Franklin Cudjoe, founding president of IMANI Africa, has called for the prosecution of the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Dame, for his role in the infamous ‘Ambulance Saga’.
According to Cudjoe, the A-G should be tried in court for ‘wasting taxpayers’ money on malicious prosecution’ and for rejecting a €2 million plea bargain deal from Big Sea Limited, the company responsible for shipping the ambulances.
In a social media post, the IMANI boss described the Attorney-General as a “high school playground bully”, stating that the minister “has done incalculable financial and reputational damage to Ghana.”
He added, “such characters that know not the value of money were given such roles to simply mount vindictive persecution of innocent people with our taxes. Such a shame.”
Background
Former Deputy Minister for Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, together with businessman Richard Jakpa and Seth Anemana of the Ministry of Health, were accused of ‘willfully causing financial loss of €2.37 million to the state’ in a deal to buy 200 ambulances for the country between 2014 and 2016.
The three were also accused of ‘intentionally misapplying public property’ and were arraigned before court in 2022. In March 2024, the state filed a nolle prosequi in respect of Dr. Anemana. Four months later, Dr. Forson was acquitted and discharged by the Court of Appeal.
The trial attracted significant interest from the general public, with some describing it as a ‘political witch-hunt‘.
Subsequently, the Attorney-General was accused of causing financial loss to the state after he refused a €2 million plea bargain deal from Big Sea Limited.
In his response, the Minister for Justice stated on Asempa FM, an Accra-based radio station, that he refused the money because the company in question was not a defendant in the case.
He said “the plea-bargaining proposal made it clear that the case was not frivolous and that the accused persons themselves were concerned about the case. The plea-bargaining proposal was made by…Richard Jakpa, and later on, the first accused wrote a letter saying that he had no objection to the plea- bargaining and all that.”
“But I’m saying that if I accepted the plea bargain in the manner it came, Ghanaians would say that I have gone for money and so on. The offer was that the company that was not a party to the case, Big Sea, was going to be the one that was going to pay the money, and that the case would be ended – I should throw in the towel and end the prosecution.
“So clearly there was no direct offer from the accused persons, there was also no a direct (sic) of liability, and they were hiding behind the Big Sea company in Dubai, which is not a party to proceedings in Ghana,” the Minister added.
He continued “If I had accepted this, I am sure you would be questioning my integrity, and if subsequently Big Sea had defaulted, how would the accused persons be held responsible? If Big Sea did not pay, how would I justify it to the people of Ghana?”
In response to the A-G’s explanation, Mr. Cudjoe was of the opinion that the Minister does not know the value of money, adding that the A-G was just appointed to embark on vindictive persecution of innocent political opponents.
