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Former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Dapaah, has made her first court appearance in her ongoing criminal trial, alleging that her domestic workers stole significant sums of money and valuable items from her residence over an extended period.
Testifying before the High Court in Accra, Dapaah disclosed that the accused individuals took $410,000, €300,000, and GHS 350,000 (approximately $30,000) in cash, along with jewellery valued at $53,000.
Dapaah, visibly distressed by the losses, emphasised that the stolen items had been accumulated over three decades and held immense personal significance.
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This marks her first testimony since the trial began in 2023.
She accused two former female housekeepers of orchestrating the theft, which also included her husband’s clothing and other valuables from their Accra home.
Four accused in Cecilia Dapaah theft case seek plea bargain
In a related development, four out of the seven individuals accused of stealing from Dapaah have submitted a plea-bargaining request to the Attorney General.
Patience Botwe (a hairdresser), Sarah Agyei (unemployed), Benjamin Sowah (a plumber), and Malik Dauda (unemployed) informed the court of their application for a plea bargain. Yahaya Sumaila, an excavator operator, is also among the applicants.
However, the prosecution noted that they had not yet been served with the plea-bargaining application.
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Presiding judge Marie Louise Simmons directed the defence lawyers to provide the necessary documents to the prosecution.
Meanwhile, lawyers for the fifth and sixth accused, Christiana Achab and Job Pomary, requested their clients’ discharge after Dapaah confirmed during cross-examination that she did not know them.
During her testimony, Dapaah provided detailed accounts of the stolen items, stating:
I realised that a substantial number of my valuable clothes (sewn and unsewn), kente cloths, dresses, skirt suits, blouses, handbags, lace fabrics, and perfumes were all missing.
We also found out that huge sums of money had been stolen from our storeroom. This included an amount of $210,000, which belonged to my deceased brother, Nana Akwasi Essan II, alias Charles Dapaah.
The $210,000 was part of an amount of $800,000 that my elder brother, Henry Osei Kwabena, brought to me upon the instructions of our mother for safekeeping after Nana Akwasi Essan II’s demise
Other sums allegedly stolen from the storeroom include:
$200,000 belonging to Dorcas Wiredua, a client and relative of her husband.
£300,000 belonging to her husband.
GHS 300,000, contributions made by her siblings and herself towards the final funeral rites of their late mother, Nana Ode Nyarko II.
GHS 50,000, her personal money.
Dapaah further revealed that jewellery valued at $95,000 was also stolen.
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She detailed the jewellery as follows:
Eleven (11) sets of earrings and pendants costing $3,000 each, totalling $33,000.
Four gold bangles costing $3,500 each, totalling $14,000.
Fifteen (15) gold earring sets were purchased at $1,000 each, totalling $15,000.
Diamond-set earrings, pendants, and a bangle were bought for $9,500.
Twelve (12) chains costing $2,000 each, totalling $24,000.