Jakpa didn't have a lawyer when he met Dame - A-G's spokesperson confirms

Wilberforce Mensah, spokesperson at the Attorney-General's office has confirmed that Godfred Yeboah Dame met an accused person in a high-profile financial crime trial without Richard Jakpa's lawyer as required by law.

He explained in an interview on The Probe show on Joy News (May 26, 2024) that Jakpa, the third accused in the ambulance purchase case, did not have a lawyer when he met Dame because of the circumstances surrounding the meeting.

"At the material time that this meeting took place, Mr. Jakpa was not represented by counsel. If you look at Act 10 (79), the prosecution can do plea negotiation either with the accused person or his counsel.

"This particular accused person in the course of this trial has changed lawyers about four times," he explained.

Asked whether as of April 2024 when the said meeting took place at the residence of a Supreme Court Justice, Jakpa didn't have a substantive lawyer, Mensah replied in the affirmative.

"If you had followed this case, even when he was asked to open his defence, he did it orally and did not have legal representation in some instances when the case was called and he was absent.

"At the time the incident happened, he did not have a lawyer," he emphasized.

The main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is set to address a press conference today over the alleged active interference of the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice in a high-profile financial crime trial.

The NDC since last Friday, accused A-G Godfred Dame of unethical and unprofessional conduct after Jakpa alleged in court that the A-G had meetings with him on how to implicate the first accused.

The first accused the A-G wanted cooperation to jail happens to be Minority Leader, Cassiel Ato Forson.

The NDC has, therefore, as promised, dedicated its Moment of Truth press conference scheduled for today (May 28, 2024) to provide its incontrovertible evidence of the A-G's misdeeds.

SARA