The third accused, Richard Jakpa, has publicly challenged Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame to appear in court and openly address claims made against him. This is a significant development in the well-known ambulance procurement case. Controversial Jakpa has accused Dame of faking evidence and interfering with witnesses, accusations that have sparked significant interest from the public and legal community.
The reason for this appeal is a phone conversation that Dame and Jakpa had that has been extensively reported, casting doubt on both the legal process’s fairness and the veracity of the exchange. Jakpa has firmly declared that the matters in question ought to be settled in a court of law as opposed to through discussion in public, and he has urged Dame to provide hard proof in court to back up his assertions.
Ahead of a significant court hearing set for June 4, Jakpa gave an exclusive interview to JoyNews’ Latif Iddrissu in which he expressed faith in the legal system and his chances of receiving justice. He emphasized the seriousness of his charges and demanded that the proper legal system handle them. “He [the AG] ought to appear in court, contest the accusations, and correct the records in accordance with his legal interpretation and point of view. I have made my case in court, and now I am waiting on him to follow through. The case is in court, not in the court of public opinion,” Jakpa stated.
During this court battle, Jakpa testified under cross-examination that he had received a call from the Attorney General at odd hours, purportedly asking for testimony against Minority Leader and former Deputy Finance Minister Dr. Ato Forson. The matter has become even more complicated as a result of this disclosure, leading several individuals and public figures to demand that Dame resign.
Dr. Ato Forson is presently on trial for his suspected involvement in the purchase of faulty ambulances, which the state claims resulted in a financial loss of 2.3 million euros. This case affects Ghana’s larger political dynamics and has important political ramifications in addition to its legal ones. At a news conference, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) played a 16-minute audio that they claimed was a transcript of a conversation between the Attorney General and Jakpa. The authenticity and content of this tape have been hotly contested, with the New Patriotic Party (NPP) dismissing it as “doctored and manipulated” with malicious intent.
In reaction to these events, Jakpa filed an application to have the charges against him dropped or the proceedings against him put on hold, which the Attorney General fiercely resisted. The AG labeled the application as a waste of time, irritating, and procedurally abusive. He claimed in a thorough affidavit that the application is without substance, does not have the right foundation, and is unknown to Ghanaian criminal procedure or practice.
According to the AG’s evidence, the applicant is using the urgent and desperate plea as a smokescreen to end his legal proceedings for his part in the State’s financial loss from the purchase of regular vans that were mistakenly reported as ambulances.
