Former Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Dame, has categorically denied allegations by businessman Richard Jakpa, now Director of Special Operations at the National Security Secretariat, the third accused, in the controversial ambulance case against former Majority Leader and now Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson.
Delivering a 50-point statement to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) on Monday, October 6, 2025, Mr. Dame described the claims as “baseless,” “sour grapes,” and “a desperate ploy to obstruct justice.”
He dismissed Jakpa’s accusations of fabrication of evidence in the case titled “Republic vrs. 1. Cassiel Ato Forson, 2. Dr. Sylvester Anemena, 3. Richard Jakpa.” He argued that “none of the ingredients of the offence have been made out in the charge against me.”
Denial of the fabrication allegation
According to the former Attorney-General, “I did not fabricate any evidence led in that criminal trial. I have not been shown any piece of evidence adduced in the matter, either by the prosecution or the defence, which is alleged to be fabricated by me.”
He maintained that he “never attempted to influence the testimony of Richard Jakpa, and indeed, he was not influenced at all when giving evidence in the case in question.”
Explaining the legal definition of the alleged offence, Mr. Dame stated that “the offence of fabrication of evidence entails causing a circumstance to exist, making a false entry in a book, record, account or forging a document adduced as evidence at the trial, with intent to mislead a judge, juror or public officer acting in a judicial capacity. No act of mine borders on the doing of anything that will constitute fabrication of evidence.”
He revealed that the so-called evidence relied upon by Jakpa was “a secret recording of a telephone conversation between himself and me on 26 March, 2024.”
However, Mr. Dame clarified that “that telephone conversation actually took place on 9 April, 2024, and not 26th March, 2024, as he alleges. I am unable to respond to an allegation based on an alleged conversation on 26 March 2024 since no conversation took place between us on that day.”
Context of the telephone call
Mr. Dame outlined that by the time of the said phone conversation, “the prosecution had long filed and made available to the defence, and even gone ahead to tender in evidence all the documents it sought to rely on.”
He emphasized that the documents had been filed as early as “14th February, 2022,” and that the High Court had already ruled that a prima facie case had been established against the accused persons on “30th March, 2023.”
By then, “the first accused, Dr. Ato Forson, had closed his case,” while the second accused’s case had been discontinued due to ill health. According to Dame, “the only accused person left was Richard Jakpa, who was in the process of testifying. He opened his defence by himself as he had fired his lawyer, Mr. Aubyn.”
The former Attorney-General insisted that he called Jakpa merely “to discuss the possibility of adjourning proceedings for that day since I had to finish up preparations for an international arbitration hearing in London.”
He further added, “I will produce evidence of this as well. In the course of the discussion, he revived his disagreement over the meaning of the contract in question and the implications of using Letters of Credit as payment for the ambulances, which were proven to be not fit for purpose.”
“No fabrication, just resentment”
Mr. Dame described Jakpa’s complaint as one born out of personal frustration. He said: “This complaint by Richard Jakpa is just sour grapes as he felt aggrieved by my refusal to yield to his representations, in those meetings with Justice Kulendi, for me to discontinue his prosecution.”
He added that Jakpa was “hugely disgruntled and resentful of me following my insistence on proceeding with this prosecution despite the pressure he and the other accused persons brought on me to halt their prosecution.”
He further alleged that the first accused person, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, had personally visited his residence in 2023 “to make representations and impress upon me to stop his prosecution. This, I refused to oblige.”
Role of Justice Kulendi
Mr. Dame confirmed that all his encounters with Jakpa occurred either in open court or at the home of Supreme Court Justice Yonny Kulendi, whom he described as “a respected senior colleague for many years even before he was appointed to the Supreme Court.”
He said, “The fact remains that there would have been no ‘Dame–Jakpa’ without Justice Kulendi.” He emphasized that his visits to the judge’s residence were out of respect, stating:
“It is inconceivable for a lawyer, more so the Attorney-General, to refuse invitations by a Justice of the Supreme Court to visit or to decline to give him audience when requested.”
However, he maintained that he “did not reasonably think that honouring invitations to his residence would entail any danger or prejudice” and that he “maintained independence of thought on all issues discussed in Justice Kulendi’s house, including matters related to Richard Jakpa’s prosecution.”
High Court ruling on the matter
Mr. Dame stressed that Jakpa’s allegations were not only false but had already been “judicially considered and pronounced upon by the High Court, Accra.”
Citing pages 24, 31, and 32 of the High Court ruling delivered on June 6, 2024, by Justice Afia Serwaa Asare-Botwe, he quoted:
“After listening to the conversation between A3 and A1, the issue of whether the Attorney-General actually told A3 to implicate A1 is not borne out by the evidence.
“The declaration that A3 was innocent and going through ordeal … was not made by the Attorney-General, but was made by A3, to which the Attorney-General responded at minute 10:20, ‘I am not asking you to help me.”
He added that the court further concluded, “After listening to the recording … there is no actual evidence that the Attorney-General as the prosecutor has behaved in such an egregious manner that the 1st Accused/Applicant’s right to a fair trial is in jeopardy.”
Mr. Dame argued that the CID lacked the jurisdiction to reinvestigate matters already determined by a court of competent jurisdiction, emphasizing: “The instant complaint seeks to relitigate issues already adjudicated upon by the High Court, Accra, in respect of which there is no appeal. The matters in issue have become res judicata.”
Timeline of contact with Jakpa
Detailing his limited engagement with the businessman, the former Attorney-General stated:
“I have never met Mr. Richard Jakpa anywhere apart from inside the courtroom and the residence of a Justice of the Supreme Court, His Lordship Justice Yonny Kulendi.”
He explained that the first interaction occurred when Justice Kulendi visited his office on 18 January 2022, after Jakpa’s arraignment, to plead for the accused’s temporary release pending bail verification. He agreed out of respect for the judge.
He noted that Jakpa later obtained his number from Justice Kulendi and sent him 68 WhatsApp messages, to which he replied only twice, a fact Jakpa admitted in court.
Mr. Dame further stated: “In light of the above, I say that the allegation of fabrication of evidence is totally baseless and springs only from the fertile imagination of Richard Jakpa.”
He maintained that his only motive in calling Jakpa on 9 April 2024 was procedural, connected to an adjournment request before he left for an arbitration hearing in London, one which Ghana ultimately won.
Source: asaaseradio.com
