A former Director of the Ghana School of Law, Kwaku Ansa-Asare, has asserted that the advice from the judge in the trial of Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, for the defence to seek redress from the General Legal Council (GLC) on the allegation of witness coercion against the AG will be an exercise in futility.

According to Ansa-Asare, neither the GLC nor the Judicial Council would have the impetus to punish the Attorney General for the things he is heard saying in the leaked tape of a phone call with the third accused in the trial, Richard Jakpa.

He indicated that neither of them will take this action against Dame because he is a powerful person on both councils.

"The reference or referral to the General Legal Council is (sic). The General Legal Council would be a toothless bulldog in this matter because the Attorney General is a stalwart in the composition of the council. I would not advise or suggest to the defence counsel to go there.

"Unless the Attorney General is suspended or made to step aside, nor the Judicial Council because again, the Chief Justice is the Chairperson of the Judicial Council and the next most powerful person is the Attorney General," he said in an interview on NewsFile on June 8, 2024.

Ansa-Asare, a founding member of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), pointed out that the continuous stay of Dame in the Office of the Attorney General despite what he did has created an issue in the country’s judicial system.

"So, this creates a legal quagmire. We find ourselves in a conundrum, and both the Attorney General and the court will now find themselves in some legal fix like Ama Badu’s proverbial dilemma of a ghost – 'Shall I go to Cape Coast or Elmina?' Should the defence go to the General Legal Council or lodge a complaint about the ruling to the Judicial Council or the Chief Justice? In neither of these instances, will a good verdict be offered?"

Background:

Richard Jakpa accused the Attorney General, Godfred Dame, of attempting to collude with him to make a case against the Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson.

Jakpa claimed during court proceedings on Thursday, May 23, 2024, that the Attorney General called him at odd hours to get his cooperation.

He made these remarks when Dame accused him of protecting Ato Forson, threatening to reveal more if the Attorney General dared him.

At a press conference in Accra, on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, the NDC played a 16-minute audio recording of a phone call conversation between Godfred Dame and Richard Jakpa on the day the third accused was supposed to testify in court.

In the recording, Dame is heard urging the third accused to testify in a manner that differs from an explanation given to him (Jakpa).

Before the AG's request, Jakpa explained that Ato Forson had done no wrong with the LCs he signed.

He could be heard telling the Attorney General that the contract was for the purchase of 200 vehicles with four LCs.

Godfred Dame then stated that the third accused should accept his explanation because it wouldn't cause him any harm.

However, Jakpa insisted that he could not grant Dame's request because there were letters that confirmed the arrangement in the contract.

Dame continued to ask Jakpa to accept his position because it would not cause him any problems, but the third accused insisted he was not going to say anything contrary to what he knew as the truth.

The High Court in Accra dismissed an application by Minority Leader Cassiel Ato Forson seeking a mistrial and an investigation into the conduct of the Attorney General.

The trial judge ruled that Forson had not demonstrated any statutory provisions that would justify a mistrial or an inquiry into the Attorney General's actions.

The judge, however, advised the defence to take the issue up with the General Legal Council.

BAI/AE

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