The Attorney General’s Office has refuted claims of involvement in the disbarment of Chief State Attorney, Samuel Nerquaye-Tetteh, who lost his legal license due to allegations of receiving GH¢400,000 from businessman Alfred Agbesi Woyome in 2011.
As a consequence, Mr. Nerquaye-Tetteh is barred from practising law in Ghana, with the General Legal Council (GLC) finding him guilty of professional misconduct.
The GLC stated that he facilitated the transfer of GH¢400,000 from Woyome to his wife’s bank account while representing the state against a lawsuit by Woyome in 2011.
The GLC highlighted his failure to provide a satisfactory explanation for the transfer, negatively impacting the legal profession’s dignity and prestige.
However, Woyome has accused the Attorney General’s Office of orchestrating the disbarment, questioning the basis for tarnishing Mr. Nerquaye-Tetteh’s reputation.
Isaac Wilberforce Mensah, the spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office, strongly denied these allegations during an interview on Eyewitness News on Citi FM.
He clarified that the office lacks the authority to disbar anyone and emphasized there is no direct connection between the office and the incident in question.
“I think that statement is unfortunate, with the greatest of respect to Alfred Agbesi Woyome in this regard because the AG is not the one who came out with this ruling from the GLC. The AG whether by itself or by the office or even by the prosecution’s division has not written any legal opinion concerning the former chief state
in question. There is absolutely no direct connection between this office and the incident which is currently in the media.”
“Whether or not he has been disbarred is not a power that the AG whether as a person, or office or as a constitutional body even possesses. Nobody in this office can disbar a person. So I don’t know where this subtle attack is coming from,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Mr Woyome has threatened to sue the GLC for disqualifying Mr Nerquaye-Tetteh.
Mr. Woyome, who is at the heart of the GH¢51 million Waterville judgment debt case, argued that the Council’s actions constitute contempt of court.
He asserted that judicial decisions have cleared him and anyone else involved in the contract of any misconduct.
He admits to transferring the GH¢400,000 to Samuel Nerquaye-Tetteh’s wife but insists it was purely on humanitarian grounds.
“Thank God that we have got all the judgments. Thank God that I am waiting for the Supreme Court to do the honourable thing by departing away from the so-called linking me to something that I am not part of…I can say that I pledge on my honour that I will remain very active to make sure that the institution of government do the right thing. And I want to announce here that I am taking the General Legal Council (GLC) to court early next week.”
“We will pursue GLC and the AG for them to stop what they are doing…Nerquaye-Tetteh’s wife’s money that I sent to her was on the basis of what I do at WOFA, Wilmy Foundation for Africa. I pay fees and pay other things for many people across the whole African country. When I work, that is what I use my money for, philanthropy,”
he stated.
