By Professor Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua, a Lecturer at the University of Ghana School of Law, voices criticism towards Attorney General Godfred Dame after the leaked phone conversation with Richard Jakpa, the third accused in the ongoing Ambulance case.
In an audio recording leaked by the opposition National Democratic Congress, Mr. Dame is heard attempting to pressure Richard Jakpa, the third accused in the ambulance case, to implicate the Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson.
Dr. Ato Forson, a former Deputy Finance Minister and current Minority Leader, is undergoing trial for his purported involvement in the procurement of defective ambulances for Ghana. The trial has ignited public discourse, with voices urging the Attorney General’s resignation due to his handling of the matter.
In a conversation with Bernard Avle on Citi TV’s The Point of View, Prof. Appiagyei-Atua asserted that the Attorney General’s conduct lacked professionalism, leading to embarrassment for both himself and the Office of the Attorney General.
He labeled the Attorney General’s actions as perjury, deeming the situation regrettable. Prof. Appiagyei-Atua stressed that the Attorney General’s endeavor to intervene and coax Mr. Jakpa into modifying case-related information to implicate Ato Forson was improper and contrary to professional standards.
“I think it’s an unfortunate situation where the Attorney General has plunged himself into an embarrassment not only for himself personally but for the office of the Attorney General. There are a number of situations of what is captured on the tape indicates violations of the ethics of the profession, which may go into the realm of violation of the criminal law,” he said.
He stressed, “There was the issue about how the Attorney General was trying to intervene and to cause the 3rd defendant, Mr Jakpa to coerce him more or less to change the information written to the case in such a way that it will implicate the 1st defendant Ato Forson, who is the Minority Leader.
“So that he could be found culpable for the charges levelled against him. The way this was initially played out as part of the plea bargaining, certainly is not right, and it goes against the professional conduct.”
The lecturer from the University of Ghana raised doubts about Mr. Dame’s motives behind his actions.
“He knew that what he was doing was wrong, but he wanted to do it for a particular motive that is not clear what the motive was. But certainly, he was acting in violation of the rules of the profession,” he said.
He asserted that Mr. Dame was cognizant of the wrongdoing in his actions, yet proceeded with an ambiguous motive, thereby breaching professional standards.
“There are a number of stumbling blocks which clearly show that the Attorney General is not being truthful. Because in the plea bargaining process, the rules are clear. The plea bargaining process he tried to initiate was to cause somebody to lie and that is perjury.”
