Private legal practitioner Martin Luther Kpebu says the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) must indulge in the money hoarding scandal at the residence of the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah.
His comments follow calls by the public for the OSP’s intervention into the matter due to the suspicion of corruption and corruption related allegations.
According to Mr. Kpebu, the OSP can delve into the matter without anyone lodging a complaint as the constitution mandates the office to do so.
“Thankfully under the OSP law 959 they don’t even need a complaint. That’s why citizens are calling on the OSP to step in. Once they hear about it they can step in. Apart from the Act 959, there is also the LI 2374. Regulation 1 of 2374 sub-regulation 2(C) it says: [The OSP] on its own acts on: (a) a corruption allegation or corruption related allegation (b) reasonable suspicion of the commission of corruption or a corruption related offence.
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“So these matters bother both on the suspicion and corruption allegations so we citizens are already seeing it as corruption. So once the allegations are wash in the media there, that’s a fine case for the OSP to step in,” he told Alfred Ocansey on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, July 22, 2023.
The Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah and her husband, Daniel Osei Kuffuor, reported their two house helps for stealing their money and items running into millions of Ghana Cedis.
The matter which is before the Accra Circuit Court was orchestrated at the Minister’s residence at Abelemkpe, a suburb of Accra.
18-year-old Patience Botwe and Sarah Agyei, 30, have been accused for allegedly stealing the funds and personal belongings of the couple between July and October 2022.
The stolen items include US$1 million, €300,000, and millions of Ghana cedis.
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The charge sheet available to OnuaOnline indicate that Patience, also known as Maabena, was a house help for the complainants, while Sarah was a former house help.
According to the facts of the matter, Mr. Kuffuor caught Patience hiding in their bedroom, which drew their consciousness to realise that some of their properties were missing.
Patience was remanded into lawful custody with her father and alleged boyfriends.
Meanwhile, Sarah was granted bail due to her status as a breastfeeding mother, with her bail condition set at GH¢1 million with two sureties.
Further investigations revealed that Patience and her alleged boyfriends rented an apartment in Tamale, purchased a car, and spent substantial amounts on various items using the stolen funds.
Sarah also used her portion of the money to build a 3-bedroom house where she was later arrested.
The case has been adjourned to August 2, 2023, for further proceedings.
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