Godfred Yeboah Dame, the former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, has criticized the current Attorney General, Dr. Dominic Ayine, for discontinuing the case against the Saglemi Housing Project.
Mr. Dame argues that the decision to drop the charges sets a dangerous precedent and fails to address the broader issues at hand.
“The count of misapplying public property should have been $94 million. All he had to do as a good prosecutor, acting in good faith, was to amend the count. The remedy is not a discontinuation of the entire case, especially when that offence of misapplying public property constituted only one out of 70 charges filed in the case”.
Dame also raised concerns about the other 69 charges that were not addressed.
“What happens to the other 69 charges that Dr. Ayine has not fought and did not talk about? The state should be seriously worried if her attorney general demonstrates such ignorance of the basic principles of criminal law and the ingredients of offence which border on the protection of state funds or public property”.
Speaking at a media briefing in Accra, Mr. Dame mentioned that, one of the factors cited in Dr. Ayine press statement for the withdrawal of the case was the alleged failure of the prosecution to charge other ministers who took office after Collins Dauda left office. Dame stressed the importance of addressing all aspects of the case to ensure justice and accountability.
“The second factor further cited by Dr. Ayine for the withdrawal of the Saglemi case is the alleged failure of the prosecution to charge other ministers who took office after Collins-Dauda left office”.
