Cecilia Dapaah’s former house help granted access to investigation statements after court order

The Accra High Court has ordered the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to provide the investigation caution and charge statements to Patience Botwe, the first accused in the case involving former sanitation minister Cecilia Dapaah and her husband.

This ruling follows an application filed by Patience Botwe, a former house help of Cecilia Dapaah, who requested access to these documents, claiming they are crucial for her defence, myjoyonline.com reports.

Botwe’s legal team stressed the importance of these statements for cross-examining key witnesses, Dapaah and her husband. They had previously attempted to acquire the documents through a request under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, but the OSP rejected the request, arguing that the information was exempt.

Following this, Botwe’s lawyers approached the High Court for intervention to secure the necessary materials for her defence.

Justice Marie-Louis Simmons, presiding over the case, stressed the court's responsibility to ensure a fair trial, overruling the OSP's objection, which argued that Botwe’s request was premature and that the court's jurisdiction had not been properly invoked, according to myjoyonline.com.

Justice Simmons underscored the importance of granting the accused access to relevant documents, citing Article 19(2)(e)(g) of the 1992 Constitution, which guarantees an accused person's right to adequately prepare a defence.

In her ruling, Justice Simmons also noted the significance of providing Botwe with the charge statements for a thorough cross-examination of Cecilia Dapaah, particularly given the discrepancies in their accounts regarding the source of the stolen funds.

While Botwe was granted access to the investigation and caution statements, she was denied access to the recordings and transcripts of the interviews and interrogations involving Dapaah and her husband.

MAG/OGB

In the meantime, follow Ernestina Asante as she tours the Asokwa Constituency and speaks with MP Patricia Appiagyei in this episode of Campaign Trail on GhanaWeb TV: