Dame said Ofori-Atta, Akufo-Addo were pressuring him to jail Ato Forson - Jakpa claims in court filing

Richard Jakpa, the third defendant in the high-profile ambulance trial has filed an application at the Accra High Court seeking to have charges against him dismissed or to have the legal proceedings stayed.

His lawyer, Thaddeus Sory, filed the application on Thursday, May 30, 2024.

In his application, Jakpa argued that the charges and proceedings brought by Attorney-General Godfred Dame represent an abuse of the court's processes and contravene the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.

Portions of the application alleged that the state was actively engaged in seeking to jail the first accused in the person of Ato Forson, a Member of Parliament and Minority Leader.

He cited conversations with the A-G, in which Dame allegedly confirmed that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and former Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, were pushing the A-G to have Ato Forson jailed.

“Jakpa further avers that Godfred Dame has told him that the reason for his inclusion in the prosecution is to mask the real intention behind the whole trial.

“And that, he instituted the instant action, because the President of the Republic and then Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta, were mounting pressure on him to persecute the then ranking Member for Finance and now Minority Leader, Hon. Ato Forson,” the court papers said.

In the wake of Ghana's hung parliament, where no party had full control in the lawmaking chamber, some analysts have insisted that the prosecution of Ato Forson and other NDC MPs was intended to give the governing party an edge in Parliament.

Why Jakpa wants charges dismissed:

“PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that this honourable Court shall be moved by THADDEUS SORY ESQ, of MESSRS SORY @ LAW Counsel for and on behalf of the Third Accused/Applicant herein praying the Court for an order; striking out the charges and accordingly terminating the proceedings against the Third Accused/Applicant or alternatively,

A stay of the proceedings before the Court against the Third Accused/Applicant.

“AND PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE THAT the grounds of the application are: The Attorney-General at whose instance the Third Accused/Applicant is being prosecuted in the instant suit has brought the charges and instituted the proceedings in abuse of the process of the court and contrary to his constitutional obligations under articles 23 and 296 of the 1992 Constitution,” Jakpa's application states.

He further asserted that Attorney-General Dame, in private conversations, admitted there was no substantive case against him but that the target of the trial was Ato Forson.

Last week, Jakpa made headlines by alleging that the Attorney-General had pressured him to provide false testimony against Dr. Ato Forson, another defendant in the trial.

To support Jakpa's claims, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) released a 16-minute phone recording purportedly capturing a conversation between Attorney-General Dame and Jakpa.

The recording reveals Dame coaching Jakpa on how to manipulate a court sitting by requestion for a medical excuse duty to favour Dame’s travels.

SARA

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