I declared war on A-G after court did not discharge me after submission of no case — Jakpa

Richard Jakpa, the businessman in the trial of the Minority Leader, has told the Accra High Court that he drew the battle line and declared war with the Attorney-General after the court did not rule in his favour after his submission of no case. 

Answering questions under the cross-examination of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Jakpa said after the court had ruled on the submission of no case and asked him to open his defence, he felt "betrayed and angry". 

According to him, that was not the assurance the A-G had given him even after proposing to be a prosecution witness for the state and adding that after that ruling, I (Jakpa) said, ”there is a war between the two of us whether I am jailed or acquitted because you (A-G) are  trying to jail me and take my liberty as an innocent citizens.”

The A-G, he said caused him pain, destroyed his business, international business network, reputation, and stripped him of everything he had worked for over the years. 

He added that after that ruling, he met with the A-G at Justice Kulendi’s house and said, “I told him (A-G) that he’s using his law skills and knowledge to take my liberty away from me unjustly and I told him I am going to use my underworld skills to pay him back. 

After Jakpa’s response, the DPP asked, “So all that you did with recording the A-G and bringing it out in the open was in furtherance of your declaration of war on him?”. 

Mr Jakpa disagrees with the DPP but said if the A-G  had stayed in the protective confines of Justice Kulendi’s house where they normally meet,  no such recording would have taken place. 

“Because I cannot engage in any recording in my cousins(Justice Kulendi’s house, it will be a mark of disrespect and betrayal of family values,” he said.