Opinions Sun, 19 Feb 2012

58 Million Cedi Fraud, 20 Million Cedi Bail?

Woyome To Be Freed Like The Others.

Many analysts have forecasted that the motive behind Woyome's arrest is to blow a cold breeze on the highly volatile issue which has succeeded in holding down the Mills led administration into the bracket of most corrupt governments to ever rule Ghana. Some also say it is aimed at covering the face of the president which has fully been smeared with corruption tags. The NDC guru's arrest is meant to cool heads down, and when eyes are off the gargantuan crime, the case will intentionally be prolonged in court until it dies a natural death, and Woyome like many others who have been accused of various corrupt and malfeasant acts (e.g George Sipa Yankey of Mabel and Johnson, Mutaka of Dipers and chinchinga, Albert Abongo of Works and Water resource corruption saga) in this government will walk our streets as a free man.

When I heard of the clearly choreographed arrest of the NDC financier I knew exactly what it will turn out into. The repetition of his arrest and refusal of bail story by the police on all NDC "diabolic rented presses" made the motive of the government very obvious; to send a message to the populace who have taken a serious interest in the greatest corruption scandal ever in our history that they were seriously dealing with the issue and are not in any way sympathizing with Woyome.

However as that drama was being acted various groups within the same party were vigorously establishing themselves as pro-Woyome groups who rejected vehemently any attempt to hold Woyome for his crime against the state showing the double standards played within the ruling NDC. Not just that, both party and government spokespersons are openly defending Woyome from one station to the other.

What betrayed Prof Mills agenda is the obvious over-looking of his paramount ministers who aided and abetted this crime against a state they are supposed to represent. Ministers who joined hands with Woyome to dupe the state to the highest tune any person or group of persons have ever duped it to. Betty Mould Iddrisu and her deputy at the time she was the AG should have been arrested and put before court if truly the aim is to get the culprits to book. But if Betty did not resign, she could still have comfortably be in post just as Baton Oduro is still in post as a Minister of state despite his obvious involvement in this serious crime.

New turns taken by the Woyome case comes to confirm earlier believes that his arrest was just to create an impression that government was pursuing the case whereas in reality the will to really come to the depth of the matter is not there. A fraud case involving 58 million new Ghana cedis could attract a bail term of 54 million, an amount less than what has been lost and as we murmured about the unusual leniency, the bail terms have further been reviewed and now Woyome has his bail at 20 million, an amount less than even half of what is at stake.

I was very disappointed in the judge's readings that a bail should not be used as a tool to punish the accused. The question is not one being punished or not when it comes to setting out bail terms. The gravity of a crime is what determines the bail term. Nowhere have I ever heard that a fraud case involving 58 Million will attract a bail term of 20 million even if it comes with 5 sureties. Again the mentioning that Woyome's accounts have been frozen is neither here nor there. The question is; how much is left in the so called frozen accounts? Have the EOCO been faithful enough to tell Ghanaians how much is left in those accounts?

Just as planned Woyome is getting loosed bit by bit and before we will know he is left off the hook. If anyone can really handle this scandal it is not this administration. The administration seem to be too embroiled in the whole scandal and can hardly deal with it as neutrally as it deserves. Every effort made is to clear the name of the NDC, their flag bearer and their cohorts engulfed by the scandal.

Every single member of this Mills led Administration who has been accused of corruption is still walking our streets free and Woyome, Banton Oduro, Betty Mould Iddrisu, Kwabena Duffour and co will be no exception.

Reagan Adomah Koduah. London, United Kingdom.


Columnist: Koduah, Reagan Adomah