A Chief State Attorney has been disbarred for bribes he took from businessman Alfred Agbesi Woyome in 2011.
Samuel Nerquaye-Tetteh was initially implicated in 2012 when an enquiry found he received an amount of GHC 400,000 that was pushed through the bank account of his wife when he worked as a state prosecutor handling the Woyome case in 2011. He was alleged to have entered a case of no defence on behalf of the government, which later led a High Court ruling in favour of Mr. Woyome’s judgement debt.
After 12 years, the General Legal Council, the body that regulates the legal profession in Ghana said it has now found him guilty of professional misconduct, as it considers his actions have demeaned the “high standing of the legal profession.”
“SAMUEL NERQUAYE-TETTEH shall not hold himself out as a lawyer or attend chambers or render or purport to render any professional legal services to the public. The practicing licence of Samuel Nerquaye-Tetteh is hereby withdrawn forthwith,” a January 31, 2024 notice signed by Judicial Secretary, Justice Pamela Addo said.
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A judgment debt scandal
Woyome, a businessman and one-time leading financier of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), gained unpopular attention when the administration of the late Prof. Mills took legal action against him for receiving a GHC 51 million government payout, which a government commission later alleged he was not entitled to.
He was officially indicted in 2012 for fraud, and for corrupting public officials over the GHC 51 million payment he received as part of a business arrangement to rehabilitate stadiums for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations tournament that was hosted by Ghana.
In 2014 the Supreme Court ruled that, that payment was gotten from invalid contracts, ordering Woyome to pay back the amount to the state, when former Attorney-General Martin Amidu took the case to that court.
The current government now has his assets frozen in a bid to retrieve the amount left of him to pay.
