Private legal practitioner and former Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini, has observed that Richard Jakpa, the third accused person in the ambulance purchase trial, is exploiting the opportunity of the Attorney-General’s misconduct to ask the court to drop the charges against him.
Dr. Ato Forson, Sylvester Anemana and private businessman, Richard Jakpa, are standing trial for willfully causing a financial loss of €2.37 million to the state through a contract to purchase 200 ambulances for the Ministry of Health, among other charges.
The state has, however, discontinued the case against Sylvester Amemana.
During court proceedings on Thursday, May 23, 2024, Mr Jakpa fumed at the Attorney-General for accusing him of defending the Minority Leader in his testimony.
Subsequently, an audio recording of a telephone conversation between Mr Jakpa and the Attorney-General was played at a press conference organised by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), which has been widely circulated.
Justice Abdulai calls for review of all criminal cases prosecuted by Yeboah Dame
On Thursday, May 30, a week after his allegations against Mr Dame in court, the third accused, through his lawyers, Sory @ Law, filed an application asking the court to strike out the charges against him.
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Reacting to the development on TV3’s News Central on Friday, May 31, the former Tamale Central lawmaker stressed that the alleged audio recording has given the case a different twist.
“The tape recording that was played that was evident of an engagement between the Attorney-General and Richard Jakpa gives the case a new twist and I think that Richard [Jakpa] is exploiting the opportunity contained in the statements made by the Attorney-General and his subsequent meetings with him to go to court to argue that prosecution is in bad faith. So, his name ought to be struck out from the list of accused persons.”
“He is relying solely on what the Attorney-General has told him,” he said.
Asked whether the said audio would be admissible in court, he indicated that, “that is what we have to watch out to see whether it can be admissible.”
“It’s a file and so the court will have to determine whether or not in the criminal trial this process is known… the court will have to determine that. So we have to wait to see whether the jurisdiction of the court has been properly invoked and whether the court will take into consideration the conversations—which are not in evidence, between the third accused person and Godfred Dame in order to exercise its jurisdiction,” the former Roads Minister told Keminni Amanor.
