Former Deputy Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, has defended the decision of suspended Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo to engage former Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame as her legal representative in an ongoing lawsuit.
His comments come amid public criticism from legal experts, including private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu, who argues that Mr Dame’s involvement in recent controversies, particularly the now-concluded ambulance procurement trial, taints his public image and makes him unfit to represent the embattled Chief Justice.
Mr Kpebu had referenced allegations made by Richard Jakpa, the third accused in the ambulance case, who claimed that Mr Dame contacted him late at night, pressuring him to testify against Minority Leader Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson.
A leaked 16-minute audio of a conversation between Mr Dame and Mr Jakpa, admitted into evidence by an Accra High Court, fuelled further backlash, with critics accusing the former Attorney-General of attempting to manipulate the judicial process.
“The optics are very bad in her choice of lawyer. It’s terrible. I can’t believe it. People made comments earlier, so I thought the Chief Justice would have taken a cue,” Mr Kpebu said in an earlier interview.
“Dame was in the Jakpa tape, coaching a witness to lie, requesting a fake medical report, and saying that Akufo-Addo and Ofori-Atta were pressuring him to prosecute Forson and Jakpa,” he added.
But Mr Tuah-Yeboah, speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, May 24, said there is nothing wrong with Mr Dame representing Justice Torkonoo, insisting she has the right to select any qualified lawyer.
“There is nothing wrong with Godfred Dame representing Justice Torkonoo. The CJ has every right to choose any qualified professional to represent her in court,” he stated.
Meanwhile, in a suit filed at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, May 21, Mr Dame, acting on behalf of the suspended Chief Justice, is seeking 16 reliefs.
These include an order to reverse Justice Torkonoo’s suspension and an interlocutory injunction to halt the proceedings of the five-member committee probing the petition for her removal.
The suit also seeks to bar Justices Gabriel Scott Pwamang and Samuel Kwame Adibu-Asiedu from participating in the proceedings, citing concerns over their impartiality.
