The prosecution of Minority Leader Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson in the ongoing ambulance case trial has been referred to as "persecution" by Speaker of the Parliament Alban Bagbin.

He pointed out that this represents a risky move for the government, with the outcome being uncertain.

While the Speaker does not condone the violation of Ghanaian laws, he advocates for the impartial application of these laws, rather than singling out political adversaries.

Mr. Bagbin conveyed these sentiments during his visit to the family of the late former Majority Leader, Felix Kwasi Owusu-Adjepong, to offer condolences on Thursday, October 19.

“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 tried. 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."

“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."

“These are some of the things that we have to take on board as we continue to work together in Ghana. It happens all over the world, it is not only in Ghana, these things happen worldwide, you can go to the UK and, the US, and they don’t go into prosecution, there are other ways of handling these things. He has been absent the day we were going to President Kufuor’s place he was in court, and today too he is in court.”

On Thursday, October 19, former Finance Minister Seth Terkper appeared in court to provide testimony on behalf of the accused individuals.

He informed the Economic and Financial Court in Accra that he had given full authorization to his then Deputy, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, to write to the Bank of Ghana, requesting the establishment of Letters of Credit in favor of Big Sea General Trading Ltd of Dubai for the procurement of 30 ambulances.

During his testimony, Mr. Terkper clarified that he had issued this authorization during a special management meeting that he chaired at the Finance Ministry.

He explained that this directive was prompted by the receipt of a legal opinion from the Attorney General and the Ministry's legal department, which aimed to ensure the execution of a contract between the Government of Ghana and Big Sea for the supply of 200 ambulances.

This was done to prevent potential payment of a judgment debt in case Big Sea sued the government due to extensive delays and contract breaches.

Mr. Terkper refuted claims by the current Attorney General, asserting that Dr. Ato Forson had instigated the establishment of the Letters of Credit without just cause or proper authorization.

BackgroundDr Ato Forson and two others; former director of the Ministry of Health, Sylvester Anemana and businessman Richard Jakpa, are on trial for allegedly causing financial loss in the purchase of some ambulances during his time as Deputy Finance Minister.

The Attorney General contends the state has lost €2.37 million due to the purchase of the ambulances which turned out to be defective. All three persons have pleaded not guilty.