….Suggests he conspired with cousin to ditch Attorney General
The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has thrown Supreme Court Judge, Justice Emmanuel Yonny Kulendi’s integrity onto a grill like a kebab – “Kyinkyinga” – over Attorney General and Minister of Justice Godfred Dame’s witness-coaching saga in the ambulance trial case involving Minority Leader of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, and others.
About three days ago, Justice Kulendi’s reputation became the NPP’s place of respite in the case in which Richard Jakpa, the third accused, angrily revealed under cross-examination that the Attorney General, had been calling him and meeting with him at odd hours to falsely testify against the Minority Leader, to secure a jail term.
While both parties, have mentioned that the meeting between Mr Jakpa and the Attorney General took place at the residence of a Supreme Court judge, it was the NPP that emphatically mentioned the name of Justice Kulendi as the judge in question.
However, the very vocal Supreme Court judge, who doesn’t shy away from controversy, is yet to speak on how and why he facilitated the meeting and at whose behest.
More Read
In the tape played yesterday by the NDC at a press conference, the Attorney General, sounded extremely ignorant about the ambulance case. He clearly went into the trial without any investigation or legal brief from any of the security agencies: the Police Criminal Investigations Department (CID), the National Bureau of Investigation (NIB), or the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO). He had begged Jakpa to testify in a certain way in court.
Mr Dame was heard saying, “In my view, if we agree with the way I want to go about it, there would be no issues for you,” but Jakpa quickly retorted, “If I go by your way, frankly speaking, I will be dishonest.”
Ahead of Justice Kulendi’s admission or denial, a former Director of the Ghana School of Law and private legal practitioner, Kwaku Ansah-Asare, has called for the impeachment of the Supreme Court justice who reportedly hosted the Attorney-General and Mr Jakpa in a supposed plea bargain negotiation.
Speaking on JoyNews on Tuesday, May 28, Mr Asare, said that based on admissions by Isaac Wilberforce Mensah, the Attorney-General’s spokesperson, that indeed, Mr Dame, held a pre-negotiation meeting in the home of a Supreme Court justice, the said justice must be removed.
“If it is true that the meeting took place at the house of the sitting Supreme Court judge, he must be impeached. The Chief Justice must set the ball rolling,” he said.
Mr Ansah, cautioned that although he was pushing for the justice’s impeachment, an investigation must be carried out to ascertain if the said justice was indeed one of the Supreme Court justices.
Also, Mr Asare asserts that A-G must tender in his resignation for engaging in pre-negotiation with an accused.
Firstly, in a Facebook post on Monday, May 27, the National Organiser of the NPP, Henry Nana Boakye otherwise alias “Nana B” stated that the AG attended the meeting at the behest of Justice Emmanuel Yonny Kulendi, which occurred in his residence.
He indicated that the full recording would establish that the AG never requested Richard Japka to skew his testimony. He, however, did not produce any audio to prove the point of a doctored tape.
“We are reliably informed that NDC is trying every means to maliciously ‘doctor’ the said tape to exclude portions of the conversation and particularly the voice of the Supreme Court Justice, whose invitation the AG honoured out of courtesy. The full-length recording will reveal the AG never requested Richard Jakpa to skew his testimony in any manner as bandied around by the NDC.”
Nana B indicated that “No amount of scheming by the NDC and its affiliates will exonerate any person who participated in misrepresenting ordinary vans as ambulances to the Ghanaian populace.”
Yesterday, on Tuesday, May 28, shortly after the NDC’s press conference at which its National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, revealed some details of Japka’s encounters with the Attorney including playing an audio recording of a telephone conversation and a WhatsApp conversation between the two, the ruling NPP also addressed the press on the matter describing Mr Jakpa’s claim as a ploy to derail the trial of the Minority Leader.
Frank Davies, the NPP Legal Committee Chairman, also dismissed the claims by Jakpa, stating that they were contrived to curtail the prosecution of Ato Forson and smear the Attorney General’s integrity and reputation.
Davies emphasised that public officials must be held equally accountable for their use of public resources, regardless of their social standing and criticised the NDC for their commentary on the alleged tape, calling it unacceptable.
He mentioned Justice Kulendi’s name, stating that the NDC’s actions are aimed at preventing the public from making informed judgments.
