The Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, tendered her resignation letter to President Akufo-Addo, today (Saturday 22 July 2023) following a news report about a criminal case instituted at the Accra circuit court against five individuals who are charged with the offence of stealing various sums of money and items from her home in Abelenkpe, a suburb of Accra.
President Akufo-Addo first appointed Ms Dapaah as the aviation minister in January 2017.
She was moved to the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources in a reshuffle the following year and reappointed to the same portfolio when President Akufo-Addo began his second term in office.
In her resignation letter, Ms Dapaah says that her decision to resign from office is motivated by her desire not to allow her personal matters to become “a hindrance on the work of government”. She also declares that she will co-operate fully with all state agencies that 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 letter says. “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,” the letter by Dapaah reads.
“I intend to co-operate 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 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 concludes.
Theft case
News of five individuals charged with the offence of stealing various sums of money from the home of Ms Dapaah went viral following the publication of a front-page report by the Chronicle newspaper on Friday 21 July 2023.
Subsequently, an amended charge sheet for the case of the Republic versus Patience Botwe, Sarah Agyei, Benjamin Sowah, Kwaku Botwe and Malik Dauda emerged.
According to the charge sheet, the five accused are charged with ten counts of conspiracy to commit crime, to wit: stealing, contrary to Sections 23 (1) and 124 (1) of the Criminal Offences Act 1960 (Act 29); stealing, contrary to Section 124 (1) of the Criminal Offences Act 1960; and dishonestly receiving, contrary to Section 146 of the Criminal Offences Act 1960.
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 reside at Abelenkpe, Accra.
The first accused (A1), Patience Botwe (also known as Maabena) was a househelp to the complainants. The second accused (A2), Sarah Agyei, is currently unemployed and a former househelp to the complainants.
The third accused (A3), Benjamin Sowah, is a boyfriend to A1.
The fourth accused (A4), Kwaku Botwe, is A1’s father and the fifth accused (A5), Malik Dauda, is A1’s former boyfriend.
Some time in June 2023, the complainants reported a theft of cash and personal effects, as noted on the face of the charge sheet. Before then, A1, who was a househelp to the complainants, had been caught opening and entering the bedroom of the complainants with a duplicate key.
Upon intelligence, A1 and A3 were arrested at a hideout in Tamale in the Northern Region. A search of their room led to the discovery of US$40,000 and GHC72,619.70.
Police investigations showed that some time in October 2022, the complainant Daniel Osei Kuffour returned from town and observed that the door to the bedroom he shares with his wife, which had been locked, was open. He also heard an unusual noise coming from the room.
He entered the room and found A1 hiding behind the door therein. Subsequently, the complainants detected thefts of the property listed on the face of the charge sheet.
Further investigations showed that A1 had used part of the stolen money to buy a three-bedroomed house in Amrahia, Accra, at a cost of US$70,000.
The following brand-new items which A1 used part of the stolen money to buy were also retrieved from the said house: one double-deck refrigerator, one television set, one washing machine, one chest freezer, one gas cooker and one water dispenser. Also discovered were related items.
A1 and A3 also confessed that they used some of the stolen money to buy a Hyundai Elantra with the registration number GE 9771-23 at a cost of GHC80,000. A1 also gave GHC180,000 to A3, who used the money to purchase an unregistered Honda Civic car with the plate number DV 4903-23. This has been retrieved by the police.
Investigations also disclosed that A1 and A3 used parts of the stolen money to rent a three-bedroomed apartment in Tamale at a total cost of GHC105,600 for a period of two years.
In addition, A1 and A3 used part of the stolen money to rent a storeroom in Tamale at a total cost of GHC120,000.
A1 admitted the offence and mentioned A2 as her accomplice, explaining 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 money, after which they would share the spoils.
A2 was subsequently arrested from a hideout in Budumburam, a suburb of Kasoa, and began to assist the police investigation. Further questioning led to the discovery that A2 had used part of the stolen money to build a three-bedroomed, self-contained house in Budumburam.
A1 also gave GHC50,000 out of the stolen money to A4, who admitted this fact during interrogation. A2 further gave GHC100,000 out of the stolen money to A5, who also admitted same.
Political profile
Cecilia Abena Dapaah is a Ghanaian politician and a member of the New Patriotic Party. She is a former MP for Bantama in the Ashanti Region, and previously served as the deputy minister of 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, as well as a postgraduate certificate in international development studies from the University of Oslo.
She was a development worker and a special assistant to President John Agyekum Kufuor. She was appointed chair of the board of Ghana Cocoa Processing Company in 2005 and moved from there to become the deputy water resources, works and housing minister in 2005.
She also served as the substantive minister from 2007 to 2008, when she stood for and won the Bantama seat. She served as an MP from 2009 to 2013.
Cecilia Abena Dapaah served on the parliamentary committees for employment, foreign affairs, works and jousing, social welfare and youth, and special budget, as well as the advisory committee to the Speaker of Parliament.
President Akufo-Addo first nominated her for the position of aviation minister on 7 January 2017.
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