Lt Gen. Thomas Oppong-Peprah, CDS
The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has firmly denied allegations that former soldier Richard Jakpa was dismissed due to misconduct.
This rebuttal follows a widely circulated letter that suggested Mr Jakpa, the third accused in an ongoing trial, was let go because of repeated offenses and acts of misconduct.
In a dramatic turn at the Accra High Court, Chief of Defence Staff Lt Gen. Thomas Oppong-Peprah took the stand after being subpoenaed to testify. The Attorney General, Godfred Dame, had previously submitted a letter as evidence, citing ‘misconduct’ as the reason for Mr Jakpa’s dismissal.
During cross-examination, Lt Gen. Oppong-Peprah was questioned about whether misconduct was a factor in Jakpa’s release. He unequivocally denied this claim, stating he had never seen any court order for the release of Mr Jakpa’s dismissal letter to the AG’s office. Furthermore, the CDS emphasized that he never received any request for the release of Jakpa’s dismissal letter.
The controversy intensified on July 18 when Richard Jakpa strongly denied ever seeing the alleged dismissal letter, asserting he has not had any correspondence regarding his departure from the military since leaving 17 years ago.
Deputy Attorney General Alfred Tuah-Yeboah had tendered the supposed dismissal letter as evidence on June 27. Mr Jakpa’s legal team argues that these allegations are an attempt to undermine his credibility in the trial involving Minority Leader Dr Cassiel Ato Forson.
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