Godfred Dame denies allegations of plotting against Ato Forson in Ambulance trial
Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has strongly denied accusations of attempting to implicate Minority Leader and former Deputy Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, in the ongoing ambulance purchase trial.
These allegations were raised by the third accused, Richard Jakpa, during court proceedings on Thursday, May 23, and reiterated by Sammy Gyamfi, National Communications Officer of the NDC, who accused Godfred Dame of scheming to imprison Ato Forson.
In response, the Attorney General issued a statement urging the public to dismiss these claims, asserting that his office has remained focused on prosecuting the case based on the records of the transaction in question.
Godfred Dame emphasized that the prosecution has relied solely on existing documentation regarding the purchase of vans purported to be ambulances, which predate the trial’s commencement in January 2022. Mr Dame categorically denied any attempts to obtain false testimony from the accused, stating that neither he nor his officers have approached any accused persons for evidence.
He clarified that it was the third accused, Richard Jakpa, who had repeatedly proposed plea bargaining, which the Attorney General has not accepted.
“For the record, the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice categorically denies the allegations and insinuations of the NDC.
“The public is entreated to disregard the allegations. The Attorney-General remains focused on a zealous prosecution of the case.”
“The Republic has throughout the trial, relied solely on the record of the impugned transaction, i.e. the purchase of ordinary vans purporting to be ambulances, to sustain its case against the accused persons. This record existed before January 2022 (when the case was commenced) and was duly filed in Court by the prosecution before the commencement of the trial.
“The Republic has never required or desired the cooperation of any of the accused persons in the matter, in which it has already succeeded in establishing a prima facie case against all the accused persons. Neither the Attorney-General nor any officer from the Office of the Attorney-General has approached any of the accused persons with the view to obtaining evidence from them.
“It is rather the third accused who, by various letters dated 27th April 2023, 16th May 2023, 30th May 2023 and 12th June 2023, has proposed to the Republic through the Attorney-General to engage in plea bargaining or plea negotiations. This plea bargaining proposal has, to date, not been accepted by the Attorney-General.
“Even though the law on plea bargaining passed by Parliament permits a prosecutor to negotiate with an accused person after a plea proposal has been made, the Attorney-General has not engaged the third accused person to give false testimony in the matter.
“The Attorney-General has also come under enormous pressure from all manner of persons for him to discontinue the prosecution of the 1st accused person, Cassiel Ato Forson, but has not yielded. The Attorney-General has video evidence of the first accused, person, Cassiel Ato Forson, coming to meet him and to plead with him to discontinue the prosecution. This, the Attorney-General has refused to do.
“The Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice considers the latest allegation levelled against the Attorney-General as part of a grand scheme by the NDC to put more pressure on him to discontinue the prosecution or to divert attention from the real issues regarding the actions of the accused persons which have caused enormous financial loss to the State.”
