Former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Dame, has strongly rejected Dr Dominic Ayine’s claim that President Mahama did not approve the decision to drop several high-profile criminal cases involving some NDC officials.
In a press conference held on Friday, 14 February 2025, Mr Dame criticised the recent discontinuation of some high-profile cases, arguing that it was part of a deliberate effort to absolve officials from the previous Mahama administration.
He specifically addressed the current Attorney-General’s assertion that Mahama had not been consulted before the decision to discontinue the criminal proceedings.
“Even more worrying and bizarre is Dr Ayine’s claim that he did not consult former President John Dramani Mahama before taking the monumental decision to discontinue these criminal cases,” Mr Dame said.
The cases in question involved the loss of colossal sums of taxpayers’ money, and some were related to the banking sector crisis that severely affected the Ghanaian economy.
Mr Dame emphasised the gravity of the situation, stating, “The people of Ghana should indeed be extremely concerned and alarmed by the vesting of prosecutorial authority in a person who could discontinue such important and high-profile cases without consulting the President of the Republic or the members of his Cabinet. Even defence counsel was consulted, how much more the President?”
“We ought to ask ourselves, is it true that Dr Ayine did not consult the President or his Cabinet about the decision to discontinue the various criminal proceedings?” Mr Dame continued. “A careful examination of the facts shows that this claim is palpably untrue.”
He went on to remind the public of the earlier claims made by President Mahama and the NDC, who had blamed the NPP for the collapse of the banking sector.
“Mahama had promised that, should he return to power, he would restore all revoked banking licences,” Mr Dame added.
Mr Dame concluded by saying, “The withdrawal of these cases is merely the first step in the process of clearing or whitewashing those whose actions contributed to the crisis that plagued the banking sector. Ghanaians are certainly more discerning than the NDC and Dr Ayine seem to think.”
