Court Adjourns Hearing of Case Over lateness of both Prosecution And Defense Lawyers

The case involving seven persons who are being accused of alledgedly stealing money at the residence of former Sanitation and Water Resources Minister, Cecilia Dapaah, has been adjourned for one month. It was scheduled for case management conference on Tuesday morning, however, the presiding judge of the Criminal Division of the High Court in Accra, Justice Marie-Louise Simmons, was forced to recess the matter, after, both the prosecutions and defense lawyers, were late to Court.

When the case was called for hearing, on Tuesday morning, Justice Marie-Louise Simmons said, she was minded to go ahead with the business for the day, which was to have a case management conference based on disclosures filed by the Prosecution, but the prosecution was late to court and so the Judge, had to adjourn. Meanwhile, one of the defence lawyers Adam Abdul-Basit, who was also late to court, informed the court that although they have fulfilled their part of the bail considerations and same has been cleared by the registrar, the investigator, in the case, said one of the sureties is a known bail contractor hence they will not have an inspection of his property. Justice Simmons said the court will deal with the issue at the next adjourned date. Akosua Agyapomaa Agyemang, a Senior State Attorney for the Prosecution, then arrived after the case was adjourned. The first and second accused persons, are 18-year-old Patience Botwe and 30-year-old Sarah Agyei. They have been charged with conspiracy to commit a crime and five counts of stealing.The facts of the matter as contained in an amended charge sheet presented in court, are that Ms. Botwe, also known as Maabena, was a house help of the complainants, Daniel Osei Kuffour and his wife, Cecilia Abena Dapaah.The court heard that Ms. Agyei was also a former house help of the complainants. The complainants reported the case to the police in June 2023, after detecting the theft of cash and their personal effects. Ms. Botwe was caught entering the complainants room with a duplicate key. Upon entering the room, Mr. Kuffour found Ms. Botwe hiding behind the door. After the incident, the complainants realized that some of their properties were missing. Ms. Botwe, was arrested and released on police enquiry bail but went into hiding with her boyfriend, Benjamin, in Tamale. While in Tamale, they allegedly rented a 3-bedroom apartment and a store. Upon intelligence, the police arrested Ms. Botwe, leading to the retrieval of US$40,000 and GH¢72,619.70 from their apartment. Ms. Botwe allegedly used the stolen money to buy a 3-bedroom house, a double-decker refrigerator, a water dispenser, a television set, a washing machine, and a chest cooler, among other items. She also bought a Hyundai Elantra for Benjamin, who later sold it to purchase a Honda Civic. Ms. Botwe also gave her father GH¢50,000 and GH¢1 million to her ex-boyfriend, Malik. During interrogation, Ms. Botwe implicated Sarah Agyei as her accomplice. The case has been adjourned to March 8, 2024.