By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
An Accra based Private legal practitioner, Mr. Martin Kpebu, has called on the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), to make full disclosure of the total amount of money seized from former Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Madam Abena Cecilia Dapaah.
The legal practitioner, who is also an anti-corruption campaigner, is of the opinion that the OSP disclosing the total amount of money seized to the public would help in the fight against corruption, as there have been conflicting reports about the total amount found in the former minister’s separate bank accounts.
The Cedi and Dollar bank accounts belonging to the former minister were frozen by the OSP on 9th August 2023, but the High Court in Accra overturned the decision on August 31.
The court ordered that funds seized from the former minister be returned to her within seven days and also directed the OSP to unfreeze Madam Dapaah’s accounts; however, on Monday, September 4, 2023, the OSP invoked its powers to retake custody of the money, days after the High Court asked the office to return the seized money.
Speaking in an interview on an Accra-based Citi FM station, Mr. Kpebu maintained that a disclosure by the OSP would encourage the public to join in the fight against corruption.
“When Kissi Agyebeng did not give us the full amount involved, it emboldened Madam Dapaah and her lawyers, who then went and attacked a media house about a $5 million figure given out there, and so Mr. Agyebeng should disclose the total amount involved, and it is the least he can do and that will help push the fight against corruption.
He (Kissi Agyebeng) has to put the figures out to ginger the fight and create excitement about the fight against corruption,” he reiterated
Mr Kpebu also criticised Cecilia Dapaah for being unable to clarify the source of her wealth.
“So far, she (Cecilia Dapaah) has not been able to give credible answers as to the source of the money, and let us not forget that the OSP Act and also under the Constitution in Article 286 (4), if they find you with money and that money cannot reasonably be attributed to inheritance, income, gift or loan, then it is unexplained wealth and that is illegal. And so all these things should be dealt with because the OSP stated that she is not able to account for the money,” he advised.
