Former Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has vehemently refuted claims made by his successor, Dominic Ayine, regarding the timeline for filing witness statements in the ongoing “Ato Forson” trial. Dame, speaking today, accused Ayine of “peddling lies” and disseminating “palpably false” information.
The dispute arose after current Attorney-General Dominic Ayine stated at a press conference on July 28, 2025, that it took Dame six months to file witness statements in the high-profile case.
In a statement released on July 29, 2025, Mr. Dame directly challenged this assertion. He clarified that the accused persons were first arraigned on January 18, 2022. Following this, the court issued directions for disclosures and adjourned the proceedings to February 15, 2022.
According to Dame, the Prosecution, under his tenure, fully complied with these directives. “The Prosecution filed all documents to rely on, including all intended exhibits, documents required by the defence, and all witness statements of witnesses to be called by the Republic on 14th February, 2022 – within 27 days (less than one month), and not 6 months as wildly claimed by Dr. Ayine,” Dame’s statement read.
To substantiate his claim and “banish falsehoods,” Dame provided copies of the court’s record of proceedings from January 18, 2022, and the document titled ‘Documents To Be Relied On,’ which was filed by the Attorney-General on February 14, 2022. He further asserted that “The Office of the Attorney-General never, on a single occasion in the ‘Ato Forson’ trial, requested further time to file a witness statement, or indeed, any document at all.”
Dame questioned the motivation behind Dr. Ayine’s statements. “The important question is, how can the period of 27 days within which the Attorney-General filed witness statements and documents to be relied on in the ‘Ato Forson’ trial appear to be six (6) months in the mind of Dr. Ayine? Is it sheer recklessness or a deliberate effort to make his predecessor and, for that matter, the Office he now heads, look bad?” he queried.
He criticized Dr. Ayine’s conduct, highlighting that the case docket is readily available in the current Attorney-General’s office, making verification of facts straightforward. Dame reiterated his previous stance that the “tendency of the Attorney-General to publish plain untruths, half-truths, and misinformation against the prosecuting team and courts adjudicating cases previously being prosecuted by his Office is highly unprofessional.” He concluded by stating that Dr. Ayine’s actions “constitute an attack on the very Office he now heads.”