Cecilia Dapaah Saga: Present Evidence, Not Just Denials Of Cash Retrievals - Beatrice Annan

In the case of Cecilia Dapaah, you need to present evidence of cash retrievals rather than merely denying them.

Beatrice Annan, a member of the communications team for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has expressed her concerns on a letter that was issued by attorneys representing Cecilia Dapaah, who formerly served as the minister of sanitation.The letter demanded an apology and a retraction from Multimedia Group, the owners and operators of Joy FM, Joy News, and other affiliates, for allegedly misreporting on funds found in Dapaah's residence.On the show Good Morning Ghana that aired on Metro TV on August 14, 2023, Annan criticised Dapaah's denial and emphasised that it was not adequate for the lawyers to refute the content of the article without revealing the actual facts. She said this while pointing out that it was not sufficient for the lawyers to deny the content of the report.

She pointed out that media were not required to identify their sources, and that Dapaah's stance of simply denial was not useful, even in a legal setting. She also stated that Dapaah's position of merely denying the allegations was not helpful.Annan stated that Dapaah, as a public figure and former minister, had a duty to the public to address the problems that were identified in the report and provide her version of the facts. Annan made this observation in light of the fact that Dapaah served in a ministerial capacity in the past.

"Journalists don't have to tell you their source," she said. "So if you think that you have one million dollars or the Special Prosecutor did not retrieve 530,000 dollars and two million plus from your bedroom, you just have to come and say that what I have in my bedroom was maybe this or that."Annan continued by explaining that a simple denial that is not accompanied by an alternative account of the events in question is not deemed to be a valid denial under the law.

She issued a demand to Dapaah, requesting that she addressed the particular charges that were made in the report and provide a clear explanation concerning the accuracy of those claims.In their letter, the lawyers demanded an apology and a retraction for what they claimed to be inaccurate reporting on matters concerning the cash that were discovered in Dapaah's home during a search by the Office of the Special Prosecutor and in her accounts with local banks.