Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, Godfred Yeboah Dame, Afenyo-Markin
The Court of Appeal yesterday acquitted Minority Leader Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson and businessman, Richard Jakpa, who were standing trial for causing €2.37 million financial loss to the state in the purchase of 200 ambulances for the Ministry of Health.
The court, in a 2:1 split decision, upheld an appeal against the decision of the High Court which had held that the prosecution established prima facie against the two, and subsequently ordered them to open their defence.
The Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, however, disagrees with the decision of the Court of Appeal, describing it as being perverse in the quest for public accountability and the rule of law.
He said the decision clearly is heavily against the weight of the cogent evidence led by the prosecution, hence, his Office will be appealing the decision at the Supreme Court.
Trial
Dr. Ato Forson and Richard Jakpa were standing trial for willfully causing financial loss of €2.37 million to the state, through a contract to purchase 200 ambulances for the Ministry of Health, among other charges.
The ambulances, according to court documents, are ordinary buses which are not fit for purpose as they do not have the needed equipment that an ambulance requires.
The prosecution, led by the Attorney General and Minster for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame and Director of Public Prosecutions, Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa, closed its case on February 14, 2023 after calling five witnesses, including the then Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu to prove its case.
One of the main issues raised during the prosecution’s case was whether the defective vehicles were purchased in accordance with the purchase agreement approved by Parliament.
The accused persons, at the close of prosecution’s case, filed a submission of no case, urging the court to dismiss the case because the prosecution did not make a case against them to warrant them putting up a defence.
The trial court, presided over by Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, a Court of Appeal judge sitting as an additional High Court judge, in a ruling held that both the prosecution and the defence teams admit in one way or the other that the ambulances that were imported were defective so, “If you have spent money on a vehicle that cannot be used, then there is a case to be answered.”
Lawyers for Dr. Forson and Jakpa subsequently filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal challenging the decision of the High Court, which ordered them to open their defence.
Court of Appeal
A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal in a 2:1 split decision delivered yesterday, upheld the submission of no case, and reversed the decision of the High Court which ordered the accused persons to open their defence.
Justice Kweku Ackah-Boafo and Justice Philip Bright Mensah, who formed the majority, held that the prosecution failed to establish prima facie against the accused persons, hence the trial judge erred in ordering them to mount a defence.
They also held that apart from the letters Dr. Forson wrote, he did not do much to be asked to open his defence and, therefore, acquitted the two accused persons.
Justice Alex Poku Acheampong, who presided, in his dissenting view said the trial judge did not err in her decision and was right in asking the two to open a defence.
Prior to the decision of the Court of Appeal, Ato Forson had opened his defence and called three witnesses while Jakpa also opened his defence, mounted the witness box and testified after which he was cross-examined by the prosecution.
He subpoenaed some witnesses, two of whom had already testified and two were scheduled to testify yesterday but that could not happen as a result of the Court of Appeal decision.
AG To Appeal
Moments after the decision of the Court of Appeal, the Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame issued a statement disagreeing with the decision and pointed out that his Office would be appealing against it.
According to the statement, the relevant facts of the matter, as borne out by the undisputed evidence led so far show that vehicles purporting to be ambulances were imported into the country in December, 2014 in violation of the contract governing the transaction.
It said the then Minister for Health, the late Sherry Ayittey, had cautioned in writing against the importation of the vehicles into the country, “there was thus no request by the Ministry of Health for the vehicles to be imported into the country, or for the letters of credit which were the means of payment for the vehicles under the contract, to be established.”
“With no request from the Ministry of Health or any authorisation whatsoever, and at a time that the period for supply of the ambulances under the contract had even lapsed, the first accused, Cassiel Ato Forson, by letters dated and August 7 and 14, 2014, instructed the Bank of Ghana and the Controller and Accountant-General to issue letters of credit for the payment for the vehicles,” the statement said.
It continued that the letters of credit were consequently established on August 18, 2014 and Big Sea General Trading LLC, the suppliers of the vehicles based in Dubai, whose contract had no parliamentary approval, proceeded to ship the vehicles on receipt of the letters of credit.
“When the vehicles arrived, they were not of the kind specified in the contract. Further, apart from the absence of basic parts and equipment required for an ambulance, the National Ambulance Service and the Ministry of Health noted serious defects with every material part of the vehicles.”
The statement said such was the fundamental nature of the defects that a former Minister for Health, Dr. Alex Segbefia described the vehicles as ‘ordinary vans’ not fit for purpose.
“In point of fact, a report on the vehicles by the authorised dealers in Mercedes Benz, commissioned by the Ministry of Health in 2015 to assess the vehicles (tendered in evidence by the prosecution), stated that the vehicles could never be converted into ambulances,” he said.
The statement further pointed out that the defects were so irremediable that from the time the vehicles started arriving in December, 2014 up to January, 2017 when the erstwhile John Mahama administration left office, they could not be converted into ambulances.
“The Office of the Attorney General considers the decision of the Court of Appeal grossly unfair to the nation and inimical to the fight against impunity and abuse in public office. The Office will promptly file an appeal in order to erase the effect of this erroneous decision of the Court of Appeal,” the statement added.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak