Richard Jakpa
In a pivotal revelation during the ongoing ambulance case trial, Richard Jakpa, the third accused person, admitted in court proceedings that he had not tendered the complete WhatsApp conversation between himself and Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame.
The disclosure unfolded as lawyers representing Ato Forson sought to unravel the intricacies of the case through cross-examination, proffering evidence of WhatsApp and audio interactions involving Richard Jakpa and Godfred Dame.
However, under the intense scrutiny of the prosecution’s inquiry, it was posited to Jakpa that the evidence presented did not encompass the entirety of his exchanges with the Attorney General.
In defense, Jakpa clarified that the submissions he made were selectively curated to present only the relevant portions of the conversation that bolstered his legal stance.
Director of Public Prosecutions Yvonne Attakora-Obuobisa further pressed Jakpa on the disparity between the volume of messages sent by him – 68 in total – to Godfred Dame, contrasted against the meager responses received, merely amounting to two. In response, Jakpa contended that while the claim held true, the contextual nuance of their interactions, including verbal requests for documents transcribed into the digital domain, accounted for the limited responsiveness reflected in the chat transcripts.
Moreover, it emerged from the courtroom revelations that the initial assistance extended to Richard Jakpa by the Attorney General stemmed from an entreaty by Justice Yonni Kulendi, Jakpa’s cousin. The genesis of this support evolved at a juncture where Jakpa, post-bail grant, encountered administrative impediments in fulfilling stipulated conditions, particularly concerning land valuation issues intersecting with the bail process.
Jakpa elucidated that it was amidst these procedural hurdles that he reached out to Justice Kulendi, prompting the latter to liaise with the Attorney General to facilitate remedial intervention.
Jakpa underscored that this collaborative effort catalyzed his first encounter with Godfred Dame, following an express appreciation gesture initiated via WhatsApp exchanges.
By Vincent Kubi