Former sanitation minister, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, who resigned over a theft scandal, had more money hidden at one of her residences, a report by Accra-based TV3 has claimed.
The TV3 news report, citing sources within the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), said it took the officials five hours to count the latest stash of cash that was discovered during a search at her home on Monday, July 24.
“From the search at her residence yesterday (Monday, July 24), a lot more cash has been discovered and it took officials of the Special Prosecutor close to five hours alone in counting this amount of cash which was discovered in her home,” the TV3 reporter Eric Mawuena Egbeta said in a stand-up piece in front of the OSP offices in Accra.
He however did not specify which of her two residences – her official one at Cantonments or her private one at Abelemkpe – had the additional sums of money
The OSP confirmed on Monday that it had arrested and questioned Ms Dapaah for “suspected corruption and corruption-related offences regarding large amounts of money and other valuable items reportedly stolen from her residence”.
The probe followed a revelation by a court charge sheet that Ms Dapaah and her husband had reported a theft of $1m (£780,000), 300,000 euro ($333,000) and 350,000 Ghana cedis ($30,000), as well as handbags valued at $35,000 and $95,000-worth of jewellery from their Abelemkpe residence last year.
Ms Dapaah has disputed the figures given in the court document but has not disclosed the actual amount that was stolen. She resigned as minister of sanitation and water resources on Saturday, saying she did not want to distract from the work of government. She added that she was sure that any investigation would show she had acted with integrity.
Some relatives of the former minister have also been questioned by the OSP about their involvement in the alleged theft and corruption. The OSP said it had also conducted searches at other premises linked to Ms Dapaah.
The theft case was initially reported to the police in June this year, seven months after it occurred. Two women who worked as domestic workers for the couple were accused of stealing and dissipating some of the stolen money and items. They were arraigned before an Accra Circuit Court last week along with three other individuals who allegedly received some of the money from them.
The TV3 report has been challenged by some pro-government voices, including Paul Adom-Otchere of Metro TV, who said on his Good Evening Ghana show (July 25) that his checks with the OSP showed that nothing of the sort had been found.
“We understand that it is untrue and the OSP must come out and clarify, we tried to search about this and what we have is that it is not true.
“We don’t know why TV3 has been carrying this story since midday. It has no source, neither the Special Prosecutor or his deputy. If TV3 has further and better particulars, they should publish it tomorrow or even tonight.
“Because our sources indicate that the Special Prosecutor has said it is not true,” he added.
The scandal has sparked outrage among many Ghanaians who are struggling with a depreciating currency and a troubled economy. The government has blamed dollar hoarders for the woes of the cedi, while critics have accused it of failing to curb corruption and mismanagement.