The Court of Appeal has acquitted and discharged Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, a former Deputy Minister of Finance, in connection with the case involving the purchase of ambulances in the name of Ghana. This was confirmed by Dr. Forson, who currently serves as the Minority Leader in Parliament, after the news began circulating on social media.

In a message shared via WhatsApp, Dr. Forson announced, “The Court of Appeal has just acquitted and discharged Hon. Ato Forson. The order for Dr. Ato Forson to open his defense by the trial court in the ongoing ambulance case has been set aside by the Court of Appeal. In short, Hon. Ato Forson’s submission of no case has been upheld.”

According to a tweet by GHOne TV, the decision was made by a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal. The tweet stated, “Minority Leader, Dr. Ato Forson, and businessman Richard Jakpa have been acquitted and discharged by the Court of Appeal. A panel of three, in a 2-1 majority decision, determined that Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe’s ruling on the submission of no case to answer on March 30th, 2023, requiring the accused to present their defense, was in error.”

This ruling overturns the trial court’s previous order, effectively exonerating Dr. Forson from the need to present a defense in this matter. The Court of Appeal’s decision signifies that Dr. Forson’s submission of no case, which was previously dismissed by the trial judge, has now been upheld, clearing him of the allegations in the ambulance case.

Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson and Richard Jakpa, a representative for Big Sea, had been accused of causing a financial loss of €2.37 million to the state in a deal to purchase 200 ambulances for the country between 2014 and 2016.