Ambulance case: Attorney General will not file charges against defamation allegations

Godfred Dame, Attorney General

The Attorney General's Office has announced that it will not file defamation charges against individuals who allegedly spread lies about Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame in connection with the ongoing ambulance procurement affair.

In a statement issued on Thursday (May 23) and signed by Deputy Attorney General Alfred Tuah Yeboah, the AG’s office responded to the allegations made by Richard Jakpa, the third accused in the case.

Jakpa claimed that the Attorney General sought his cooperation in securing a conviction against the first accused, Cassiel Ato Forson, a prominent figure in the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

“It is rather the third accused who, by various letters dated April 27, 2023, May 16, 2023, May 30, 2023 and June 12, 2023, proposed to the Republic through the Attorney General to engage in a plea bargain or plea bargain. This plea bargain proposal has, to date, not been accepted by the Attorney General,” the statement said.

Additionally, the Attorney General's Office revealed that it has video evidence of Cassiel Ato Forson allegedly meeting with the Attorney General to request that charges be dropped.

The Attorney General's office described the recent allegations as part of a broader strategy by the NDC to pressure the Attorney General to drop the case or divert attention from substantive issues involving significant financial losses for the State.

Speaking in an interview with Asaase, Isaac Wilberforce Mensah, spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office, confirmed that the AG would not pursue defamation proceedings.

“A defamation action, again, I would say it’s not necessary. I mean these are political discussions and the first accused or the first accused has been charged with a criminal offense.

Mensah further commented on the defense strategy in the ongoing case, saying: “So if the defense in this case is that the Attorney General had negotiations with the third accused, if that is the defense, then it will be a bit difficult in court for the defense, I should say.

NO/EK