A flagbearer aspirant of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Kwabena Agyepong has said that he is disappointed former Sanitation Minister Cecelia Dapaah kept huge sums of money in her home.

Speaking on PM Express on JoyNews, he stated that in the age of digitisation, the governments should be encouraging and trying to get all Ghanaians within the formal setting of the economy.

Hence, Mr Agyepong said, he finds it disappointing that Mrs. Dapaah who was a Minister strayed from this.

“What for me I worry about, especially with this case, was the fact of the amount of money that was found in the household…Suffice it to say I was disappointed that that amount of money was in the household. It's important that we realise that we cannot, as politicians, preach one thing and do another,” he said.

“So when you're encouraging everybody to be part of the formal economy, the least we can do as leaders is to lead by example. So I was disappointed that she would keep that amount of money in the household. It is important that as political leaders, we should have the political will to do the right thing for our country,” he stated.

This comes after an Accra Circuit Court was told, in July, that huge sums of money and other items of Sanitation Minister Cecilia Abena Dapaah and her husband, Daniel Osei Kuffour had been stolen from their Abelemkpe home.

The news saw the minister receive much criticism not only about keeping such huge sums in her home but also about the source.

The Office of the Special Prosecutor has begun investigations into the money’s source after petitions from some Ghanaians.

Mrs Dapaah as a result also resigned from her post stating that she did not want the controversy to cause problems for the government.

Despite this, Mr Agyepong said that he will not pass judgments on the former minister noting that state agencies are at work investigating the source of the money.

“I'm not prepared to pass judgment on her. Like others are doing, not at all. It is not my duty now. The state has agencies that have to look out for how she came by that money.”

Background

Two house helps, working for Cecilia Abena Dapaah and her husband Daniel Osei Kuffour, are facing charges at an Accra Circuit Court, for allegedly stealing monies 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 house helps allegedly stole personal effects belonging to Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah, including assorted clothes valued at GH¢95,000, handbags, perfumes, and jewellery worth US$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 US$3,000, which belong to the minister’s husband.

Furthermore, three other individuals, identified as Ms 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 monies and items belonged to Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah and her husband, taken from their bedroom in their residence.

The accused individuals were arraigned before an Accra Circuit Court, presided over by Susana Ekuful, on Thursday, July 20, 2023. However, their pleas have not been taken yet.

The court granted bail to Sarah Agyei in the sum of GH¢1 million with two sureties. The sureties are required to deposit their Ghana cards with the court’s registrar. The bail conditions are subject to review by the substantive judge, as Susana Ekuful was serving as a relief judge.

Meanwhile, three more persons have been arraigned in addition to the four others who were initially charged with counts of stealing and dishonestly receiving monies stolen from the home of the former Sanitation Minister, while one other person who is of interest to the investigations is at large.

This brings the number of people standing trial currently to eight.

The court however discharged Kwaku Botwe, father of the first accused person, Patience Botwe who was initially charged with the offence of dishonestly receiving.

These were made known to the court after police prosecutors substituted the charge sheet based on the advice of the Attorney General.

The police prosecutor revealed that charges against the father of Patience Botwe were dropped following the advice of the Attorney General, Godfred Dame.

Kwaku Botwe was previously charged with dishonestly receiving after he was accused of receiving GH¢50,000 out of the stolen money from his daughter.

Mr. Botwe however in his caution statement noted that he only received GH¢10,000 from his daughter and was not aware that it was stolen money.

Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame after analysing the case against Mr. Botwe concluded that there is not enough evidence to sustain a charge of dishonest receiving. Based on this, his name was excluded from the new charge sheet and was therefore discharged by the court.