The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dominic Ayine, has withdrawn the appeal filed by former Attorney General Godfrey Yeboah Dame on the ruling that acquitted and discharged Ato Forson and Richard Jakpa in the ambulance saga.
The two were who were standing trial in connection with charges for causing financial loss to the state.
But they were acquitted and discharged by the court, following which the then Attorney General filed an appeal.
But in a Notice of Abandonment of Appeal, Dr. Ayine, the newly appointed Attorney General, said the state has decided not to pursue the matter any further.
“PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Republic, having previously served notice of appeal to appeal to the Court against the judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal on the 30th day of July 2024, hereby give(s) you NOTICE that the Republic does not intend further to prosecute the appeal, but that the Republic abandons all further proceedings with respect to this matter as from the date of this notice,” the Attorney-General wrote in the document dated January 23.
Background
The Court of Appeal in July 2024 acquitted and discharged the Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, who was standing trial for allegedly causing financial loss of €2.37 million to the state in an ambulance deal.
In a 2-1 majority decision Tuesday morning [July 30, 2024], the court held that the prosecution handling the case did not establish a prima facie case for Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, who is a former Deputy Minister of Finance, to answer.
The court also acquitted and discharged Richard Jakpa, the businessman who was standing trial together with Dr. Forson.
Dr. Forson, who is now the Finance Minister was accused of causing financial loss during his time as Deputy Finance Minister in a deal to buy 200 ambulances between 2014 and 2016.
He and Jakpa both pleaded not guilty to counts of wilfully causing financial loss to the state, abetment to wilfully causing financial loss to the state, contravention of the Public Procurement Act, and intentionally misapplying public property.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
