A-G risks being dragged to GLC over alleged attempt to incriminate Ato Forson in ambulance case

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has accused Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Godfred Yeboah Dame of breaching the code of conduct that regulates the legal profession in Ghana.

This accusation stems from allegations made in court that Mr. Dame attempted to coerce an accused person to implicate the Minority Leader in Parliament, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, in the ongoing ambulance purchase trial.

The Attorney General’s department has swiftly denied these allegations.

According to a state attorney and spokesperson for the A-G’s department, Isaac Wilberforce Mensah, the communication between Mr. Dame and the third accused in the ambulance purchase trial, Richard Jakpa, has been in pursuit of a plea bargain requested by the accused.

“The question now is, if indeed what happened in court happened, has any wrongdoing been done? That is the question. Has the Attorney General acted unlawfully? If indeed he acted in the way that is being told in the media that he acted, has he acted unlawfully? The answer is no.” 

He clarified that the Attorney General does not need to coerce anybody to build a case against an individual.

“The Attorney General himself has denied this emphatically. All this is more or less much to do about nothing. The law is clear. Is it legal for the Attorney General or prosecution to engage an accused person? Yes, it’s lawful. 

“There’s nothing wrong with that. It is allowed in law. Did the Attorney General make statements to the effect that go and make false statements against anyone? The answer is no,” he said. 

However, the NDC insists that the allegation by the third accused cannot be dismissed. The party is, therefore, threatening to take the A-G to the disciplinary committee of the General Legal Council.

The National Communications Officer of the party, Sammy Gyamfi, said they will pursue the matter to its logical conclusion.

According to him, the conduct of the Attorney General in this matter is a breach of the ethics of the legal profession.

“This is a man who, because of the position he occupies, is described as the leader of the bar. But this conduct of Dame is unbecoming of even an ordinary lawyer not to talk of the leader of the bar. 

“It is also a breach of the prosecutor’s code of conduct. It amounts to witness tampering and constitutes a crime, that is the offense of fabrication of evidence provided under sections 213 and 214 of the Criminal and Other Offenses Act,” he said.