Abraham Amaliba now serves as NDC's Director of Legal Affairs.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has issued a response to Attorney-General Godfred Dame's remarks regarding the appeal to halt the trials of James Gyakye Quayson, Member of Parliament for Assin North, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, Minority Leader, and Dr. Stephen Opuni, former CEO of COCOBOD. The NDC's response was in response to Dame's remarks regarding the appeal to halt the trials.
Both the Hon. Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the Minority Leader, and the Hon. James Gyakye Quayson, the Member of Parliament for Assin North, are currently in court to face various criminal allegations.
A criminal prosecution is now being brought against Dr. Ato Forson in connection with an alleged financial loss of €2.37 million to the state. The issue centres around a transaction to purchase 200 ambulances between 2014 and 2016, and Dr. Ato Forson is the defendant in the case.
On the other hand, James Gyakye Quayson is currently being prosecuted at the High Court in Accra for alleged acts of fraud and perjury in connection with his election as a Member of Parliament in the year 2020.
The New Democratic Party (NDC), on the other hand, believes that the Akufo-Addo administration is trying to silence the two individuals.
According to a statement that was approved and signed by the NDC's Legal directorate, all parties involved viewed the trials as a kind of persecution.
"It's a known truth that people are interested in seeing that what you're doing makes logical sense, and it's on the basis of this that they can figure out what you're all about and what your objective is. Parts of the statement stated that "so far, every reasonable person out there views the three cases as persecution rather than prosecution intended to score political points."
The remark made by the NDC is in line with the recent assertion made by Mr. Godfred Dame, who stated that the decision to seek criminal proceedings against persons in society is not impacted by the individual's status in terms of politics, society, or the economy.
The Statement Made by the Attorney General
According to Dame, the prosecutions were founded on the reliability of the evidence, which was then subjected to the evaluation of the courts.
Mr. Dame stated that he had noticed that many of the recent comments made by a variety of people on some court situations, specifically the trials of Assin North MP-elect James Gyakye Quayson and former Deputy Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, obviously beyond the lines of permissible speech. He mentioned that this was something that he had witnessed.
He claimed that the purpose of these remarks is to hinder the development of the prosecution of certain cases and to damage the confidence of prosecutors in the eyes of the general public.
He went on to emphasize that certain statements are made with the intention of purposely obstructing the process of justice and having an effect on the fair hearing and resolution of the cases.
In a statement that was released on Tuesday, July 4, the Office of the Attorney-General said, "The Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice has observed with serious concern the increased tendency for various persons, including members of the legal profession of considerable standing, to run extremely prejudicial commentary on cases that are currently pending before the courts."
"Among the cases that have been the topic of improper public discussion, cases such as Republic vrs. James Gyakye-Quayson, representing the Republic in Republic v. Both Dr. Stephen Opuni and two others, as well as the Republic vs. Cassiel Ato Forson and two other individuals.
"Whilst respecting the freedom of all individuals in Ghana to comment on any matter, including cases pending in court, the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice takes note that much of the recent commentary on many of the so-called high-profile criminal cases exceeds the permissible limits of free speech, unduly interferes with the work of State Prosecutors performing their constitutional function of prosecuting crime in Ghana, and tends to put unnecessary pressure on the judiciary. "The Attorney-General and Minister for Justice takes note The notion that all individuals are equal in the eyes of the law is inscribed in article 17(1) of the Constitution of Ghana, and the Attorney General would like to remind Ghanaians of this principle in a respectful manner. No one who lives in Ghana, whether they are citizens or not, is exempt from the laws of Ghana or immune from their application. This includes both citizens and noncitizens.
" The Attorney-General's constitutional responsibility for the "initiation and conduct of all prosecutions of criminal offenses" implies a duty to prosecute a crime committed in Ghana, after proper investigations have been conducted, regardless of the political, racial, color, ethnic, religious, or social status of the person who committed the crime. This duty applies despite the fact that the Attorney-General is charged with the "initiation and conduct of all prosecutions of criminal offenses." State Attorneys who help the Attorney General in the discharge of this sacred constitutional mission work under a great deal of strain and are put in a position where they are vulnerable to a number of serious risks. They have the right to openly prosecute cases in a court of law, just as private legal practitioners have the right to defend their clients without facing abuse or character assassination for doing so.
The choice to prefer a charge against an accused person is not taken on the basis of a person's political rank, social standing, or economic standing; rather, the decision is made on the basis of the strength of the evidence which is subject to the examination of the courts. It is not true that the filing of a charge by the Republic was motivated by malicious intent just because a person was found not guilty by the courts. The idea that a person with a high political status in society should not be prosecuted for a crime committed by that person is harmful to society and must not be countenanced
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