Former Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has strongly criticized his successor, Dr. Dominic Ayine, over the mass withdrawal of high-profile criminal cases, calling it a politically motivated effort to “whitewash” corruption allegations against members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Dr. Ayine, at a press conference on February 12, defended his decision to discontinue cases against several NDC figures, citing legal and ethical considerations. However, Mr. Dame dismissed these justifications as misleading and accused the government of shielding its own from accountability.
“The decision to discontinue these prosecutions was not made in the national interest but as part of the NDC’s ‘Resetting Agenda’ to clear its members of wrongdoing,” Dame said in a statement.
He pointed to the rapid pace of case withdrawals under Ayine’s leadership, listing key cases such as those involving Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson (the “Ambulance Trial”), Dr. Stephen Opuni, and Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo. Dame argued that Ayine’s actions were unprecedented in Ghana’s Fourth Republic, emphasizing that no Attorney-General under previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administrations had similarly dropped cases involving party members.
Dame also took issue with Ayine’s claim that the legal charges were flawed, stating that the cases had been thoroughly investigated and vetted by career prosecutors. “If the Attorney-General truly believed these cases had no merit, why not let the courts decide?” he questioned.
Additionally, he accused Ayine of relying solely on the perspectives of defense lawyers rather than consulting the prosecution team, suggesting that the withdrawals were predetermined.
The controversy has sparked intense political debate, with critics accusing the NDC of using legal maneuvers to absolve its members, while Ayine and government supporters maintain that the prosecutions were politically motivated in the first place.