By The Financial and Economic Court 2 of the Accra High Court has issued an arrest warrant for businessman Richard Jakpa.
Jakpa, the third accused in the ambulance procurement case, did not appear in court despite sending a medical excuse to the clerk.
However, upon examining the document, Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe noted that the medical excuse did not specify the condition for which Mr. Jakpa is receiving treatment.
On Tuesday, March 19, Richard Jakpa dismissed his lawyer and requested an adjournment to secure the services of another lawyer. However, the court denied his request and proceeded to require him to present his defense.
Richard Jakpa was expected to continue with the oral submission of his witness testimony but failed to appear when the case was called.
The court observed that since he had no legal representation in court, there was no means to officially communicate with him.
Justice Asare-Botwe therefore issued an arrest warrant for Richard Jakpa and adjourned the case to March 26.
Former Deputy Finance Minister and Minority Leader, Dr. Ato Forson, Dr Sylvester Anemana as well as private businessman, Richard Jakpa, are standing trial for willfully causing financial loss of €2.37 million to the state, through a contract to purchase 200 ambulances for the Ministry of Health, among other charges.
