Godfred Yeboah Dame is the immediate past Attorney-General and Minister of Justice
The immediate past Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has been dragged to the General Legal Council for unprofessional conduct by a private citizen, Daniel Kwame Ofosu-Appiah.
In the details of the complaint filed at the General Legal Council, sighted by GhanaWeb, Ofosu-Appiah accused the former Attorney-General of acting unprofessionally in the Republic v. Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson & Anor. case.
He argued that Dame violated the principles of the legal profession when he was supposedly caught on a leaked tape attempting to coerce Richard Jakpa, the 3rd accused in the case, to testify in a certain manner.
“This petition concerns a confirmed instance of professional misconduct by the former Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame, in the matter of The Republic v. Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson & Anor. (Suit No. CR/0198/2022). In that matter, a private audio recording capturing a conversation between Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame and the third accused, Mr Richard Jakpa, was admitted by the court as Exhibit 9 for A1.
“The contents of this recording reveal Mr Dame attempting to influence the testimony of Mr Jakpa in a manner that interferes with the judicial process, compromises prosecutorial impartiality, and undermines the constitutional right to a fair trial under Article 19(2) of the 1992 Constitution. The fact that this recording has been admitted into evidence by the trial court and Court of Appeal moves the matter from the realm of mere allegation into that of judicially recognised conduct, requiring urgent professional and ethical scrutiny,” part of the complaint reads.
About the leaked tape:
Richard Jakpa, during the hearing of the case, accused the Attorney General, Godfred Dame, of attempting to collude with him to make a case against the Majority Leader.
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.
Read full complaint below:
BAI/MA
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