Ambulance case: Advice for Dame to recuse himself ‘a slap on the wrist’ – Amaliba

Abraham Amaliba, a private legal practitioner and Director of Legal Affairs for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has disagreed with the trial judge’s advice to Attorney-General Godfred Dame to recuse himself from the ongoing ambulance purchase trial.

He maintained that despite the advice being “a slap on the wrist,” it is the first time in the country’s history for an Attorney-General to be advised to stay away from a case the A-G is prosecuting.

Mr Amaliba emphasized that not even a police prosecutor had ever been reprimanded in such a manner.

The trial judge, Justice Efia Serwah Asare-Botwey, advised that the Attorney-General, Godfred Dame, recuse himself from the ongoing case in the interest of justice and the public.

Also, the judge dismissed all four applications filed by the first and third accused persons, Dr Ato Forson and Richard Jakpa seeking, amongst other reliefs, a stay of prosecution and for a mistrial hearing due to the alleged misconduct of the A-G.

However, Mr Dame speaking to reporters after the court ruling on Thursday, ignored the judge’s advice, indicating that he will continue to prosecute the case.

“It was only advice, I am still prosecuting the case,” Mr Dame said.

Mr Amaliba speaking on TV3 New Day on Friday, June 7, stressed that in any serious jurisdiction, Mr Dame would have been a goner.

“Yesterday [Thursday, June 6] was a day of shame for the attorney general’s department and the justice delivery system in this country because if for nothing at all the reprimand or the gratuitous advice given by the judge for the attorney-general to recuse himself was the first ever… not even a police prosecutor has been so reprimanded, not even a Deputy Attorney-General.

 

“In some serious jurisdictions… the Attorney-General would have been a goner, even just in South Africa here because I have been following their legal system… this Attorney-General would have been a goner.”

According to Mr Amaliba, the conduct of the A-G is “so reprehensible” that any serious jurisdiction would allow Mr Dame to remain at post.

“If you listen to the tape the Attorney-General hugely misconducted himself.”

“The issue of public confidence… is key and that is what the judge said yesterday that for the sake of the confidence that people will have in the judiciary, the integrity of the judiciary by the fact that the judiciary thrives on confidence, she advised the Attorney-General to recuse himself and for me that was a slap on the wrist,” he stated.

In a leaked audio recording of a telephone conversation between the Attorney-General and the third accused Richard Jakpa, the Attorney-General was heard urging the third accused to secure a medical excuse duty to adjourn court proceedings to allow Mr Dame to return from a trip abroad. The A-G could not afford to miss the cross-examination of Mr Jakpa.

Meanwhile, the court has admitted the full recording, which was made public by the opposition NDC, as evident in the case.

Moreover, the National Communications Officer of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi, in a separate media interview on Thursday, disclosed that there are “a number of tapes” that will be made available to the court.