A sharp banter erupted between the Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Etse Kwami Dafeamekpor, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Citizenship, Constitutional and Electoral Systems (CenCES), Mr James Kwabena Bomfeh, popularly known as Kabila, over past legal and political commentary relating to both the Woyome judgement debt case and the recent arrest of NPP regional chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako, alias Chairman Wontumi.

The exchange, which played out during a discussion on Newsfile on Saturday, May 31, stemmed from Mr Bomfeh’s recent criticism of public commentary surrounding Wontumi’s arrest.

According to Mr Bomfeh, some comments, including those made by Mr Dafeamekpor, amounted to creating misleading impressions that could unduly influence public perception of the case.

But the South Dayi MP pushed back strongly, accusing Mr Bomfeh of hypocrisy and reminding him of statements he allegedly made in 2015 during the controversial Alfred Woyome judgement debt case.

“Kabila said my comments amount to creating bad impressions,” Mr Dafeamekpor began. “But Kabila, in 2015, when I was part of the Woyome legal team, you told the NDC that we were not capable of recovering the Woyome money. Even though we were still in court, you said it would take Nana Akufo-Addo’s government to recover the money. What impression were you creating?”

The MP insisted that the National Democratic Congress (NDC), of which he is a member, was actively prosecuting the Woyome case at the time, and that Bomfeh’s public comments undermined their efforts.

“So when it comes to making comments that create impressions, you have been guilty of that. Now you’re saying that my suggestion — that Wontumi’s arrest had been long anticipated — is wrong?” he challenged.

Mr Bomfeh, in response, denied ever stating that the NDC was incapable of recovering the money, insisting instead that he had criticised the then-government’s unwillingness to act decisively.

“It is not true that I said you were not capable. I said the government then was unwilling and was not ready,” he clarified.

The exchange grew more heated as Dafeamekpor pressed further: “You said it would take Nana Akufo-Addo to come and recover it. What impression were you creating?”

Mr Bomfeh rejected that claim outright. “When did I say that it would take Nana Akufo-Addo? That is not true. This is a lie,” he retorted.

The back-and-forth has reignited debate over the politicisation of legal matters and public commentary on judicial processes in Ghana.