In a significant legal development, the Republic of Ghana has formally abandoned its appeal against the Court of Appeal’s ruling that acquitted and discharged former Minority Leader and current Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, and businessman Richard Jakpa in the controversial €2.37 million ambulance procurement case.
A notice of abandonment, filed at the Supreme Court by the Attorney General’s Office on January 23, 2025, signifies the government’s decision to halt all further legal proceedings related to the case.
“PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Republic having previously served notice of appeal to appeal to the Court against the judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal on the 30 day of July 2024 hereby gives you NOTICE that the Republic does not intend further to prosecute the appeal, but that the Republic abandons all further proceedings with respect to this matter as from the date of this notice”.
The Attorney General’s Chambers
This effectively brings an end to a long-running legal battle that has drawn widespread public and political attention. The case, which initially saw Dr. Ato Forson and Richard Jakpa standing trial at the High Court, revolved around allegations of causing financial loss to the state in the procurement of ambulances for Ghana’s healthcare system.
The prosecution, led by former Attorney General and Minister of Justice Godfred Yeboah Dame, argued that Dr. Forson, in his capacity as Deputy Finance Minister at the time, authorized payment for defective ambulances, leading to financial losses.
However, in a major turn of events, the Court of Appeal, in a 2:1 majority decision on July 30, 2024, overturned the trial court’s directive requiring Dr. Forson and Jakpa to open their defence.
The appellate court ruled that the charges against them lacked sufficient merit, leading to their acquittal and discharge.
Dissatisfied with this outcome, Mr. Dame subsequently filed an appeal at the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the appellate court’s ruling and reinstate the trial. However, with the Attorney General’s Office now formally abandoning the case, this legal battle has effectively come to an end.
Implications of the Government’s Decision
The Attorney General’s decision to discontinue the appeal raises several legal and political implications.
First, it underscores the NDC’s long stance that the case was a politically charged prosecution. Dr Forson, now a Finance Minister of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), had consistently maintained that the case was an act of political victimization.
Politically, the development is likely to embolden the NDC, which has long argued that the trial was a deliberate attempt to tarnish Dr Forson’s reputation ahead of the 2024 elections.
The abandonment of the appeal reinforces their claims that the prosecution was unwarranted and lacked substantive legal grounding.
With the government officially backing down, Dr. Forson and Richard Jakpa are now fully exonerated. The government’s decision to abandon its appeal against the Court of Appeal’s ruling also brings a dramatic conclusion to a case that has gripped Ghana’s political and legal landscape for years.
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