Former Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, is expected to appear before the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service today to answer questions in connection with a petition accusing him of misconduct and attempted fabrication of evidence.
The petition was filed by the Director of Special Operations at the National Security Secretariat, Richard Jakpa, who was the third accused in the high-profile ambulance procurement trial that also involved the Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson.
Mr. Dame, who served as Attorney-General until the change of government earlier this year, is scheduled to attend the CID inquiry with a team of lawyers to assist with investigations into the claims.
The petition
In a formal complaint dated July 23, 2025, and addressed to the Director-General of the CID, Mr. Jakpa alleged that Mr. Dame solicited his cooperation to testify in a manner that would incriminate Dr. Forson during the ambulance case.
According to Jakpa, the former A-G encouraged him during a phone call on March 26, 2024, to tailor his responses under cross-examination—particularly on Letters of Credit (LCs)—to support the prosecution’s case, contrary to his own knowledge and understanding of events.
“He suggested that during cross-examination I testify not based on matters personally perceived and understood by me, but based on his suggestions,” Jakpa wrote.
The petition also claims that Mr. Dame urged him to secure a false medical excuse duty to delay his court appearance until the then-Attorney General returned from an overseas trip—an act Jakpa said he refused, describing it as “criminal, dishonest and unethical.”
Calling the former minister’s alleged conduct “diabolical and vicious,” Mr. Jakpa urged the CID to probe what he termed an attempt to mislead the court and undermine justice. He further warned that such actions, if proven, could erode public confidence in the office of the Attorney-General.
The Forson ambulance trial
The ambulance case remains one of Ghana’s most politically charged prosecutions in recent years. It centred on the procurement of 200 ambulances during the tenure of Dr. Forson as Deputy Minister of Finance under the late President John Evans Atta Mills.
Big Sea General Trading Limited, a Dubai-based company, was contracted to supply the vehicles, with Jakpa’s firm, Jakpa at Business, serving as the local representative. Funding was secured through Parliament’s approval of a facility from Stanbic Bank, leading to the issuance of letters of credit.
However, the prosecution argued that payments were made for substandard ambulances, resulting in financial loss to the state. Both Forson and Jakpa denied wrongdoing, calling the case a political witch-hunt aimed at weakening the opposition.
Legal turning points
The case took a dramatic turn in July 2024 when the Court of Appeal acquitted and discharged both Dr. Forson and Mr. Jakpa, overturning a trial court order that had directed Forson to open his defense.
The Attorney-General’s Office, led at the time by Mr. Dame, filed an appeal at the Supreme Court to challenge the acquittal.
Before the apex court could hear the matter, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) won power in the 2024 elections.
The new Attorney-General, Dr. Dominic Ayine, subsequently filed a nolle prosequi, bringing the prosecution to an end.
