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John Dramani Mahama, the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has sharply criticized the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General, Godfred Dame. Mahama accused Dame of acting more like a legal advocate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) than fulfilling his role as Attorney-General and Minister of Justice.
In an exclusive interview with TV3’s Komla Klutse on July 30, Mahama stated, “I think that this Attorney-General has been discredited enough. Anywhere in the world, with the things we have seen, including the coaching and discussions with witnesses, this prosecution would have been struck out as malicious prosecution.”
Mahama continued, “I believe this prosecution is malicious. He is not as robust and energetic in pursuing other cases. Even now, there is an ambulance case involving this administration which is far larger than the one he is prosecuting, yet he shows no interest in it.”
He further criticized Dame, saying, “He acts like a legal representative of the NPP party, over-enthusiastic in pursuing political opponents. I have said that when we come to power, we will pursue accountability for the outgoing regime, but if any of our people are involved in similar issues, we will prosecute them too. The Attorney-General is also the Minister of Justice, and he seems to forget that. He thinks he is just the Attorney-General. The Minister of Justice is supposed to ensure fairness. Anywhere else in the world, this case would have ended, and it would never have even reached the court.”
Mahama also expressed surprise at the Court of Appeal’s decision to acquit and discharge the accused in the ambulance trial, viewing it as a sign that justice still prevails in Ghana. “I think that it shows the vindication that [Ato Forson] is innocent. We believe that this prosecution should never have taken place. Indeed, it [the Court of Appeal’s decision] came as a surprise because I had quite forgotten about the appeal,” Mahama said.
The Court of Appeal’s ruling on July 30 led to the High Court not hearing the ambulance case as scheduled. The High Court had earlier directed Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson and his co-accused, Richard Jakpa, to open their defense in March 2023 after the Attorney General’s office presented prima facie evidence related to a 2.37 million Euro ambulance procurement case. The charges included willfully causing financial loss to the state due to the ambulances’ failure to serve their intended purpose.
In its ruling, the Court of Appeal overturned the High Court’s decision, stating that “the prosecution failed to establish sufficient evidence. The trial judge erred in calling on A1 (Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson) to open his defense. No positively proven facts. Evidence based on impermissible speculations. There is no link between the evidence heard and what happened for the third accused to be called to open defense.”
The panel of three justices also noted, “If there is any financial loss, it was due to the Health Ministry’s recklessness and should be blamed on the Ministry of Health. If they had acted in the interest of the state, the whole ambulance issue would have been resolved. Both appellants have made a case for them to be acquitted and discharged.”
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