“The latest allegation by Richard Jakpa, the 3rd accused and an associate of Cassiel Ato Forson in this botched Ambulance procurement transaction, is therefore only a further ploy, contrived to curtail the prosecution of Ato Forson and smear the Attorney General’s integrity and reputation.
“But this would also not see the light of day as we believe firmly that public officials, regardless of social standing must be equally accountable for their use of public resources. Needless to say, the law is no respecter of persons.”
Mr Davies, described as unacceptable the commentary by the NDC over the alleged tape. He also failed to produce any tape contrary to the 16-minute audio played by Johnson Asiedu Nketiah and WhatsApp messages.
He said, t is unacceptable, that Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, runs a commentary over the alleged tape calculated to prevent you the Ghanaian people from making your own deduction and reasoned judgment.”
“We would like to also put on record, that as of February 2022, when Jakpa requested for a meeting with the AG, the AG never met him and never made any arrangement through the Supreme Court Justice, Emmanuel Yonny Kulendi. It was not until the AG was invited to the residence of Justice Yonny Kulendi in 2023 that he surprisingly met Richard Jakpa at the residence.
“We remain resolute that the Attorney General has never approached 3rd Accused for any conversation, let alone request him to skew his testimony against 1st accused, Cassiel Ato Forson. The only meeting at which the Attorney General, met the 3rd Accused was in the residence of a Supreme Court Judge, His Lordship Justice Emmanuel Yonny Kulendi who about six (6) weeks ago, requested to see the Attorney General. It is not out of place for the Attorney General to visit the said Justice upon request. More so, when the two were friends even before the elevation of the latter to the Supreme Court.
“Again, the Attorney General at the time of the invitation was unaware that the 3rd Accused person was going to be present and therefore his subsequent appearance in the house of the Justice was surprising. It is pertinent to note, that prior to this meeting, the Attorney General had closed his case and the Court had thrown out the application of Ato Forson as being without merit. The 3rd accused had also by four different letters by his lawyers, requested and made proposals to the Attorney General for a Plea Bargain which would see Big Sea General, 3rd accused’s principal pay 2 million Euros in exchange for the cessation of prosecution. This had been roundly rejected by the Attorney General. In fact, 3rd Accused through his lawyers in the letter dated 16th May, 2023 had indicated unequivocally that they were requesting a Plea Bargain and following the rejection had requested the AG for terms which the AG will consider acceptable.
“The Supreme Court Judge therefore sought to enquire whether there was room for a Plea Bargain and the AG highlighted that he was not opposed provided it was made in proper form and assured 3rd accused that he had nothing personally against any of the accused persons. The AG further requested that since the charges principally focus on the public officials through whose actions the loss was occasioned, Richard Jakpa should show fidelity to the transaction records which were already on record.
“Finally, there is also a record that 1st Accused himself, Cassiel Ato Forson, had in the company of a Senior Parliamentarian, visited the AG in his house to plead with him to end the prosecution. The NDC in their Press Conference today have conveniently failed, refused or neglected to respond to this fact which was also contained in the response of the Ministry of Justice following the proceedings of Thursday.
“If the Attorney General desired to cajole the 3rd Accused as suggested, then the best avenue would have been following 3rd Accused request for the AG to propose terms acceptable to him and the several WhatsApp messages sent to the AG, pleading with him. Clearly, the 3rd accused is a hired mercenary, contracted to exploit his relationship with the Supreme Court Judge, knowing the AG’s inability to disrespect the said justice when invited after failing to secure a meeting with the AG.
The NPP rejected the NDC demand for the resignation of the Godfred Dame saying, that since the inception of “the 4th Republic, the current Attorney General, Hon. Godfred Yeboah, Dame, has been one of the most successful both in and out of Court. As remarkably noted by the President at the last State of the nation’s Address, he had successfully saved the state over GHS10trillion and his verve in protecting public resources is shown by his commitment to the prosecution of public officials whose acts resulted in financial loss. This is beside the other several infrastructure and logistics improvement to the office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice including the almost completed Law House.
“If it is the firm belief of the NDC and Ato Forson that no loss had occasioned the state from his conduct, then they should remain faithful to our judicial system and cease these malicious orchestrations targeted at bastardising our judicial system prevent him from standing trial to conclusion.
