The climax of the cross-examination of the third accused in Ato Forson's ambulance trial may not have produced the anticipated fireworks, but it certainly delivered some noteworthy moments.

Richard Jakpa, the Chief Executive Officer of Jakpa@business, the brokers of the deal between the then John Mahama government and Big Sea Company Limited, producers of the ambulances, had been in the witness box for the past weeks but concluded his testimony on Tuesday, July 2, 2024.

The over one-hour cross-examination of Richard Jakpa by the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Dame, produced some interesting soundbites, particularly between Jakpa and the sitting judge, Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe.

The cross-examination focused on the legitimacy of the deal between the government of Ghana and Big Sea, the quality of the ambulances, and the financial benefits Richard Jakpa derived from the deal.

Major developments

One area of contention between Godfred Dame and Richard Jakpa during the exercise was the day the ambulances arrived in Ghana.

Godfred Dame, armed with an exhibit, insisted that the first set of ambulances arrived in Ghana in December 2014, contrary to Richard Jakpa's claims that the ambulances delivered in batches of ten first arrived in Ghana in 2015.

Jakpa objected to this claim by Dame, prompting Dame to refer him to a letter from the then-Health Minister, Alex Segbefia, which confirmed December 2014 as the arrival date for the first tranche of ambulances.

Jakpa maintained his opposition, noting that Alex Segbefia made an error.

Another major development from the cross-examination was that the Cabinet of the government at the time approved the purchase of the ambulances.

This disclosure by Richard Jakpa was triggered by a question from Godfred Dame, which indicated that the deal did not have the approval of the Ministry of Health.

"After the Ministry had satisfied itself that they were getting value for money, they proceeded to the Cabinet. The Cabinet did its due diligence and was also satisfied.

"After the Cabinet, the specifications proceeded to Parliament. The Health Committee of Parliament sat on this ambulance project, thoroughly examined the technical specifications, and compared them to the cost that the Cabinet had approved," the third accused said.

Jakpa also defended that everything was done in accordance with the country's procurement laws and that evidence exists to corroborate his claims.

Richard Jakpa also sought to dismiss assertions by Godfred Dame that his company enjoyed half of the €2.3 million paid for the ambulances.

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The clashes

At various stages of the cross-examination, there were moments of inflamed passion either between Jakpa and the judge, Dame and Jakpa, or the judge and Dame.

One of the standout clashes was between Godfred Dame and the judge, Justice Asare-Botwe, over Dame's persistent heckling of Richard Jakpa.

Godfred Dame, who had questioned Richard Jakpa about the Health Ministry's position on the deal, was unhappy that Jakpa was digressing and not answering the question. The judge intervened, demanding that Dame allow Jakpa to answer the question the way he deemed fit, as the heckling would not yield any results. Dame protested, and that created some brief exchange between himself and the judge.

Another incident occurred when the judge stepped in to remind Richard Jakpa of his penchant for repeating things already said. Jakpa, who was responding to a query from Dame, cited an exhibit and wanted to read from it, but the judge maintained that he had already referenced the document and the court had taken notice of it.

Jakpa was not happy with the reprimand from the judge and sought to defend himself, but the judge insisted that the court was running out of time. Jakpa was still unhappy and attempted to interject the judge's statement, but the trial judge scolded him and cautioned him against interrupting her.

There was another clash between Justice Asare-Botwe and Dr. Bassit Aziz Bamba, lawyer for the 1st accused person, Ato Forson, who objected to the judge's decision to grant Godfred Dame a ten-minute extension.

Dr. Bamba reminded the judge that the court had agreed on a closing time and that extending the time for the AG would be unfair to the others, but the judge maintained that she had been fair to all parties and that the same grace was extended to Dr. Bamba during one of the sittings.

Watch the full video below



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