Ato Forson’s Ambulance trial: ‘You’ve no idea what is coming’ – Edudzi to NPP
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The Director of Legal Affairs of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Godwin Edudzi Tameklo, has served notice to the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) to prepare for the worst concerning the brouhaha surrounding the trial of Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, who has been accused of causing financial loss to the state in the purchase of 200 ambulances.
Speaking in an interview on Accra-based Neat FM, on May 31, 2024, Edudzi said that his party was able to provide evidence to show that the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government, through Attorney General Godfred Dame, is doing all it can to jail Dr. Ato Forson even though he has done no wrong.
He said that the audio recording of a phone conversation between Godfred Dame and the third accused in the Dr. Ato Forson trial, Richard Jakpa, where the AG is heard pressuring the third accused to testify against the Minority Leader, and the WhatsApp messages between the two man, released by the NDC, is just the tip of the iceberg.
“If you can recall, when this issue started, my brother Nana B ignorantly stated that the recording was done at the home of a Supreme Court judge. On Tuesday, the recording that was released, was it in a house? Wasn’t it a phone call?
“So, quite clearly, our brothers and sisters in the NPP do not know what is coming. They have no idea,” he said in Twi.
The NDC legal director urged NPP members who are making noise about the trial to take a clue from the Attorney General who has gone quiet since the revelations started.
He made these remarks while reacting to a petition by Dr. Ato Forson to the Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo, for the remaining proceedings of the trial to be broadcast live.
About the allegations against Godfred Dame:
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), true to its promise, provided evidence of the supposed misdeeds of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Dame, in the ongoing trial of the Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson.
The NDC accused Godfred Dame of unethical and unprofessional conduct when the third accused person in the ambulance purchase trial, businessman Richard Jakpa, alleged in court that the AG had meetings with him on how to implicate the first accused, Ato Forson.
The third accused claimed that the Attorney General wanted his cooperation to jail Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson; a claim Dame flatly denied.
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 4 LCs.
“With the security from the government being the LC, the condition precedent… the contract for 200 vehicles in tranches of 50, 50, 50, 50. The contract is one contract for 200 ambulances which has been broken down within the contract.
“You establish an LC for every 50 tranche. So, you have four LCs for the 200 ambulances,” Jakpa explained.
Godfred Dame then stated that the third accused should accept his explanation because it wouldn’t cause him any harm.
“For that part, I disagree with you because if you look at the terms of the contract, it is quite clear, and it should not be difficult for you to accept because it doesn’t put you in any problem. You are not the Minister of Health, and you are not the Minister of Finance, so it doesn’t put you in any difficulty,” the Attorney General is heard saying.
However, Jakpa insisted that he could not grant Dame’s request because there were letters that confirmed the arrangement in the contract.
“No, the problem I have in accepting that for you is that there are letters that confirm [details of the transaction]. So I can’t go against what the letters say,” he said.
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 Attorney General is also heard in the recording telling Jakpa to fabricate a medical excuse so that he could travel.
Watch Edudzi’s remarks in the video below:
