The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Dr. Dominic Ayine, has described the trial of Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson as a “political witch hunt,” insisting that Forson had no case to answer.
Dr. Ayine made these remarks while addressing concerns over the Office of the Attorney General’s decision to drop charges against several key members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) who were facing trial.
These cases included the Saglemi Housing Project, charges against former Bank of Ghana Deputy Governor Johnson Asiama, the Democracy Hub case, and the prosecution of Stephen Opuni in the COCOBOD trial.
According to the Attorney General, many of these cases lacked merit and were fundamentally flawed, making it impractical to continue their prosecution.
“Some of the cases lacked common sense and were defective. Continuing with them would have been a waste of state resources,” Dr. Ayine stated.
Ato Forson’s Case: A Flawed Trial
Citing the high-profile case involving Dr. Ato Forson and the procurement of ambulances, Dr. Ayine reaffirmed his belief that Forson was unfairly targeted. He referenced the Court of Appeal’s ruling, which found that the trial court had erred in requiring the accused to mount a defense.
“I believe then, and I still believe now, that Dr. Ato Forson was a victim of a political witch hunt and that he had no case to answer in that trial. That position was vindicated by the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which ruled that the trial court erred in calling upon the accused person to mount their defense,” he stated.
Despite this ruling, former Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame proceeded to file an appeal, a move Dr. Ayine dismissed as “grossly incompetent” and an attempt to save face.
“When the then-Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, vowed to file an appeal and actually went ahead to do so, I took the view that it was done to save face and that there was no merit to his appeal. Indeed, the appeal was, to say the least, grossly incompetent,” he asserted.
Dr. Ayine’s comments add to ongoing debates about politically motivated prosecutions and the use of the judicial system as a tool against political opponents.
