OSP withdraws cases against Cecelia Dapaah

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has withdrawn all its legal actions against former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah.

The cases withdrawn by the OSP include an application for a conformation order to continue to freeze the the assets of the former Minister, and a the criminal case by the OSP, accusing the former minister of failing to declare her assets as enjoined by law.

Kissi Agyebeng, the Special Prosecutor, was at the Financial and Economic Crimes Division of the Accra High Court Thursday morning (January 25, 2024) to withdraw the cases.

Consequently, the court, presided over by Justice Nana Brew, ordered the OSP to release all the assets it had seized from Cecelia Abena Dapaah within 72 hours.

Chambers
When the case was called Thursday morning, Mr Agyebeng pleaded with the court to hear him in chambers. Justice Brew replied that he would prefer to hear the case in open court due to its urgency.

The Special Prosecutor then approach the bench and subsequently the lawyers went with the judge into his chambers.

Background
The OSP and lawyers of the former minister have been battling in court since July 2023 when the anti-graft agency commenced investigations on Cecilia Abena Dapaah for alleged corruption and corruption-related offences following allegations that she was keeping more than $1 million in her house.

That was after police prosecutors had arraigned two househelps working for Ms Dapaah and her husband, Daniel Osei Kuffour, at an Accra Circuit Court for allegedly stealing money and items worth millions of Ghana cedis from the couple’s residence at Abelemkpe in Accra.

Source: graphic online