A private legal practitioner and law lecturer, Dr. Justice Srem Sai, believes the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) press conference that attempted to defend the Attorney-General’s (A-G) actions regarding his conversation with Richard Jakpa, has done more harm than good to the matter.
“That press conference, to be honest with you, is more embarrassing and more shameful than even the allegation it seeks to address,” he told Paa Kwesi Asare on News 360 Tuesday, May 28, 2024.
According to Justice Sai, the NPP that sought to defend the A-G could not deny that the voice on the tape played by the NDC in the earlier presser was not that of Mr. Dame, but rather said it had been doctored, which means the tape had been edited.
He says the A-G should not have had any business with an accused person without the knowledge of his lawyer. The law lecturer explains the government which is prosecuting Mr. Jakpa should not have had any such engagements with him if the State was confident of having a strong case for prosecution.
“You definitely are in government, you are prosecuting a person, you believe that the person is guilty, and you believe that you have evidence to convict the person. What business do you have calling the person on phone? What business do you have speaking with the person?
“So, for me, that press conference, let’s not spend a lot of time on it because it doesn’t speak to any of the issues we are concerned about. And if they believe the
evidence is true, the question they should be asking the Attorney-General is that if this
case is as strong as they are,” he indicated.
Justice Sai’s comments come on the back of the allegations made against Godfred Dame by Richard Jakpa, to which the NDC have provided a supposed audio evidence to substantiate.
Richard Jakpa, the third defendant in the ongoing ambulance purchase trial alleged in court Thursday, May 23, 2024, that the Attorney-General had encouraged him to provide false testimony against Minority Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson in the ongoing case.
The NDC, following the claims, released a 16-minute audio recording as evidence to support Mr. Jakpa’s allegations.
The recording purportedly captures a conversation between Godfred Dame and Jakpa, wherein Dame is alleged to have coached Jakpa on the statements to make in court, targeting Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson.
Chairman of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, at the press conference the party held Tuesday, May 28, explained that the tape depicted a coaching session aimed at influencing Jakpa’s court testimony.
However, in response to the NDC’s revelations, NPP legal practitioner Frank Davies addressed the press on the same day.
He argued that the tape contained repetitions, overlaps, and voice distortions, suggesting that the NDC had manipulated the alleged recording they presented.
SOURCE: WWW.ONUAONLINE.COM