The husband of the former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, appeared before the High Court in Accra, as the first prosecution witness, in the case in which their former maids have been accused of allegedly stealing $1 million.

Daniel Osei Kuffuor, an architect, told the court that he was surprised to know that Sarah Agyei, one of the maids, and accused, conspired together with others to steal their (complainants) money.

He was answering questions under cross-examination by Mr Augustine Gyamfi, counsel for the accused.

The witness told the court, presided over by Justice Lydia Osei Marfo, that Ms Agyei, who had been working for him and his wife for five years, was someone he trusted until investigators told him she was allegedly the kingpin.

“I was very surprised to find out that they were linked up. Because the five years, I never suspected anything, so I was shocked when I found out that she was linked up in this matter,” Mr Kuffuor said.

When Mr Gyamfi suggested to Mr Kuffuor that his client, Ms Agyei, was innocent and that the only reason she was in court was that money was stolen and shared among some people, the witness said he disagreed.

Patience Botwe, 18, the first accused, and Ms Agyei, 30, together with five others have been charged with conspiracy to commit crime and stealing. The others were Benjamin Sowah, Malik Dauda, Christiana Achab, Job Pomary and Yahaya Sumaila.

They all pleaded not guilty and still in prison custody.

According to the amended charge sheet and brief facts presented in court, Ms Botwe, also known as Maabena, was a house help of the complainants, Daniel Osei Kuffour, and his wife, Cecilia Abena Dapaah.

The court heard that Ms Agyei was also a former house help of the complainants. The complainants reported the case to the police in June last year, after detecting the theft of cash and their personal effects.

Ms Botwe was caught entering the couple’s room with a duplicate key. Upon entering the room, Mr Kuffour found Ms Botwe hiding behind the door.

After the incident, the complainants realised that some of their properties were missing.

Ms Botwe was arrested and released on police enquiry bail, but went into hiding with her boyfriend, Benjamin, in Tamale.

While in Tamale, they allegedly rented a 3-bedroom apartment and a store.

The police arrested Ms Botwe, leading to the retrieval of US$40,000 and GH¢72,619.70 from their apartment.

Ms Botwe allegedly used the stolen money to buy a 3-bedroom house, a double-decker refrigerator, a water dispenser, a television set, a washing machine, and a chest cooler, among other items.

She also bought a Hyundai Elantra for Benjamin, who later sold it to purchase a Honda Civic.

Ms Botwe also gave her father GH¢50,000 and GH¢1 million to her ex-boyfriend, Malik. During interrogation, Ms­Botwe implicated Sarah as her accomplice.