Cecilia Dapaah saga: There are no laws forbidding people from keeping money at their home – Majority leader

The Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs have called on Ghanaians to be circumspect of their criticism of the former Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Dapaah, who resigned following reports of US$1 million, €300,000, and millions of Ghana Cedis in cash being stolen from her house.

According to Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, Ghanaians must hear the former minister's side of the story before making any judgement.

The majority leader, who is the Member of Parliament for Suame, added that even though it might be ethically wrong for a minister to be keeping such an amount of money in her home, the laws of the country do not stop people from keeping money in their homes.

“In Ghana now we are quick to condemn people as soon as their issues come up. We don’t listen to their side of the story. Doing this is not good for our governance process. We have to hear our sister's side of the story before we make any judgment.

“There are some questions that have not been answered including whether she legitimately acquired the money; where the minister got the money from, and whether she has paid the required taxes.

“She has not violated any law of the country by not keeping the money in the bank if it is hers… there are no laws like that. But the government is working to create a cashless system so if a minister is keeping such an amount of money in her home, it would be like a pastor not living the gospel s/he preaches,” he said in Twi in a Neat FM interview monitored by GhanaWeb.

Meanwhile, the former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources has been arrested by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).

This was contained in a statement from the Office of the Special Prosecutor dated July 24, 2023.

This arrest comes in the wake of suspicions of corruption and corruption-related offences, revolving around the alleged theft of significant amounts of money and valuable items from her residence in Accra.

Dapaah's resignation from her ministerial post, which occurred on July 22, 2023, set off a series of investigations into the reported theft that had caused shock and concern among the public.

Two of her house helps, Patience Botwe (18) and Sarah Agyei (30), were previously charged with conspiracy to commit a crime and five counts of stealing, following the alleged incidents between July and October 2022.

During this period, items including assorted clothes worth GHC95,000, handbags, perfumes, and jewellery valued at $95,000 were said to have been stolen from the former Minister's residence in the Abelemkpe area of Accra. Patience Botwe was also accused of stealing six sets of kente cloth worth GHC90,000 and six sets of men's suits valued at $3,000, which belonged to Dapaah's husband. Furthermore, three other individuals, including Botwe's current and former boyfriends and her father, are also facing charges for allegedly being involved in dishonestly receiving GHC1 million, GHC180,000, and GHC50,000, respectively.

The arrest by the Office of the Special Prosecutor indicates the gravity of the situation and the determination of authorities to investigate the alleged corruption thoroughly.

As of now, the OSP indicated Cecilia Dapaah is undergoing questioning by authorized officers of the OSP to ascertain the facts surrounding the case.

Watch the interview below:



BAI/WA

You can also watch this episode of People & Places on GhanaWeb TV: