Dapaah’s cash: Court grants Prosecution last opportunity to file witness statements

State Prosecutors from the Office of the Attorney General have been granted one last opportunity to file their disclosures and witness statements in the case in which two former Housemaids of Cecilia Dapaah and five others have been charged variously for stealing.

Botwe, 18, and Agyei, 30, together with Benjamin Sowah, Malik Dauda, Christiana Achab, Job Pomary and Yahaya Sumaila have pleaded not guilty to the various charges pressed against them – ranging from Conspiracy to steal, stealing, dishonestly receiving and money laundering .

However, despite being admitted to bail, they are still in lawful custody because they have not yet satisfied their respective bail conditions.

In Court on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, Prosecutions led by Akosua Agyepomaa Agyemang, an Assistant State Attorney, prayed the Court to oblige them a short adjournment to file their disclosures and Witness Statements.

While apologizing to the Court, she said they were unable to comply with the orders of the court previously to file their disclosures and witnesses by December 8 and a short date will help them put their house in order.

Defence lawyers particularly Lawyer Yaw Dankwah and Lawyer Abdul Basit Adams opposed to the request.

They argued separately that, it has been over six months since the accused persons were arrested and the Prosecution have not shown any reasonable cause for the court to oblige them a further opportunity to file disclosures.

Justice Marie-Louise Simmons, the trial judge at the Criminal Division (2) of the High Court in Accra after listening to the parties obliged the prosecution one last adjourned.

“I have listened to submissions by counsel for A7 (Lawyer Yaw Dankwah) and A5A6 (Lawyer Abdul Adams Basit) as well as from the prosecution, I will oblige the prosecution last adjournment to file disclosures and witness statements, if not all, so that the case will go on bearing in mind that, the accused persons though on bail are still in lawful custody,” Justice Simmons said.

According to the Court, the Prosecution is to file by January 10 whilst the accused persons remained on their previous bail terms.

The Case has been adjourned to January 16.

Background

On November 10, the two former House maids of Ex-Sanitation Minister Cecila Abena Dapaah, Patience Botwe and Sarah Agyei together with five others were granted bail in a combined sums of GHc5,250,000 with two sureties each to be justified with landed properties.

Botwe, 18, and the other accused persons have all pleaded not guilty to 31 counts when they made their first appearance at the High Court on November 10.

As part of their bail conditions, the Court said one of the sureties each must be a resident in the Greater Accra Region and “should be gainfully employed.”

Justice Marie-Louise Simmons, the trial judge presiding over the Criminal Court ‘2’ of the High Court in Accra, also said, “the resident of the sureties and accused must be inspected and known to the case Investigator who is required to look for them when they runaway.”

Justice Simmons also directed that, each sureties is to provide a copy of their Ghana Card to the Registrar whilst the Police Investigator is to take photographs of all the accused persons portraying their facials and make three copies.

Justice Simmons said, each of the copies should be placed on the bail bond on the Registrar’s documents, the court files and a copy retained by the Police.

The Court also said, the Registrar is to forward a copy of the bail bond to the court while the cost of taking the pictures should be borne by the sureties.

Botwe, 18, and Agyei, 30, together with Benjamin Sowah, Malik Dauda, Christiana Achab, Job Pomary and Yahaya Sumaila have all denied the various charges pressed against them – ranging from Conspiracy to steal, stealing, dishonestly receiving and money laundering.

They are before the Court in connection with the stolen funds and some properties worth millions of Ghana cedis.

On Friday, November 10, 2023, Justice Simmons had then directed the Prosecution led by Akosua Agyepomaa Agyemang, an Assistant State Attorney, to file disclosures and witness statements and have same served on the accused and their lawyers by December 8.

The accused persons are represented by lawyers Augustine Gyemfi, Yaw Dankwah and Adams Abdul Basit.

According to EIB Network’s Legal Affairs Correspondent, Daniel Osei Kuffuor, the husband of Madam Cecilia Dapaah, one of the Complainant was present in Court.

New charges

On November 8, a charged sheet was filed at the High Court which proffered some 31 counts, eight more than the 14 that were on the amended charged sheet which was withdrawn on Wednesday, November 8, at the Circuit Court.

The 31 new counts comprised of five counts of conspiracy, six counts of stealing, nine counts of dishonestly receiving and 11 counts of money laundering.

Patience Botwe, 18, and seven others have been charged for allegedly stealing various sums of monies including $1 million, 300, 000 euros and other properties.

They have since July 6, this year, been put before the Circuit Court but that has been withdrawn and fresh charges proffered against them at the High court.