JUST IN: Cecilia Dapaah resigns from office as Sanitation and Water Resources Minister

 

Ms Dapaah was first appointed as Minister for Aviation by President Akufo-Addo in January 2017. She was moved by the President to the Sanitation and Water Resources ministry
Photo of Wilberforce Asare Wilberforce Asare Send an emailJuly 22, 2023 4,634

 

 

Minister for Sanitation and Water Resource, Cecilia Abena Dapaah has tendered in her resignation letter to President Akufo-Addo, today Saturday 22 July 2023, following a story of her involvement in a criminal case instituted at the Circuit Court against five accused persons who are charged with the offence of stealing various sums of money from her home at Abelemkpe, a suburb of Accra.

Ms Dapaah was first appointed as Minister for Aviation by President Akufo-Addo in January 2017. She was moved by the President to the Sanitation and Water Resources ministry in a reshuffle and reappointed to the same portfolio when President Akufo-Addo begun his second term in office.

 

 

Ms Cecilia Dapaah, indicates in her letter that her decision to resign from office is motivated by the fact that she does not want her personal issues to become “a hindrance on the work of government.” She also notes that she will cooperate fully with all state agencies who may seek to engage her in any investigations.

“Since yesterday, Friday, July 21, 2023, social and traditional media have been full of stories about a court case involving a theft that took place last year in the home I live with my husband and daughter. The stories sought to suggest that I own various huge sums of foreign currencies and millions of Ghana cedis which have been stolen from my home.

“Whereas I can state emphatically that those figures do not represent correctly what my husband and I reported to the Police, I am very much aware of the import of such stories around someone in my position. I am resigning therefore because I do not want this matter to become a preoccupation of government and a hindrance to the work of government at such a crucial time” her resignation letter read.

“I intend to cooperate fully with all state agencies to enable them fully establish the facts. I have no doubt whatsoever that at the end of the processes, it will be fully established that I have conducted myself with integrity during my period in public service and I will be fully exonerated from all the allegations that have filled the public domain in the past 24 hours.

“I thank you my dear, Mr President, for the honour done me in giving me the opportunity to serve our beautiful nation Ghana” Ms Cecilia Dapaah further stated in her letter of resignation.

Noticeable inconsistencies

Prior to her resignation, Ms Dapaah issued a statement noting that the reportage on the stolen monies at her residence by two house helps is fraught with noticeable inconsistencies between what is being discussed in the public domain and the crux of the original complaint on the matter she filed.

“I refer to publications dated 21/8/2023 suggesting that I own one million dollars, three hundred thousand Euros and millions of cedis which have been stolen in my house.

“There are noticeable inconsistencies between what is being discussed in the public domain and the thrust of the original complaint on the matter. I am taking steps to examine the inconsistencies and will provide detailed response in the coming days,” the statement read.

Theft case

News of five persons charged with the offence of stealing various sums of money from the home of Ms Cecilia Dapaah went viral following a publication on the front page of The Chronicle newspaper on Friday 21st July 2023.

Subsequently, an amended charge sheet of the case of the Republic versus Patience Botwe, Sarah Agyei, Benjamin Sowah, Kwaku Botwe and Malik Dauda emerged.
The five accused persons according to the charge sheet, are charged with ten (10) counts of Conspiracy to Commit Crime to wit: Stealing Contrary to Section 23 (1) and 124 (1) of the Criminal Offence Act of 1960, Act 29, Stealing Contrary to Section 124 (1) of the Criminal Offence Act of 1960, Act 29, and Dishonestly Receiving: Contrary to Section 146 of the of the Criminal Offence Act of 1960, Act 29.

Brief facts of the case

According to the brief facts attached to the charge sheet, the complainants in the case are Daniel Osei Kuffour and his wife Cecilia Abena Dapaah who resides at Abelemkpe, Accra.

First accused (A1) Patience Botwe @ Maabena was a house help to the complainants. Second accused (A2) Sarah Agyei is currently unemployed and a former house help to the complainants. Third accused (A3) Benjamin Sowah is a boyfriend to A1. Fourth accused (A4) Kwaku Botwe is A1’s father and Fifth accused (A5) Malik Dauda is A1’s former boyfriend.

Sometime in June 2023, the complainants reported a theft of cash and some personal effects as indicated on the face of the charge sheet. Prior to that A1 who was a house help to the complainants was caught to have opened and entered the bedroom of the complainants with a duplicate key.

Upon intelligence, A1 and A3 were arrested at their hide out in Tamale in the Northern Region. A search conducted in their room revealed $40,000 USD and GH¢72,619.70. Police investigation revealed that, sometime in October 2022, complainant Daniel Osei Kuffour returned from town to observe that their bedroom which was locked had been opened and heard an unusual noise therein.

He entered the room and found A1 hiding behind the door therein. Subsequently, the complainants detected theft of properties indicated on the face of the charge sheet. Further investigations revealed that A1 used part of the stolen money to buy a three-bedroom house at Amrahia at a cost of Seventy Thousand Dollars ($70,000) UDS.

The following brand-new items which A1used some of the stolen money to buy were also retrieved from the said house: One double decker refrigerator, one television set, one washing machine, one chest freezer, one gas cooker, one water dispenser and related items.

A1 and A3 also indicated that they used some of the stolen money to buy Hyundai Elantra with registration number GE 9771-23 at a cost of Eighty Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢80,000.00). A1 also gave One Hundred and Eighty Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢180,000.00) to A3 who used same to purchase an unregistered Honda Civic car with DV plate number 4903-23 which same have been retrieved.

Investigation also disclosed that A1 and A3 used parts of the stolen money to rent a three-bed room apartment at Tamale at a total cost of One Hundred and Five Thousand Six Hundred Cedis (GH¢105,600.00) for a period of two years.

Additionally, A1 and A3 used part of the stolen money to rent a store room at Tamale at a total cost of One Hundred Twenty Thousand Ghana Cedis (120,000.00). A1 admitted the offence and mentioned A2 as her accomplice to the effect that, when they were working in the complainants’ house, she used to keep watch of the main gate for A2 to go into the complainants’ room to steal their money after which they share the spoil.

A2 was subsequently arrested from her hideout in Budumburam a suburb of Kasoa for investigation. Investigation further disclosed that A2 used part of the stolen money to build a three bedroom self-contain house at Budumburam.

A1 also gave Fifty Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢50,000.00) out of the stolen money to A4, who admitted the preceding fact during interrogation. A2 also gave One Hundred Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢100,000.00) out of the stolen money to A5 who also admitted same.

Political history

Cecilia Abena Dapaah is a Ghanaian politician and a member of the New Patriotic Party. She is a former Member of Parliament for the Bantama Constituency and previously served as the Deputy Minister for Water Resources, Works, and Housing.

She obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in French and Linguistics in 1979 from the University of Ghana. She holds a certificate in leadership from the Harvard Kennedy School, and a postgraduate certificate in International Development Studies from the University of Oslo.

She was a development worker and a special assistant to President John Kufour. She was appointed Chairperson of the Board of Ghana Cocoa Processing Company in 2005 and moved from the board to become the Deputy Minister for Water Resources, Works, and Housing in 2005.

She also served as a substantive minister from 2007 till 2008 when she contested and won the seat of the Bantama Constituency. She served as a Member of Parliament from 2009 to 2013.
Cecilia Abena Dapaah has served on the committee of Employment, Foreign Affairs, Works and Housing, Social Welfare, and Youth, Special Budget, and the Advisory Committee to the Speaker of the Parliament. President Akufo-Addo first nominated Cecilia Abena Dapaah for the position of Minister of Aviation on 7 January 2017. Source:Asaaseonline