The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has submitted a request to the Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Araba Sackey Torkornoo, for the recusal of Justice Edward Twum, who is presiding over the case of former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah.
During court proceedings, Justice Twum disclosed that he had received a letter from the OSP requesting his recusal from the case. In light of this development, Justice Twum adjourned the case to await the decision of the Chief Justice on the matter.
The contents of the OSP’s petition were not disclosed in court. The court was scheduled to hear Ms Dapaah’s plea in a case where the OSP had accused her of failing to declare her assets during her tenure as a Minister. Justice Twum has presided over all the cases filed against the former Minister by the OSP.
The court has determined that the OSP has not provided any legal basis to freeze Ms Dapaah’s account. Justice Twum has also held that the OSP has not established the true ownership of the alleged tainted property found in Ms Dapaah’s house, nor have they convinced the court that the property was used in connection with a crime.
“If he (OSP) is unsure as to ownership, how did he reach the conclusion that the property is tainted?” the presiding judge queried.
The Office of Special Prosecutor (OSP) has initiated an investigation into Ms. Dapaah regarding allegations of corruption and corruption-related offenses. This action was prompted by the discovery that she had been harboring an amount exceeding $1 million within her residence.
This development followed the legal proceedings initiated by police prosecutors against two domestic workers employed by Ms. Dapaah and her husband, Daniel Osei Kuffour. The aforementioned individuals were brought before the Accra Circuit Court on charges of allegedly pilfering substantial sums of money and valuable items, valued in the millions of Ghana cedis, from the couple’s residence situated in Abelemkpe, Accra.
Meanwhile, Cecilia Dapaah recently stated that the funds transferred from her deceased brother’s account were intended for the payment of his children’s educational fees.
This statement was made in response to allegations made by the Office of the Special Prosecutor, which deemed the transfer suspicious due to the fact that Ms. Dapaah’s brother had been deceased for a significant period of time. Ms. Dapaah clarified that the account in question had been opened with funds collected by Cal Bank during her brother’s funeral.
“…the truth is that funds were transferred from an account in the name “The Late Nana Akwasi Essan” to which I am a signatory. The funds were transferred to me for payment of the school fees of my late brother’s children” lawyers of the former Minister stated in court documents cited by 3news.com.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor has returned to the High Court to seek confirmation of its freeze and seizure order. It is worth noting that the OSP had previously seized $590,000 and 2,862,007 Ghana cedis during a search of Ms. Dapaah’s residence, with her accounts subsequently being frozen.
However, an Accra High Court issued an order allowing for the release of the cash and the unfreezing of the accounts. The OSP complied with this order, but shortly thereafter announced that it had seized the cash again and issued a fresh freezing order. In response, the Minister has filed court documents through her lawyers, requesting that the court once again reject the OSP’s request for confirmation of its actions.
