The former Minister for Water Resources and Sanitation, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, has been detained, according to the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
The former Minister was detained, per the OSP, in connection with alleged theft of sizable sums of money from her home as well as other corruption-related offenses.
The OSP stated in a statement that was sent to the media: “At 11:55 GMT on 24 July 2023, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, who resigned the position of Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources on 22 July 2023, was placed under arrest by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) in respect of suspected corruption and corrution-related offences regarding large amounts of money and other valuable items reportedly stolen from her residence.”
OSP Communications pic.twitter.com/YNfvJrEVpB
— Office of the Special Prosecutor-Ghana (@ospghana) July 24, 2023
On July 22, 2023, Mrs. Dapaah writes to voluntarily resign from her position as Minister of Sanitation in a letter that is signed by the minister.
“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”
“I intend to cooperate fully with all state agencies to enable them fully establish the facts”
The court’s findings that the Minister had kept $1 million, $300,000, and millions of Cedis in her home have caused a public uproar.
Relatively, some Ghanaians have expressed surprise at President Akufo-Addo’s choice to praise Cecilia Abena Dapaah, the recently-resigned Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, despite the fact that her resignation was controversial.
The Minister allegedly stashed large sums of foreign currency in her home, some of which were stolen.
The President hasn’t directly addressed whether or not the Minister’s actions were improper, but he did praise her in his response to her letter of resignation.
Critics have already charged the president with repeatedly defending his appointees who are accused of corruption, earning him the moniker “clearing agent.”
The Special Aide to former President John Dramani Mahama, Joyce Bawa Mogtari, is among those who are utterly shocked by the president’s remarks.
