who in their quest for true justice, disregard the class dichotomy regarding justice dispensation, and measure justice on merit with honour to all manner of people.
In conclusion, I want to state EM-PHA-TI-CA-LLY that Kofi Amoabeng has more questions to answer before the Circuit Court Judge, Justice Francis Obiri, who was at the threshold of giving judgement when he , Kofi Amoabeng fled to the human rights court for cover. At this point, I call on the Honourable, Her Ladyship Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood to get this matter resolved as a matter of URGENCY.