Here are the four 'crimes' Kpebu believes Godfred Dame can be charged with

Lawyer Martin Kpebu has reiterated his call for Attorney General Godfred Dame to be relieved from his duties following the leakage of a phone conversation between him and Richard Jakpa, the third accused in the trial of Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson.

Speaking during a panel discussion on TV3's 'The Key Points', on June 6, 2024, Kpebu brushed aside suggestions that Dame did no wrong with some of the statements he made on the tape.

He said the Attorney General committed at least four offences with which he could be charged in the audio recording, which he listed as follows:

1. The Attorney General suborning a witness;

He said that Godfred Dame telling a witness in his case to testify in a way to incriminate Dr Ato Forson is a punishable crime.

"The Attorney General suborning a witness, saying, 'No, go this way for me,' is a crime he can be charged for."

2. Attorney General telling a witness to fabricate evidence;

Kpebu also said that Dame telling Jakpa to forge a medical excuse for the trial to be adjourned so he can travel is also illegal and punishable.

"The Attorney General tells the witness to fabricate evidence, to go and bring a false medical certificate to seek an adjournment."

3. The Attorney General 'illegally' contacting a witness;

The lawyer also indicated that Dame communicating with Jakpa in the absence of the third accused’s lawyer is also against the legal profession.

"An Attorney General who directly contacts an accused person, contrary to Regulation 13 of LI 2423, is against our legal professional conduct and ethical etiquette Rules 2020. It's also against their own code of conduct for prosecutors at the Attorney General's chambers; they have a code of conduct for public prosecutors. It's also against it."

4. Attorney General meeting an accused person in the house of a Supreme Court judge;

He added that Dame meeting Jakpa at the house of a Supreme Court judge is totally wrong, noting that a former Attorney General was sacked for doing the same thing.

"The Attorney General goes to meet an accused person in the house of a certain Supreme Court judge. Austin Amissah, a former AG at the time, lost his office for a similar thing."

About the allegations against Godfred Dame:

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), true to its promise, provided evidence of the supposed misdeeds of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Dame, in the ongoing trial of the Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson.

The NDC accused Godfred Dame of unethical and unprofessional conduct when the third accused person in the ambulance purchase trial, businessman Richard Jakpa, alleged in court that the AG had meetings with him on how to implicate the first accused, Ato Forson.

The third accused claimed that the Attorney General wanted his cooperation to jail Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson; a claim Dame flatly denied.

At a press conference in Accra, on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, the NDC played a 16-minute audio recording of a phone call conversation between Godfred Dame and Richard Jakpa, on the day the third accused was supposed to testify in court.

In the recording, Dame is heard urging the third accused to testify in a manner that differs from an explanation given to him (Jakpa).

Before the AG's request, Jakpa explained that Ato Forson had done no wrong with the LCs he signed.

He could be heard telling the Attorney General that the contract was for the purchase of 200 vehicles with four LCs.

"With the security from the government being the LC, the condition precedent... the contract for 200 vehicles in tranches of 50, 50, 50, 50. The contract is one contract for 200 ambulances which has been broken down within the contract.

"You establish an LC for every 50 tranche. So, you have four LCs for the 200 ambulances," Jakpa explained.

Godfred Dame then stated that the third accused should accept his explanation because it wouldn't cause him any harm.

"For that part, I disagree with you because if you look at the terms of the contract, it is quite clear, and it should not be difficult for you to accept because it doesn't put you in any problem. You are not the Minister of Health, and you are not the Minister of Finance, so it doesn't put you in any difficulty," the Attorney General is heard saying.

However, Jakpa insisted that he could not grant Dame's request because there were letters that confirmed the arrangement in the contract.

"No, the problem I have in accepting that for you is that there are letters that confirm [details of the transaction]. So I can't go against what the letters say," he said.

Dame continued to ask Jakpa to accept his position because it would not cause him any problems, but the third accused insisted he was not going to say anything contrary to what he knew as the truth.

The Attorney General is also heard in the recording telling Jakpa to fabricate a medical excuse so that he could travel.

BAI/ ADG

Meanwhile, catch up on the latest edition of The Lowdown on GhanaWeb TV as Etsey Atisu sat down with the MP for Mpraeso, Davis Ansah Opoku, to discuss issues surrounding the E-Levy, the Saglemi Housing Controversy, and the OSP Impeachment:





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