President John Dramani Mahama has been described as a ‘clearing agent’ with an unenviable record of withdrawing high-profile criminal cases against members of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Former Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Godfred Yeboah Dame accused the President of using the current Attorney-General Dr. Dominic Ayine to ‘whitewash’ crimes of members of his party.
Mr. Godfred Dame made the comments days after Attorney-General Dr. Ayine held a news conference justifying discontinuation of several high-profile prosecutions involving former NDC government officials and leading party figures.
Addressing a news conference in Accra on Friday in response to some allegations levelled by Dr. Ayine, Mr. Godfred Dame described the Attorney-General’s actions as unprecedented and politically motivated.
He observed that the discontinuation of cases against President Mahama’s allies, including those involving Dr. Stephen Opuni, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, and Collins Dauda, was part of the NDC’s ‘Resetting Agenda’ to clear its members of criminal liability.
“The President, through his Attorney-General, has in a spectacular fashion, become the clearing agent to indemnify their allies who have duly been put before the courts for commission of crimes.
“Fellow Ghanaians, these developments irresistibly point to only one conclusion – a calculated, preconceived ploy on the part of the NDC to wipe out all criminal cases pending against its leading members and officials of the John Mahama Government and clear them of wrongdoing, not by the courts, but through their Attorney-General,” he stated.
Unpresented act
Mr. Godfred Dame emphasised that Dr. Ayine’s actions had no precedent in Ghana’s Fourth Republic, noting that no NPP-appointed Attorney-General had withdrawn cases involving party members during their tenure.
“Remarkably, there is no precedent for this kind of conduct in the Fourth Republic. Throughout the two 8-year terms of the NPP in Government, no Attorney-General appointed by either President J. A. Kufuor or President Akufo-Addo withdrew criminal charges or filed nolle prosequi in cases involving leading members of the NPP or senior members of the government. By the time the NPP assumed power in 2017, all the cases filed by the erstwhile NDC Government against some Ministers and appointees of the Kufuor Government had been contested fully in the courts and won.
“We secured acquittals through the courts, and not by resorting to delay tactics in the hope that an Akufo-Addo appointed Attorney-General would come and withdraw the cases and procure an acquittal. I speak from experience as I personally conducted some of the cases. Other lawyers within our ranks including my Deputies also handled some,” Mr. Godfred Dame reiterated.
Unethical conduct
Dr. Ayine had accused Mr. Godfred Dame of unethical conduct in the prosecution of the Ambulance Trial involving Cassiel Ato Forson, claiming that the former Attorney-General had interfered with an accused person, an allegation he vehemently denied with evidence.
However, Mr. Godfred Dame pointed to a June 6, 2024, court ruling that dismissed claims of interference, stating, “The record shows that there has been a judicial determination of that unfounded allegation frequently made by foot soldiers of the NDC and other uninformed people. Shockingly, Dr. Ayine, the current Attorney-General, ignored this fundamental fact in his 10-page Press Statement and over an hour conference with the media, for the simple reason that he knew that his allegation had been flatly debunked by the court when same was put to strict scrutiny.”
The former Attorney-General also questioned Ayine’s credibility, citing pending disciplinary proceedings against him at the General Legal Council for professional misconduct.
Reliance on defence counsel
Mr. Godfred Dame criticised Dr. Ayine for relying on the opinions of the defence counsel to withdraw cases, rather than consulting prosecutors or acting in the national interest.
Dr. Ayine, he noted, had admitted to speaking with defence lawyers before deciding to file nolle prosequi (a formal notice to discontinue prosecution) in several cases.
“Respectfully, what this betrays clearly, is that, the exercise of Dr. Ayine’s discretion to continue with the prosecution of cases or not is informed principally by the disposition of counsel for the accused in cases that the Republic is prosecuting against their clients. Thus, if counsel for the accused is in the position to strongly defend the interests of his client in court, the Attorney-General of the Republic will not enter nolle prosequi.
“Where the counsel for the accused are not convinced about the likelihood of success of their defence in court, Dr. Ayine would immediately enter a withdrawal (if the prosecution has closed its case), or nolle prosequi (if the prosecution has not closed its case),” Mr. Dame decried.
He challenged Dr. Ayine to produce evidence of consultations with the Prosecutions Division or the Director of Public Prosecutions before discontinuing the cases, asserting that no such consultations took place.
Disparaging remarks
Mr. Godfred Dame also condemned Ayine for disparaging the judiciary, particularly retired Supreme Court Justice Clemence Honyenuga and the Chief Justice. He described Ayine’s criticisms as “highly unprofessional” and an attack on the integrity of the courts.
“The tendency of an Attorney-General to peddle untruthful allegations against the prosecuting team and judges sitting on cases being prosecuted by his Office, is highly unprofessional. This is what we see from Dr. Ayine three weeks into his tenure! His actions constitute an attack on the very Office he is now head of,” Mr. Godfred Dame further bemoaned.
Ghana’s democracy threatened
Mr. Godfred Dame urged Ghanaians to scrutinise Dr. Ayine’s actions, warning that the discontinuation of cases threatened Ghana’s democratic and governance structures.
