OSP grills Cecilia Dapaah

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) yesterday arrested and interrogated the immediate past Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, over “suspected corruption and corruption-related offences regarding large amounts of money and other valuable items reportedly stolen from her residence”.

Ms Dapaah had $1 million, €300,000, a large sum of Ghana cedis and other valuable items allegedly stolen from her house by her househelps.

A statement signed by the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, said the former minister was arrested yesterday at exactly 11:55 a.m., and “questioned by authorised officers of the OSP”.

Later in the day, operatives of the Office of the Special Prosecutor visited the home of the former minister as part of the investigative process.

As of press time, it was not clear whether the former minister had been granted bail or was still in the custody of the OSP.

Two househelps working for Ms Dapaah and her husband, Daniel Osei Kuffour, are facing charges at an Accra Circuit Court, for allegedly stealing moneys and items worth millions of cedis from the couple's residence at Abelemkpe in Accra.

The accused individuals, 18-year-old Patience Botwe and 30-year-old Sarah Agyei, have been charged with conspiracy to commit a crime and five counts of stealing.

The alleged thefts occurred between July and October 2022.

During this period, the househelps allegedly stole personal effects belonging to Ms Dapaah, including assorted clothes valued at GH¢95,000, handbags, perfumes, and jewellery worth $95,000.

Additionally, Ms Botwe is accused of stealing six pieces of kente cloth worth GH¢90,000 and six sets of men's suits valued at $3,000, which belong to the ex-minister's husband.

Furthermore, three other individuals, identified as Miss Botwe's current and former boyfriends, and her father, are also facing charges for allegedly being involved in the crime.

They have been, respectively, charged with dishonestly receiving GH¢1 million, GH¢180,000, and GH¢50,000.

According to court proceedings, the stolen moneys and items belonged to Ms Dapaah and her husband, which were taken from their bedroom in their residence.

The accused were put before an Accra Circuit Court, presided over by Susana Ekuful, on Thursday, July 20, 2023.

Their pleas are yet to be taken.

The court granted bail to Ms Agyei in the sum of GH¢1 million with two sureties, who were required to deposit their Ghana cards with the court's registrar.

The bail conditions are, however, subject to review by the substantive judge, as Ms Ekuful was only serving as a relief judge.

Miss Botwe, along with her alleged boyfriends and father, on the other hand, were remanded in lawful custody.

Ms Dapaah and her husband reported the theft case to the police in June 2023 after discovering that the cash and personal effects were missing.

Miss Botwe was allegedly caught red-handed entering the couple's room with a duplicate key, leading to her arrest.

Further investigations revealed that Miss Botwe, with the help of her alleged accomplice, Ms Agyei, had allegedly hidden the stolen moneys and used it to purchase properties and expensive items.

Following the widespread media report of the alleged theft, Ms Dapaah resigned on Saturday, July 22, 2023.

In her resignation letter to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, she said although the figures in the media were not what she and her husband reported to the police, she took the decision to resign in order not to become a hindrance to the government.

“I am resigning, therefore, because I do not want this matter to become a preoccupation of government and a hindrance to the work of government at such a crucial time,” the statement said.

Conduct of Public Officers Bill

In a statement, pressure group, OccupyGhana said, for the umpteenth time, Ghanaians were confronted with another scenario of the suspected, unexplained wealth of a public officer, and staring at the apparent impotence of the law in dealing with this, outside article 286(4) of the Constitution.

The group reiterated its consistent expression of concern about the necessity of reinforcing this assets declaration regime.

The group said the measure was vital in curbing the trend where public officers acquired unexplained wealth, especially where their known economic means could not justify such acquisitions or wealth.

OcccupyGhana said to compound matters, although the Constitution demands in Article 286(1) that public officers shall declare their assets and liabilities before taking office, at the end of every four years and at the end of (a) term of office”, the political class had conspired to unconstitutionally extend the period of filing by six months, under section 1(4) of the Public Office Holders (Declaration of Assets and Disqualification) Act, 1998 (Act 550).

“Our public campaign to remove this offensive unconstitutionality yielded no discernible results, until we wrote to the Attorney-General on  December 1, 2019 to demand steps amend the law,” it said.

The group itemised a number of correspondences between it and the government to show that the state was not willing to pass the Draft Conduct of Public Officers Bill, 2022 into law.

“We have set out the above correspondence detail to show that in our view, the government appears inexplicably unwilling or unprepared to approve the Bill and transmit it to Parliament for enactment,” OccupyGhana said. 

Functions of OSP

The Office of the Special Prosecutor is headed by the Special Prosecutor, who holds ultimate responsibility for the actions of the office.

The OSP has the mandate to investigate and prosecute all suspected corruption and corruption-related offences.

Its tentacles spread to public officers, politically exposed persons and persons in the private sector alleged to have been involved in any corruption and corruption-related offences.

Apart from initiating investigations on its own,  Act 959 gives the OSP the power to receive and investigate complaints of alleged corruption from the public or investigate suspected corruption or corruption-related offences upon referral from public bodies such as the A-G's Department, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice and the Economic and Organised Crime Office.

Writer’s email: emma.hawkson@graphic.com.gh