Former Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has strongly dismissed allegations by businessman Richard Jakpa, now Director of Special Operations at the National Security Secretariat, describing them as “baseless,” “sour grapes” and “a desperate ploy to obstruct justice.”
Mr. Dame made the remarks in a 50-point statement delivered to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) on Monday, October 6, 2025 in response to claims by Mr. Richard Jakpa, the third accused person in the ongoing ambulance procurement case, involving former Majority Leader and current Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson.
The former Attorney-General rejected accusations that he fabricated evidence in the case titled – “Republic v 1. Cassiel Ato Forson, 2. Dr. Sylvester Anemena and 3. Richard Jakpa.”
He insisted that the charges leveled against him were entirely unfounded. “None of the ingredients of the offence have been made out in the charge against me,” he stated.
Denial of Fabrication Allegation
Mr. Dame categorically denied any wrongdoing in the presentation of evidence before the High Court.
“I did not fabricate any evidence led in that criminal trial. I have not been shown any piece of evidence adduced in the matter, either by the prosecution or the defence, which is alleged to be fabricated by me,” he explained.
He further emphasised that he “never attempted to influence the testimony of Richard Jakpa and indeed, he was not influenced at all when giving evidence in the case in question.”
The former Attorney-General went on to clarify the legal meaning of the alleged offence, noting:
“The offence of fabrication of evidence entails causing a circumstance to exist, making a false entry in a book, record, account or forging a document adduced as evidence at the trial, with intent to mislead a judge, juror or public officer acting in a judicial capacity. No act of mine borders on the doing of anything that will constitute fabrication of evidence.”
According to him, the so-called evidence cited by Mr. Jakpa was “a secret recording of a telephone conversation between himself and me on 26 March, 2024.”
However, Mr. Dame pointed out that “that telephone conversation actually took place on 9 April, 2024 and not 26th March, 2024 as he alleges.
“I am unable to respond to an allegation based on an alleged conversation on 26 March, 2024 since no conversation took place between us on that day.”
Context of the Telephone Call
Explaining the context, Mr. Dame stated that by the time the phone call occurred, “the prosecution had long filed and made available to the defence and even gone ahead to tender in evidence all the documents it sought to rely on.”
He added that those documents had been submitted as far back as “14th February, 2022” and that the High Court had ruled on “30th March, 2023” that a prima facie case had been established against the accused persons.
At that stage, “the first accused, Dr. Ato Forson, had closed his case,” while “the second accused’s case had been discontinued due to ill health.”
Mr. Jakpa, he said, “was in the process of testifying” after dismissing his lawyer. According to him, the phone call was simply procedural.
“I called Jakpa merely to discuss the possibility of adjourning proceedings for that day since I had to finish up preparations for an international arbitration hearing in London,” he said.
He added that, “in the course of the discussion, he revived his disagreement over the meaning of the contract in question and the implications of using Letters of Credit as payment for the ambulances, which were proven to be not fit for purpose.”
No Fabrication, Just Resentment
Mr. Godfred Dame described the complaint as one born out of frustration. “This complaint by Richard Jakpa is just sour grapes, as he felt aggrieved by my refusal to yield to his representations, in those meetings with Justice Kulendi, for me to discontinue his prosecution,” he stated.
He further alleged that both Jakpa and the other accused persons had exerted pressure on him to halt the case.
“He was hugely disgruntled and resentful of me following my insistence on proceeding with this prosecution despite the pressure he and the other accused persons brought on me to halt their prosecution,” he said.
According to the former Attorney-General, “the first accused person, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, had personally visited my residence in 2023 to make representations and impress upon me to stop his prosecution. This, I refused to oblige.”
Role of Justice Kulendi
Mr. Dame confirmed that his only interactions with Jakpa occurred in open court or at the home of Supreme Court Justice Yonny Kulendi, whom he described as “a respected senior colleague for many years, even before he was appointed to the Supreme Court.
“The fact remains that there would have been no ‘Dame–Jakpa’ without Justice Kulendi,” he stated. He clarified that his visits to Justice Kulendi’s residence were out of professional courtesy.
“It is inconceivable for a lawyer, more so the Attorney-General, to refuse invitations by a Justice of the Supreme Court to visit or to decline to give him audience when requested,” he said.
However, he stressed that his attendance at such meetings did not compromise his independence.
“I did not reasonably think that honouring invitations to his residence would entail any danger or prejudice, and I maintained independence of thought on all issues discussed in Justice Kulendi’s house, including matters related to Richard Jakpa’s prosecution.”
High Court Ruling on the Matter
Mr. Dame underscored that the allegations were false and had already been “judicially considered and pronounced upon by the High Court, Accra.”
Citing pages 24, 31, and 32 of the June 6, 2024 ruling by Justice Afia Serwaa Asare-Botwe, he quoted: “After listening to the conversation between A3 and A1, the issue of whether the Attorney-General actually told A3 to implicate A1 is not borne out by the evidence.
The declaration that A3 was innocent and going through ordeal … was not made by the Attorney-General, but was made by A3, to which the Attorney-General responded at minute 10:20, ‘I am not asking you to help me.’”
He added that the court further ruled that: “After listening to the recording … there is no actual evidence that the Attorney-General as the prosecutor has behaved in such an egregious manner that the 1st Accused/Applicant’s right to a fair trial is in jeopardy.”
He, therefore, maintained that “the instant complaint seeks to relitigate issues already adjudicated upon by the High Court, Accra, in respect of which there is no appeal. The matters in issue have become res judicata.”
Timeline of Contact with Jakpa
Mr. Dame detailed his limited engagement with Jakpa, saying: “I have never met Mr. Richard Jakpa anywhere apart from inside the courtroom and the residence of a Justice of the Supreme Court, His Lordship Justice Yonny Kulendi.”
He said their first contact was when Justice Kulendi visited his office on 18 January 2022, after Jakpa’s arraignment, to plead for the accused’s temporary release pending bail verification — a request he granted out of respect.
He revealed that Jakpa later obtained his contact from Justice Kulendi and sent him 68 WhatsApp messages, to which he replied only twice, a fact Jakpa admitted in court.
“In light of the above, I say that the allegation of fabrication of evidence is totally baseless and springs only from the fertile imagination of Richard Jakpa,” he declared.
Concluding his statement, the former Attorney-General reiterated that his April 9, 2024 phone call with Jakpa was purely procedural.
