Kwame Jantuah, a private legal practitioner and a member of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), has stated that the trial judge’s advice to the Attorney-General (A-G) prosecuting the ambulance purchase case casts doubt on the integrity of the A-G and the country’s judicial processes.
According to him, the A-G, Godfred Dame Yeboah, interfered with the case by directly engaging the third accused person, urging Mr Jakpa to secure medical excuse duty to facilitate an adjournment of the court.
He maintained that for the judge, Justice Efia Serwah Asare-Botwey, to advise the Attorney-General to recuse himself from the ongoing case in the interest of justice and the public, suggests some wrongdoing on the part of Mr Dame.
The trial judge also expressed concerns about the A-G’s engagements with Mr Jakpa outside the court. She also noted that the lead prosecutor, Mr Dame had discussed the case details with Mr Jakpa.
Lawyer Jantuah made the assertions during discussions on the TV3 New Day programme on Friday, June 7, 2024.
“… And the mere fact that she advised the Attorney-General to recuse himself from the case says a lot, but the Attorney-General then comes and says to us that… there is a group of people in this country who ride on manipulation of facts, distortion and deception of the public. Did the judge not say that he had interfered? …and because of the inference, he should recuse himself so why does he say this?” he quizzed.
“For me, he [Godfred Dame] has already been found guilty by the judge’s comments,” Mr Jantuah emphasised.
Moreover, he noted that the judge in her bid to save the integrity of the Attorney-General’s office, moved the way she did, stressing that “I’m not criticizing the judge; I’m critiquing what the judge says.”
Also, Mr Jantuah expressed concerns about the fact that the Attorney-General and the justices of the Supreme Court are in the face of the public, emphasizing the difficulty for the public to be familiar with justices of the apex court in other jurisdictions such as the US or the UK.
“Why is it that in our country, Ghana, the Attorney-General and Supreme Court judges are in the face of the public? Why? Do you see that in America? Do you see that in the UK? Sometimes you don’t even know who the attorney-general is.
“These two institutions cement the unity of the country because the court is the only place anybody can go for restitution, for solving their problems but the attorney-general and some supreme court judges are always in the face of the public, why?” he noted.
Background
In May, during cross-examination, Richard Jakpa made a startling revelation, indicating that the Attorney General had been reaching out to him at odd hours, seeking testimony against Minority Leader Dr. Ato Forson.
This disclosure has stirred widespread debate among Ghanaians, with some demanding the resignation of Attorney General Godfred Dame.
Dr. Ato Forson, formerly the Deputy Finance Minister and now the Minority Leader, is under trial for his alleged role in the procurement of faulty ambulances for Ghana.
The NDC held a press conference where they released a 16-minute tape purportedly containing a conversation between the Attorney General and Jakpa.
However, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has vehemently rejected the contents of the audio, describing it as “doctored and manipulated” with malicious intent.
Source: 3news.com
