The Office of the Attorney General has revealed that it was unaware of the Cecilia Dapaah theft case till it was published by The Chronicle newspaper.

This according to Deputy Attorney General Alfred Tuah-Yeboah is because the office is not privy to every case unless it is brought to its attention by the police.

There are directives that the police are expected to follow however. In cases that involve money, the police are expected to report to the office once the amount is above the threshold of GH₵‎500,000, he stated.

Mr Tuah-Yeboah said the AG's office is surprised the police went ahead to start the prosecution of the case without informing the AG and thereby dismissing their directives in this case which involves millions of dollars and thousands of euros and cedis.

“We got to know about this case when The Chronicle published it,” he said, adding that only the police can explain why they failed to inform the AG’s office.

“So, had it not been the fact that there was a publication, we wouldn't have even known. And if the police had actually complied with our earlier directive to submit cases above GH₵‎500,000 per sheet, perhaps all these things wouldn't have happened.”

His comment comes after the Office of the Attorney-General announced that it is taking over the prosecution of the case that has attracted some public outcry.

Again, the AG has tasked the police to investigate the source of the stolen money, among others.

But, a section of the public is unhappy with the AG’s directives, calling it an attempt to interfere in the process.

However, legal practitioner, Albert Gyamfi on JoyNews’ The Law insists that the Attorney General’s call for the police to conduct further investigations into the theft case is a step in the right direction.

He explained that the investigations will not only establish the guilt or otherwise of the accused persons but could also bring in more accomplices, increase charges and provide enough evidence to be used in court by the prosecutor in the case.

Background

In July 2023, an Accra Circuit Court was told 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.

According to the prosecution, the thefts happened between July and October 2022. 

The two house helps – Patience Botwe, 18, and Sarah Agyei, 30 – are currently facing charges including one count of conspiracy to commit a crime and five counts of stealing, involving amounts of US$1 million, €300,000, and millions of Ghana Cedis.

Read more: How househelps blew millions stolen from Cecilia Dapaah’s home

Three other individuals have also been charged for dishonestly receiving money from the first and second accused.

After the news went viral, the Office of the Attorney-General announced that it was taking over the prosecution of the case, attracting public outcry.

Read more: $70k home, $40k cash, gifts for boyfriends – How 18-year-old house-help spent money stolen from Cecilia Dapaah

The Police prosecutor, DSP Emmanuel Nyamekye, informed the court on Wednesday, August 2, about this development, after the police forwarded the case docket to the Attorney-General’s Office for advice last week.

The Attorney General subsequently asked the police to conduct an investigation into the ownership of the monies said to have been stolen, and the source of the money.

Read more: Here’s the Attorney General’s advice on Cecilia Dapaah’s ‘stolen money’ case

He called for an investigation into $800,000 said to belong to Madam Dapaah’s deceased brother and a GH₵‎ 300,000 alleged contribution towards her mother’s funeral said to be contained in a box, and another bag
that was stolen, to ascertain the following:

i. The true ownership of the amount of US$800,000.
ii. The source(s) from which the established owner of the amount of US$800,000 acquired the money.
iii. Whether the accused actually stole the full amount of US$800,000 from the house of the complainants.