Ato Forson's case is political persecution - Mahama

Former President John Dramani Mahama and flag bearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) says the Court of Appeal's decision to acquit Dr Cassiel Ato Forson in the ambulance case goes to confirm his long-held view that the whole case was a political persecution. 

The Court of Appeal on Tuesday acquitted the former Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, who was standing trial for allegedly causing financial loss of €2.37 million to the state in an ambulance deal.

In a 2-1 majority decision, the second highest court of the land held that the prosecution handling the case did not establish a prima facie case for Dr Forson to answer.

Dr Forson is currently the Member of Parliament for Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam and the Minority Leader in Parliament.

Commenting on the development, former President Mahama in a post on social media stated, "Good news coming from the Court of Appeal."

For him, "This is a victory for the rule of law and confirms my long-held view that the whole case was political persecution. This appeal was made some time ago when they filed a no-case petition before the court and the High Court rejected it so they went to appeal. So it came as quite a pleasant surprise.  But it shows that we still have justice in this country, we can work to make the judiciary what we want it to be."

Mr Mahama pledged that when he wins power, he would "appoint a fair minded Minister for Justice who will work with the legal fraternity and the Judicial Council to carry out reforms to ensure we have a truly independent judiciary we can all be proud of."