Cecilia Dapaah
The Special Prosecutor has released five out of seven frozen bank accounts of former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Dapaah who is being investigated for corruption and corruption-related offences.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), in a statement shared on social media yesterday, indicated that its investigation so far has eliminated the five accounts from suspicions of being tainted hence the decision to release them.
“On October 16, 2023, the Special Prosecutor revoked the freezing order in respect of the eliminated five (5) bank accounts of Ms. Dapaah,” the statement noted.
It added that, “The freezing order is still in force and effect in respect of the other bank accounts and financial assets of Ms. Dapaah.”
The OSP arrested Madam Dapaah on July 24, 2023, on suspicion of corruption and corruption-related offences after she and her husband, Daniel Osei Kufuor reported huge sums of money was stolen from their home by their two house maids.
The two maids, Patience Botwe and Sara Agyei as well as five (5) other accomplices are currently standing trial before an Accra Circuit Court for stealing $1 million and several millions of Ghana Cedis from the home of the former minister.
She resigned from her position as a Minister of State on July 22, 2023, after several calls by the general public for her to step down after a revelation of the huge sums of monies – both in Ghana Cedis and other foreign currencies were reportedly stolen from her matrimonial home.
The Office has filed a repeat application for confirmation of seizure of $590,000 and GH¢2.73 million found in her home and the freezing of her seven bank accounts – five of which have now been released to her after an earlier one was dismissed by an Accra High Court for not complying with the rules.
Her lawyers subsequently filed a motion for abridgement of time asking the court to hear the application earlier than the October 18, 2023 which was the return date.
The application was granted by the court presided over by Justice Edward Twum, who rescheduled the hearing to October 12, 2023.
But the hearing of the application as well as a criminal case against Madam Dapaah for failing to comply with a request by the OSP to declare her property and income are on hold.
This is as a result of the OSP’s petition to the Chief Justice to remove Justice Twum from the case and any other case the Office is prosecuting.
Both cases have been fixed for October 18, and the Chief Justice’s decision on the petition would determine the next step.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak