Legal counsel to the Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, Edudzi Tameklo, has made claims that Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame is unsuitable to speak at this year’s Ghana Bar Association (GBA) Conference.
Mr Tameklo expressed strong belief in Dr. Forson’s innocence and questioned the AG’s credibility to address the conference.
He accused the AG of targeting Dr. Forson, emphasizing that this persecution stemmed from Dr. Forson’s opposition to the government’s Electronic Levy Bill in 2019.
Tameklo recounted that the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) initially instructed them to take the police statement home and return with it completed, suggesting that there was no wrongdoing from the start.
In an interview with the media on Tuesday, Tameklo argued that the AG’s actions have undermined his integrity and made him unfit to speak at the 2024 Ghana Bar Conference.
“When the Attorney-General goes to the point of meeting an accused person and first of all, anybody that has criminal charges against him, he is deemed vulnerable and especially with the counts that can get you 10 years in imprisonment, you are dealing with a vulnerable person and per the professional etiquette rules you are not permitted to deal with an accused person when that accused person is represented by a lawyer directly, you deal with him through his lawyer because of the vulnerable position he finds himself in.”
“On April 9, 2024, the AG placed a call to Jakpa at 7:am telling him to go and secure a medical excuse report and present it to a trial judge as though he was sick when you are not. I want to submit that at this year’s Ghana Bar Conference, the Attorney-General is not worthy to speak to lawyers,” he said.
Background
On Tuesday, the Court of Appeal, by a 2-1 majority, acquitted and discharged Dr. Ato Forson and Richard Jakpa in the ambulance case.
The decision reversed a trial court directive that required them to mount a defense against charges of causing €2.37 million in financial loss to the state through ambulance procurement.
Justice Alex Poku Acheampong dissented, while Justices Kweku Tawiah Ackah-Boafo and Philip Bright Mensah supported the acquittal.
In response to the ruling, Attorney General Godfred Dame released a statement condemning the verdict as flawed and contrary to the substantial evidence presented by the prosecution.
He contended that the decision undermines both public accountability and the rule of law.