'I do not hate Godfred Dame, I dislike his tactics' – Franklin Cudjoe

IMANI Africa founder Franklin Cudjoe has responded to calls from some supporters of former Attorney General Godfred Dame to reduce his criticism of the former minister, saying his comments are based on his assessment of Dame’s actions while in office and not personal dislike.

In a statement shared on social media, Mr Cudjoe said some friends of Godfred Dame, who are also his friends, had reached out to him over his repeated criticism of the former Attorney General.

“Some friends of Godfred Dame, former Attorney General and Minister for Justice, who are my friends as well, reached out to plead that I slow down on Dame lest people think I hate him,” he wrote.

He added that some of his followers, particularly members and supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), had also made similar appeals.

“I have seen a number of my followers on this platform, mostly NPP members and supporters, write the same under my posts,” he said.

However, Franklin Cudjoe insisted that his criticism of Dame should not be interpreted as hatred.

“Please, I do not hate Dame,” he stated.

The IMANI Africa boss said his concerns were about what he described as the former Attorney General’s conduct in handling cases involving political opponents of the previous government.

“I dislike his precociously terror tactics that he deployed and continues to use in many of the cases he led against his political opponents, Ato Forson, Stephen Opuni, Quayson, to name a few,” he said.

Mr Cudjoe also referenced the legal dispute involving the people of Santrofi, Akpafu, Likpe and Lolobi (SALL), accusing Dame of failing to show concern about their exclusion from parliamentary representation.

He argued that while the former Attorney General moved quickly to address a parliamentary vacancy involving some NPP MPs, he did not show the same urgency regarding the SALL issue.

“He cared less about the egregious wrong his government orchestrated against SALL, yet he rushed to have the Supreme Court sit within hours on a case involving some NPP MPs who deserted their seats in Parliament,” he said.

According to Mr Cudjoe, his views about Dame are based on his perception of how the former minister handled legal and constitutional matters while serving as Attorney General.

He described Dame as an Attorney General whose actions, in his view, did not meet the standards expected of the office.

“He qualified, in my view, to be the Attorney-General who became a minister of misrule and injustice,” he stated.

Despite his criticism, Mr Cudjoe said he remained open to changing his opinion of the former Attorney General in the future.

“I don’t hate him. I just don’t think he is decent and trustworthy. Hope he changes my opinion of him one day,” he added.

-mynewsgh