Flagbearer hopeful of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Kwabena Agyepong, has faulted former Sanitation Minister Cecelia Dapaah for keeping a colossal amount of money in her home, which she is currently unable to account for.

In an interview on JoyNews, Mr Agyepong noted that under the dispensation of the digitalization agenda drive, the former minister should have known better to store her funds with a financial institution rather than her residence.

Expressing his disappointment, he noted that Madam Cecilia Dapaah swayed away from the very ideas her government has been propagating.

“What for me I worry about, especially with this case, was the fact of the amount of money that was found in the household…Suffice it to say I was disappointed that that amount of money was in the household. It’s important that we realise that we cannot, as politicians, preach one thing and do another,” he said.

“So when you’re encouraging everybody to be part of the formal economy, the least we can do as leaders is to lead by example. So I was disappointed that she would keep that amount of money in the household. It is important that as political leaders, we should have the political will to do the right thing for our country,” he stated.

However, Mr. Agyepong noted that he would refrain from making judgments about the former minister as relevant state agencies are currently conducting investigations into the origin of the money.

“I’m not prepared to pass judgment on her. Like others are doing, not at all. It is not my duty now. The state has agencies that have to look out for how she came by that money.”

The police have amended the charge sheet against the seven accused persons who are standing trial for the theft case.

They are Patience Botwe, 18, hairdresser; Sarah Agyei, 30, unemployed; Benjamin Sowah, 29, plumber; Malik Dauda, 34, unemployed; Christiana Achab, a trader; Job Pomary, a mechanic; and Yahaya Sumaila, an excavator operator. They are facing 14 counts of conspiracy, stealing, and dishonestly receiving.

They are alleged to have stolen $1 million, €300,000 and millions of Ghana cedis from the former minister’s residence at Abelemkpe in Accra between July and October 2022.

Sarah Agyei and Christiana Achab, who are said to be nursing mothers, have been granted bail of GH¢1 million each with three sureties. The sureties are required to deposit their Ghana Cards with the court registrar and not travel outside the jurisdiction. The rest of the accused persons have been remanded in custody pending further investigations.

The prosecution has indicated that the Attorney General’s office will take over the case after full investigations are concluded. The defence lawyers have argued that their clients are innocent until proven guilty. The court has also asked the lawyers of the accused mothers to provide proof of their claim and shown a six-month-old baby who is under the care of a caregiver.

The eighth accused person, Franklin Sarakpo, is still on the run. The father of Patience Botwe, Kweku Botwe, who was among the five persons initially arraigned, has been discharged following the Attorney General’s advice on the case.

The case has been adjourned to August 22, 2023 by Her Honour Afia Owusuaa Appiah.