Former Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Mr Godfred Dame, has strongly defended the decision not to charge Samuel Atta Akyea, former Member of Parliament for Akim Abuakwa South and legal practitioner, in the Saglemi Housing Project case, following comments made by current Attorney General, Dr Dominic Ayine.

He said this at a press conference on Friday, February 14, 2025, in response to the current A-G's explanation of the government's decision to discontinue some high-profile criminal cases that have been running for years, including that of Saglemi Housing which freed a former minister on trial, Collins Dauda.

Mr Dame refuted Dr Ayine’s claims regarding the failure to include Mr Atta Akyea as an accused person in the matter, asserting that the prosecution of criminal cases is not a political tool for equalization.

According to Mr Dame, a closer examination of the facts would have revealed that Mr Atta Akyea did not authorize any payment for the Saglemi project, contrary to what had been suggested.

"Dr Ayine raises an issue with the failure to join Samuel Atta Akyea as an accused person in the matter. It ought to be made clear that the prosecution of crime is not an arena to achieve political equalisation," Mr Dame stated, emphasizing that Mr Atta Akyea’s involvement was not one of financial wrongdoing.

Mr Dame further clarified that Mr Atta Akyea had, in fact, been the one to draw attention to the problematic circumstances surrounding the project.

He pointed out that in 2019, Mr Atta Akyea, then Minister for Works and Housing, wrote to then-Attorney General Ms Gloria Afua Akuffo, seeking legal advice on urgently terminating the Saglemi housing contract to prevent further financial losses to the state.

"Atta Akyea was rather the one who called attention to the bizarre circumstances of the project and wrote a letter seeking the advice of the then Attorney-General," the former AG mentioned

This action, Mr Dame explained, helped stop unnecessary financial haemorrhage, which would have burdened the country.

On the matter of the US$5 million payment mentioned by Dr Dominic Ayine, Mr Dame asserted that it was Mr Solomon Asoalla, the then-Chief Director at the Ministry of Works and Housing, who authorized the payment, not Mr Atta Akyea.

"The sum of US$5 Million that Dr Ayine alludes to, was authorised to be paid by the then Chief Director, Mr Solomon Asoalla, and not Mr Atta Akyea," he said.

Mr Dame further explained that Mr Asoalla's decision to authorize the sum was made to save the project from total collapse, demonstrating his efforts to protect the state’s interests.

"Mr Asoalla tried to save the Saglemi housing project from total collapse, and he was instrumental in shedding light on the relevant facts of the project. Therefore, the prosecution team’s decision to use him as a witness rather than charge him was justified," Mr Dame added, firmly rejecting Dr Ayine's criticism.