The third accused person in the ongoing ambulance trial, Richard Jakpa, has made new allegations against the Attorney General, Godfred.
The businessman stated in an open statement that Godfred Yeboah Dame asked him to implicate Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson in the ongoing ambulance procurement case.
He told the court that he was asked by the AG to cooperate in having Dr. Forson jailed by the first week of May.
He said the AG told him it was important that it be done since Ghana’s constitution explicitly states that a by-election cannot take place six months before a general election.
This conversation, he revealed, took place at the home of his cousin, Justice Yonni Kulendi, where the AG allegedly pressured him to provide incriminating evidence against Dr. Forson.
In a cross-examination by Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson’s lawyer, Dr. Abdul Basit Aziz Bamba, Jakpa testified that the AG mentioned being under considerable pressure from President Nana Akufo-Addo and former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta to secure Dr. Forson’s conviction.
“…It was then he (AG) told me my brother, I am under pressure and I said, that is not my problem.
“Then he (AG) said the Finance Minister and the president are on my neck mounting pressure. They want this case to be finished by the first week in May,” Mr Jakpa said.
“I (Jakpa) asked him why the first week in May?”
“Then he (AG) said you may not know but according to the Constitution, you cannot have a by-election six months to a general election.”
“So if I can cooperate with him and get Ato Forson just one month in Nsawam, his seat will be declared vacant and we will go for by-election.”
“And I told him (AG) that going for a by-election in Central region how sure are you to win that election?”
“Then he said, Central region they are cheap, we will pump money in it and we will win the election.”
He also alleged that the AG said when they win the election, the “NDC will come and beg us for pardon, and we will use it to get our things to get through in Parliament.”
Meanwhile, Jakpa has testified that he met with Attorney General and Minister of Justice Godfred Yeboah Dame on two occasions in 2022, at approximately 10:30 p.m.
According to Mr Jakpa, during these late-night discussions, Mr Dame informed him that he was not the prosecution’s principal target. He stated that the Attorney General underlined the case’s primary focus on Dr Cassiel Ato Forson.
This promise, Mr Jakpa claimed, affected his choice to fully assist with the Attorney General’s office, including the transmission of sensitive documents and information.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana