Johnson Asiedu Nketiah
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has denied completely claims by Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Godfred Yeboah Dame that Richard Jakpa, the third accused in the ambulance purchase trial, requested plea bargain meetings.
At a press conference on Tuesday, NDC General Secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketiah asserted that Jakpa had never initiated such requests. “Ladies and gentlemen, following Mr Jakpa’s explosive testimony in court, the Attorney-General has falsely claimed that his engagement with the 3rd Accused was for purposes of plea bargain negotiations at the instance of the 3rd Accused,” said Nketiah.
Nketiah explained that all letters from Jakpa to Dame were proposals for settlement or plea bargaining that were rejected by the Attorney-General.
He emphasized that no meetings between Jakpa and Dame took place specifically for plea bargain negotiations.
According to Nketiah, communications between Jakpa and Dame predated any settlement or plea bargain proposals. “It is worthy to note that all those letters were signed by lawyers for Mr. Jakpa. This means that assuming the Attorney-General had accepted to engage the 3rd Accused in plea bargain negotiations, same should have been done with the lawyers of the 3rd Accused as required by section 162A(3) of Plea Bargaining Act, 2022 (Act 1079),” he stated.
Dame, however, has maintained that Jakpa approached him multiple times to implicate the first accused person, Dr Ato Forson, a former Deputy Finance Minister and current Minority Leader. Forson is facing trial for his alleged role in the procurement of faulty ambulances for Ghana.
The NDC’s denial of the plea bargain allegations raises questions about the credibility of the trial and the integrity of the justice system.
The outcome of the case is expected to have significant implications for the upcoming 2024 presidential elections.
By Vincent Kubi