“I have been a lawyer for 23 years. I know the areas you can cross and [where] you can’t cross. Nowhere have I evaluated the case,” Deputy Attorney-General, Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, has said in defence of allegations of prejudging the ongoing ambulance trial.
He made the comments on the KeyPoints on TV3 Saturday, June 15, 2024, after the Member of Parliament for Asante Akyem North, Andy Kwame Appiah-Kubi, had criticised him for evaluating the audio in the media.
Mr. Tuah-Yeboah has faced series of criticism from the public after an Accra High Court’s admission of the audio recording between the Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame and Richard Jakpa, the third accused person in the matter, into evidence.
After proceedings Thursday, June 13, 2024, the Deputy A-G and Minister of Justice, told the media that “in terms of the content [of the audio], we are not minded by that, because it is something that is in the public domain but as to whether you can tender a recorded audio, it is something that we don’t want to test.”
The comments, is what the Asante Akyem North MP had chastised him on. “Admissibility of evidence is based on its relevance. If the trial judge thinks it is relevant, he or she is supported by law to admit it.
“The Deputy A-G’s comments that it has no relevance to the proceedings or the result was unnecessary, it was over the bar. That statement is contemptuous of the court because you prejudge the case,” the lawmaker had condemned on the KeyPoints Saturday.
But, Mr. Tuah-Yeboah, phoning into the show, explained that his comments were not contemptuous of the court as being propagated by the publ.
Ambulance trial: A-G’s office unfazed about admission of Jakpa’s audio into evidence – Tuah-Yeboah
An Accra High Court presided over by Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, had on Thursday, June 13, 2024, admitted into evidence, the audio recording between Richard Jakpa and Godfred Yeboah Dame.
The audio is an evidence adduced by the third accused in court as evidence to his earlier claims that Godfred Dame, the A-G, was impressing upon him to falsify his testimony against the first accused in the matter, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, who is also the Minority Leader in Parliament.
Although the presiding judge had earlier indicated during her ruling on an application filed by Richard Jakpa and Dr. Ato Forson, based on the audio recording, for mistrial and stay of proceedings among others, that, the tape did not reveal any instruction from the A-G to the third accused to get Dr. Ato Forson implicated, she, however, admitted it on the grounds of fairness.
“Having listened to the conversation between [Richard Jakpa] and A-G, the allegation that A-G sought assistance to implicate [Ato Forson] was not borne out of the mouth of the A-G but [Richard Jakpa],” she had said earlier.
