Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah-Dame
Associate Professor at the University of Ghana School of Law, Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua has advised Attorney-General, Godfred Dame to resign if allegations of pressuring an accused person to turn on another in the high-profile Dr. Ato Forson case turns out to be true.
Speaking on Morning Starr, the law professor insisted that the crucial position the Attorney-General held within the country’s legal system came with a high standard and it was important that it be held up with such decorum at all times.
“If what has been said in the public domain is the truth then he has to do the honourable thing by resigning because that behaviour is unbecoming and not what is expected of an Attorney General because he holds a very high office.
“The whole criminal law process is in his bosom and so if you’re talking about the law being in the bosom of the judge, then we are talking about criminal law process being in the bosom of the Attorney-General,” he said on the morning show.
The law academic chastised the Attorney General for intimidating businessman Richard Jakpa given that he championed a plea bargaining bill in 2022, the first of its kind in Ghana.
“The plea bargain which he led in drafting and conducting training and so on for lawyers and judges to know how to apply it, he is violating it based on the information available then certainly he has scandalized the whole bargaining process and he should do the honourable thing and resign to protect the integrity of the office,” Professor Appiagyuei-Atua said referencing the two-year-old law.
Professor Appiagyuei-Atua expressed concern about the image of the country’s judicial system and Office of Attorney-General should Godfred Dame continue to remain at the post.
The Minister of Justice and Attorney-General has come under intense scrutiny in the past few days after Richard Jakpa, the 3rd accused in the Ato Forson Ambulance Case accused the minister of pressuring him to incriminate the former Deputy Finance Minister, an affront to the code of ethics for the legal profession.
Dr. Ato Forson who leads the minority in parliament, as well as two others, is on trial for allegedly causing financial loss to the state to the tune of €2.37 million through the importation of 30 ambulances. This was during the erstwhile Mahama administration when Dr. Forson was a deputy minister.
Meanwhile, the Director of Legal Affairs of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Gary Nimako has rejected calls for the Attorney-General’s resignation, arguing that there was not enough basis for that.
