The Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice has sharply replied to publications about attempts by the office to coerce Richard Jakpa to implicate Minority Leader Cassiel Ato Forson in the ambulance trial.
Court proceedings on May 23 turned into a spectacle when the third accused person, Richard Jakpa threatened to expose the Attorney-General for his efforts to coerce him into implicating the first accused person, Cassiel Ato Forson.
A seemingly incensed Richard Jakpa said in open court that “The A-G has on several occasions engaged me at odd hours to help him make a case against A1 and I have evidence. If he pushes me, I will open the Pandora’s box. I don’t understand why the A-G will accuse me of defending A1 when I’m here to defend myself.”
The statement went viral with many media houses reporting on the incident. However, in a quick response, the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice has denied the claims. It said the office has relied “solely on the record of the impugned transaction.”
According to the A-G, this is part of “a grand scheme by the NDC to put more pressure on him to discontinue the prosecution or to divert attention from the real issues regarding the actions of the accused persons which have caused enormous financial loss to the State.”
Read the full response by the Office of the Attorney-General’s office below
RE: REPUBLIC VRS. CASSIEL ATO FORSON & 2 OTHERS FALSE ALLEGATIONS BY 3RD ACCUSED PERSON AGAINST ATTORNEY-GENERAL
The attention of the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice has been drawn to media commentary by persons associated with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on an allegation made by the third accused person, Richard Jakpa, during proceedings in court on 23rd May 2024 that the Attorney-General desired his cooperation in the matter in order to secure a conviction of the 1st accused, Cassiel Ato Forson.
For the record, the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice categorically denies the allegations and insinuations of the NDC, and responds as follows:
1. The Republic has throughout the trial, relied solely on the record of the impugned transaction, i.e. the purchase of ordinary vans. purporting to be ambulances, to sustain its case against the accused persons. This record existed before January, 2022 (when the case was commenced) and was duly filed in Court by the prosecution before the commencement of the trial.
2. The Republic has never required or desired the cooperation of any of the accused persons in the matter, in which it has already succeeded in establishing a prima facie case against all the accused persons. Neither the Attorney-General nor any officer from the Office of the Attorney-General has approached any of the accused persons with the view to obtaining evidence from them.
3. It is rather the third accused who, by various letters dated 27th April, 2023, 16th May, 2023, 30th May, 2023 and 12th June, 2023, has proposed to the Republic through the Attorney-General to engage in plea bargaining or plea negotiations. This plea bargaining proposal has, to date, not been accepted by the Attorney-General.
4. Even though the law on plea bargaining passed by Parliament permits a prosecutor to negotiate with an accused person after a plea proposal has been made, the Attorney-General has not engaged the third accused person to give false testimony in the
matter.
5. The Attorney-General has also come under enormous pressure from all manner of persons for him to discontinue the prosecution of the 1st accused person, Cassiel Ato Forson, but has not yielded.
6. The Attorney-General has video evidence of the first accused, person, Cassiel Ato Forson, coming to meet him and to plead with him to discontinue the prosecution. This, the Attorney-General has refused to do.
7. The Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice considers the latest allegation levelled against the Attorney-General as part of a grand scheme by the NDC to put more pressure on him to discontinue the prosecution or to divert attention from the real issues regarding the actions of the accused persons which have caused enormous financial loss to the State.
8. The public is entreated to disregard the allegations. The Attorney-General remains focused on a zealous prosecution of the case. END!!!
