Former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu says his successor violated the constitutional rights of the former Sanitation Minister when he announced her arrest and the subsequent search of her residence to the media.

According to him, Kissi Agyebeng, “by publicising the supposed arrest of Cecilia Dapaah who had just resigned from office as a Minister of State was eroding her presumption of innocence and deepening the perception that the former Minister was guilty of an unstated offence before she could even be investigated for a specified corruption offence.”

He alleged that Mr Agyebeng gave in to public hysteria and emotions when he succumbed to pressure to investigate the huge amount of money stolen from the former Minister’s residence.

“Populism has no place in law enforcement. Law enforcement is a serious and impartial business as it deals with upholding the constitutionally guaranteed rights of citizens suspected of the commission of crime during investigation.

“Firstly, it is unethical to deploy law enforcement in aid of public hysteria and emotions before the establishment of prima facie evidence pursuant to an investigation.

“Secondly, there is no offence known under Section 79 of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959) as corruption and corruption-related offences,” he stressed.

His comments follow a press release by the Office of the Special Prosecutor revealing that the OSP had taken an interest in the theft case that had gone viral.

In the statement sighted by JoyNews, the OSP said “At 11:55 GMT on 24 July 2023, Cecilia Dapaah, who resigned from the position of Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources on 22 July 2023, was placed under arrest by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) in respect of corruption and corruption-related offences regarding large amounts of money and other valuable items reportedly stolen from her residence. Ms. Dapaah is being questioned by authorised Officers of the OSP.”

But chastising his successor, Mr Amidu said Mr Agyebeng was on a populist and unethical frolic of his own and fishing for evidence by placing the former Minister under arrest and purporting to investigate her.”

Martin Amidu explained that the OSP contributed in no small measure to cementing the perception that the former Minister had acquired unexplained wealth which she had stashed away in her residences.

He therefore urged the lawyers for Madam Cecilia Dapaah to examine closely and challenge the authority of the Special Prosecutor to arrest, interrogated and conducted searches of the residences.

Touching on the alleged leakage of information from the Office of the Special Prosecutor, the citizen vigilante called on the Ghana Police Service to investigate the Office for the criminal offence of breach of confidentiality under Section 74 of Act 959, gross misconduct, and the sources of the alleged leakages to protect the fundamental rights of citizens who may appear before the OSP in the future.

“It is for this purpose that Section 74 (1) and (2) of Act 959 criminalizes the giving out of information that has come into the possession of an authorized officer in the performance of his functions under the Act to summary conviction to a fine or to imprisonment of not less than one year and not more than two years or to both.  

"The Ghana Police Service should as a matter of urgency and fairness investigate the sources of the alleged leakages as mandated by Section 74 of Act 959 as the Special Prosecutor will have to be the subject of this investigation himself to establish which authorized officers committed the offences. The Police cybersecurity department is capable of tracing the sources of the video and other publications on social media.

"It is important that the OSP, which I had the distinguished honour to establish and operationalise, does not leak like a sieve during investigations - whether lawful or unlawful investigations. It was for these reasons that I questioned the unconstitutional appointments of known politically partisan friends of the Special Prosecutor to the OSP these unconstitutional appointments have not been redressed by the Government that is now reaping the distasteful results.

"The integrity of the OSP is clearly at stake if the presumption of innocence guaranteed the citizen is to be protected,“ he added.

Background

Two house helps working for Cecilia Abena Dapaah and her husband, Daniel Osei Kuffour are facing charges at an Accra Circuit Court, for allegedly stealing monies and items worth millions of cedis from the couple's residence at Abelemkpe in Accra.

The accused individuals, 18-year-old Patience Botwe and 30-year-old Sarah Agyei have been charged with conspiracy to commit a crime and five counts of stealing.

The alleged thefts occurred between July and October 2022.

During this period, the house helps allegedly stole personal effects belonging to Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah, including assorted clothes valued at GH¢95,000, handbags, perfumes, and jewellery worth US$95,000.

Additionally, Ms Botwe is accused of stealing six pieces of Kente cloth worth GH¢90,000 and six sets of men's suits valued at US$3,000, which belong to the minister's husband.

Furthermore, three other individuals, identified as Ms Botwe's current and former boyfriends and her father, are also facing charges for allegedly being involved in the crime. They have been respectively charged with dishonestly receiving GH¢1 million, GH¢180,000, and GH¢50,000.

According to court proceedings, the stolen monies and items belonged to Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah and her husband, taken from their bedroom in their residence.

The accused individuals were arraigned before an Accra Circuit Court, presided over by Susana Ekuful, on Thursday, July 20, 2023. However, their pleas have not been taken yet.

The court granted bail to Sarah Agyei in the sum of GH¢1 million with two sureties. The sureties are required to deposit their Ghana cards with the court's registrar. The bail conditions are subject to review by the substantive judge, as Susana Ekuful was serving as a relief judge.

On the other hand, Ms Botwe, along with her alleged boyfriends and father, have been remanded into lawful custody.

The complainants reported the theft case to the police in June 2023 after discovering the missing cash and personal effects.

Ms Botwe was caught red-handed entering the couple's room with a duplicate key, leading to her arrest.

Further investigations revealed that Patience, with the help of her alleged accomplice Sarah, had hidden the stolen money and used it to purchase properties and expensive items.

This information got Ghanaians talking with many asking CHRAJ, the OSP and the Ghana Police Service to investigate the source of the money.

Subsequently, the Special Prosecutor announced that his office was investigating the matter, starting with the arrest of Madam Cecilia Dapaah.

Meanwhile, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has appointed the Minister of State at the Presidency and Member of Parliament for Tano North, Freda Prempeh, to take over as Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources since the resignation of Madam Cecilia Dapaah from office.