Alban Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, has voiced his concerns about the trial of the Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, in the ambulance case, labeling it as 'persecution.'
Alban Bagbin emphasized the importance of upholding the law while expressing his reservations about the way the case against Dr. Ato Forson is unfolding.
During his visit to the spouse and family of the late former Majority Leader in Parliament, Felix Kwasi Owusu-Adjapong, on Thursday, October 19, Mr. Bagbin addressed the situation, saying, "The Majority Leader [Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu] indicated to me that he had to come ahead, he had some challenges to attend to in Kumasi, so he will not be available," 3news.com quoted the Speaker.
"The Minority Leader, unfortunately, is being persecuted, so on a number of these occasions, he can't be with us because he is appearing in court, as of now, he is in court being trialed. It is not that we don't want the rule of law to apply; we all want it to apply, but where prosecution is just a gamble, 'I may win or I may not win, but let me do it,' I will not prescribe that for any politician because as a leader, you always have to take the risk. You could get it right; you could get it catastrophically wrong."
Mr. Bagbin further emphasized the potential chilling effect of such prosecutions, stating, "Could you be prosecuted because of that? Then there will be tribulation; nobody will have the courage to come out boldly and take decisions where things are really hard."
Former Finance Minister Seth Terkper also appeared in court on Thursday, October 19, as the star witness for the Defense in the trial of Dr. Forson and two others.
He testified that he fully authorized his then Deputy, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, to request Letters of Credit from the Bank of Ghana for the supply of 30 ambulances to Big Sea General Trading Ltd of Dubai.
Mr. Terkper explained that he gave this authorization during a special management meeting he chaired at the Finance Ministry.
He stressed that the authorization was a proactive step to execute a contract between the Government of Ghana and Big Sea, which aimed to avert the payment of a judgment debt in case of potential legal issues due to delays and contract breaches.
The accusations against Dr. Ato Forson involve two counts of willfully causing financial loss to the state by establishing Letters of Credit in favor of Big Sea for ambulance supply "without due cause and authorization," as stated by the current Attorney General.
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