Cecilia Dapaah Vrs OSP Palaver Deepens

Cecilia Dapaah 

 

There appears to be no end in sight in the legal tussle between the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and former Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, following new developments between the two.

While the OSP has charged Madam Dapaah for failing to declare her assets and money, the former minister has filed an application for injunction seeking to restrain the OSP from prosecuting her until the final determination of an application filed by the OSP to confirm the seizure of her money and the freezing of her bank accounts.

The OSP arrested Madam Dapaah on July 24, 2023, on suspicion of corruption and corruption-related offences after she and her husband, Daniel Osei Kuffuor reported huge sums of money was stolen from their home by their two house maids.

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 after an earlier one was dismissed by an Accra High Court for not complying with the rules.

Prior to the hearing of that case which the former minister is hoping is listed earlier than the October 18, 2023 given by the court’s Registry, the OSP has charged Madam Dapaah with one count of refusing to comply with a directive from the Office to declare her assets and money.

Court documents filed by the OSP indicate that the former minister has without lawful excuse refused to furnish the Office with documents given her to declare her property and income since July 24, 2023 when she was arrested on suspicion of corruption and corruption-related offences.

She has, therefore, been charged with one count of failing to comply with a lawful demand of an authorised officer of the Office of the Special Prosecutor in the performance of his functions, contrary to section 69(1)(a) of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959).

Brief Facts

The OSP brief facts, according to court documents, indicate that Madam Dapaah is a suspect under investigation by the Office of the Special Prosecutor for corruption and corruption-related offences, including using public office for profit in respect of suspected tainted large cash sums reportedly stolen from her residential premises and also retrieved from same by the Office of the Special Prosecutor.

“The evidence will establish that on July 24, 2023, the Special Prosecutor, in the performance of his functions, served on the accused a notice to declare her property and income under regulation 20(1) per Forms 11A and 11B of the First Schedule of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (Operations) Regulations, 2018 (L.I. 2374),” it stated.

It said the former minister was duly notified as per the statutory forms and by a cover letter under the seal of the Office of the Special Prosecutor and the seal and mark of the Special Prosecutor, that she was required by law to make the specified declaration and return same to the Office of the Special Prosecutor as per Form 2 of the First Schedule of the L.I 2374, within thirty (30) days of service on her of the notice.

“As at the close of business on October 5, 2023, the accused had willfully failed, without lawful excuse, to return the duly completed statutory forms to the Office of the Special Prosecutor, more than thirty (30) days after the service of the notice and forms on her,” court documents add.

Injunction

Meanwhile, Madam Dapaah has through her lawyer filed an application asking the court to restrain the OSP from going ahead to prosecute her until the final determination on an application for confirmation of seizure and freezing of her bank accounts is determined.

The application filed yesterday avers that the former minister will suffer irreparable damage if the Special Prosecutor is not restrained.

“This Court is enjoined to balance the economic right of the affected persons against the state’s power to fight corruption,” the application avers.

By Gibril Abdul Razak