Monday, 09 June

To halt or not: Judge to rule on controversial ambulance case

News
L-R: Godfred Dame and Ato Baah Forson

The court is set to deliver a ruling on Thursday, June 6, regarding an application to stop the prosecution of Minority Leader Cassiel Ato Forson and businessman Richard Jakpa in the high-profile ambulance case.

The two accused have filed separate motions seeking to pause the legal proceedings against them. 

These motions come in the wake of serious allegations made by Mr Jakpa during cross-examination, where he claimed that Attorney General Godfred Dame had contacted him at unusual hours and urged him to implicate Dr Ato Forson.

Following these accusations, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) released an audio recording purportedly capturing a conversation between Mr Jakpa and the Attorney General, aiming to substantiate Jakpa's claims.

In response, Dr Ato Forson's legal team has requested the court declare a mistrial, while Mr Jakpa has filed an application to have the charges against them dismissed. 

Prior to these filings, Dr Ato Forson's lawyers had also sought a stay of proceedings, pending an appeal against a court ruling that required them to cross-examine Mr Jakpa before the Attorney General's cross-examination.

Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, presiding over the case, has announced that she will rule on all pending applications on Thursday. During the latest hearing, the judge allowed Mr Jakpa’s counsel to object to parts of a sworn statement from the Attorney General’s office opposing Mr Jakpa’s application to dismiss the charges.

Mr Thaddeus Sory, representing Mr Jakpa, argued that the facts presented in the Attorney General’s affidavit were from a principal state attorney who lacked personal knowledge of the case details. 

He contended that the state attorney failed to demonstrate how he acquired the information.

Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame countered the objection, stating that the principal state attorney was familiar with the facts as part of his official duties. He argued that Jakpa's challenge should have been presented through affidavits contesting the facts rather than objections based on legal technicalities.

Source: classfmonline.com