President Nana Akufo-Addo has accepted the resignation of Cecilia Dapaah as Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources after a newspaper reported that significant amounts of money, including $1 million, €300,000, and several millions of Ghana cedis, were stolen from her home.
In a Facebook post, Jubilee House Communications Director Eugene Arhin stated that President Akufo-Addo praised Hon. Cecilia Dapaah’s loyalty to the government’s image and thanked her for her wholehearted dedication to the progress of the nation.
He conveyed the president’s good wishes for her future endeavors and announced that a new Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources will soon be appointed.
In her resignation letter, Cecilia Dapaah refuted the accuracy of the figures mentioned in the news report, stating that they did not correctly represent what she and her husband reported to the police.
Nevertheless, she acknowledged the importance of public perception and decided to step down from her position. She expressed her willingness to fully cooperate with state agencies to establish the truth, confident that she would be exonerated from all the allegations.
The incident came to light when two former house helps, Patience Botwe and Sarah Agyei, were charged with stealing money and valuable items from the former minister’s residence.
Patience, the primary accused, faced additional charges related to the theft of kente cloth and men’s suits belonging to Daniel Osei Kuffour. Three other individuals were also charged with receiving portions of the stolen money.
The accused were presented before an Accra Circuit Court on July 20, 2023. Sarah was granted bail on the basis of being a breastfeeding mother, while the others were remanded into custody.
The thefts occurred between July and October 2022, and the complainants reported the incidents to the police after discovering the missing items and cash.
The investigation revealed that Patience used a duplicate key to enter the couple’s room and was caught by Mr. Kuffour, after which the stolen items were discovered missing.
Patience and her boyfriend Benjamin went into hiding in Tamale but were eventually apprehended by the police, who found significant amounts of money and stolen items in their possession.
Patience implicated Sarah during interrogation, revealing that they had worked together in the couple’s house.
The case has been adjourned to August 2, 2023, for further proceedings.
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