The High Court in Accra has dismissed the application by Minority Leader Cassiel Ato Forson for a mistrial and an investigation into the Attorney-General’s conduct in the ongoing ambulance case.
The judge ruled that Ato Forson did not provide any legal basis for a mistrial or an inquiry into the Attorney-General’s actions.
On June 3, Dr. Ato Forson submitted a supplementary affidavit supporting his motion for a mistrial and a stay of proceedings.
His lawyers cited a leaked tape between Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame and the third accused, Richard Jakpa. They claimed the tape revealed the Attorney-General coaching Jakpa to implicate Ato Forson.
In the affidavit, Ato Forson’s legal team argued that the Attorney-General‘s behaviour warranted a mistrial.
They stated, “It has become necessary to file this affidavit in order to bring to the attention of the Court and in the interest of justice, certain pertinent, material, and relevant matters that have a bearing on the fair and just determination of the current application.”
The court, however, rejected these claims. The judge noted that criminal jurisdiction must be established by law and cannot be inferred.
The judge also pointed out that mistrials apply only in jury trials, not summary trials like this one.
The judge questioned how an alleged interference by the Attorney-General, occurring only recently, could lead to a mistrial in a case ongoing for over three years. The court also refused to prevent the Attorney-General from instituting criminal proceedings, citing a lack of serious basis for such an order.
“On the invitation of A1 for the Court to order a mistrial. Court says it does not apply in summary trials. It applies only in jury trials. Applicant did not refer the court to any authority in Ghana or anywhere for a mistral in summary trials. On the contrary, the Respondent rightly, as stated by the judge, referred the court to a Ghanaian case. None of the grounds for a mistrial exists in this case.,” the judge said.
“In a trial that has gone on for over 3 years, in which the Republic has closed its case, A1 closed his case and A3 started testimony, how can the alleged interference by the Attorney-General with A3, which is alleged to have occurred only a few weeks ago when either A3 has started testifying, lead to a mistrial? Application for mistrial is therefore dismissed,” the judge ruled.
While the court admitted the secret recording, it found that the words allegedly implicating Ato Forson did not come from the Attorney-General.
The judge emphasized that the key issue was whether the trial’s fairness had been compromised, and concluded that there was no evidence to support this.
The application for a mistrial was dismissed, and the court maintained that the proceedings would continue.