A member of the communications team of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Alfred Thompson, has said the former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources should not be tried in the court of public opinion.
He stated that it is extremely dangerous to try an accused in a court of public opinion, because the facts may end up exonerating the person in the proper court system.
“We shouldn’t try the woman in the court of public opinion,” he said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, January 20.
He was reacting to comments by a co-panelist whose remarks on the issue, he found judgmental.
A Governance Expert Professor Enoch Antwi had said, “I think the Special Prosecutor is frustrated, that is why he wants to wash his hands off. Anywhere he turns there is a block and he is not moving.”
The topic for discussion was the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s (OSP) statement that its investigations so far indicate that the case borders on money laundering, which is outside its mandate.
The OSP had said it would, in due course, issue directives regarding the way forward on the Cecilia Dapaah case.
“The investigation shows that the case is largely in the province of suspected money laundering and structuring. By operation of law, there are other law enforcement agencies which are reposed with a direct mandate in respect of money laundering and structuring. On that score, the Special Prosecutor will issue directives and further action on the matter in due course,” portions of the second half-year report of the OSP dated December 29, 2023 read.
It would be recalled that in July 2023, the Office commenced investigation in respect of suspected corruption and corruption-related offences regarding large amounts of money (mainly in foreign denominations) and other valuable items involving Ms. Cecilia Abena Dapaah, a former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources and her spouse, Mr. Daniel Osei-Kufour.
The investigation was largely aimed at determining the source(s) of the large cash sums. The Office took several steps including freezing Ms. Dapaah’s bank accounts and investments and seizing large sums from the residence of Ms. Dapaah and her spouse.
Upon the refusal by the High Court to confirm the freezing and seizure orders, the Office re-seized the cash sums and re-froze the bank accounts and investments and applied to the court again for confirmation in FT0074/2023 The Special Prosecutor v. Cecilia Abena Dapaah & Daniel Osei-Kufour.
From October 2023, the investigation became cross-border and transboundary upon the claim by the persons of interest that part of the seized cash sums was transported into the jurisdiction from the United States.
For that reason, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States became involved in a collaborative investigative work with the OSP on the matter. In October 2023, the Special Prosecutor revoked the freezing order in respect of five (5) bank accounts of Ms. Dapaah, which were eliminated from the focus of the investigation as no longer suspected to be tainted property.