“We are clear in our minds that the calls for the resignation of the Attorney General is misplaced, unwarranted and this would not put any spokes in the prosecution of Cassiel Ato Forson and his associates. Also, coming from the NDC the call for the attorney General to resign is very very rich. The AG would not resign and would continue to remain witty, resolute and focused in the delivery of his work.
The National Chairman of the NDC, described Mr Dame’s conduct as perjury, pledging to prosecute him when elected in the 2024 general elections.
Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, stated that should President Akufo-Addo, fail to prosecute him, a future NDC government would prosecute Godfred Dame for fabricating evidence.
“The immediate prosecution of Godfred Dame for multiple violations of the laws of Ghana. We wish to make it clear that should President Akufo-Addo fail to prosecute him, a future NDC government will prosecute Godfred Dame for this heinous crime of fabricating evidence,” he stated.
He said the government has no evidence of wrongdoing against the Minority Leader but is only interested in fabrications to persecute him as retribution.
Nketiah alleged that the government has no evidence of wrongdoing against the Minority Leader and is only interested in fabrications to persecute him as retribution for his strong opposition to the economic mismanagement.
“Friends from the media, it is clear from the incontrovertible evidence we have adduced today, that the government has no evidence of wrongdoing against the Minority Leader but is only involved in fabrications to persecute him as retribution for his strong opposition to the economic mismanagement and general misrule of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government.”
“The Republic has never required or desired the cooperation of any of the accused persons in the matter, in which it has already succeeded in establishing a prima facie case against all the accused persons. Neither the Attorney-General nor any officer from the Office of the Attorney-General has approached any of the accused persons with the view to obtaining evidence from them”.
“It is glaringly clear from the tape recording you just listened to that this claim is a barefaced lie peddled by the dishonourable Attorney-General and his office to deceive the public.
“In sharp contrast to his earlier claim that he has never met any of the accused persons, the Attorney-General now claims that he has actually contacted and met the 3rd Accused, Richard Jakpa, but that he met him only once at the residence of a Supreme Court Judge and that this meeting was not at his behest but rather at the behest of a sitting Supreme Court judge who entrapped him”.
“Ladies and gentlemen, all these claims by the Attorney-General through his spokesperson are lies, and we have evidence to prove so. In addition to the voice recordings, we have other evidence by way of screenshots of chats on WhatsApp between Godfred Dame and Mr. Jakpa which further prove that the Attorney-General contacted a represented person without recourse to the represented person’s lawyer”.
“The chats further show, that it was Godfred Dame who chose to meet Richard Jakpa at the house of the Supreme Court Judge (Project WhatsApp Exhibit 1). As you can see from the screen this is a WhatsApp chat dated 16th February, 2022 in which Godfred Dame undertakes to arrange a meeting with Mr. Jakpa through his brother (actually, his cousin, the Supreme Court Judge) through a WhatsApp message sent at 7:32pm. This evidence totally belies Dame’s contrived and ridiculous claim that he was entrapped.
“The next set of WhatsApp chats (Project WhatsApp exhibits 2, 3 and 4) dated 17th July, 2022, shows Godfred Dame, receiving certain soft copies of documents from Mr. Richard Jakpa to facilitate his prosecution of the Minority Leader at 11:29pm. This was immediately after the Attorney-General had met Mr. Jakpa at the residence of the Supreme Court judge, at the instance of the Attorney-General.
“In the next WhatsApp chat (WhatsApp exhibit 5) dated 23rd November, 2023, Godfred Dame is seen to have placed a call at 10:40am to Richard Jakpa and followed it with a message at 10:49am acknowledging a message sent to him by Mr. Jakpa that the case had been adjourned to Thursday, the following week.
“The final WhatsApp chat (WhatsApp exhibit 6) dated Tuesday 9th April, 2024 shows evidence of a 26- minute phone call placed to Richard Jakpa by GodfredDame at 7:12am, the morning of a day Jakpa was scheduled to testify in court.
“It is this telephone conversation that we have played to you and it was in this conversation that Godfred Dame, among others, asked Jakpa to fabricate a fake medical excuse duty to deceive the trial court.
“Thus, the claim by the dishonourable Attorney-General Godfred Dame that he only met the 3rd Accused person once and that same was through entrapment by a Supreme Court judge is not only false but hogwash.
