Two domestic helpers of Cecilia Abena Dapaah and her husband, Daniel Osei Kuffour, are accused of stealing money and other valuables worth millions of Ghana Cedis and are being prosecuted in an Accra Circuit Court.
The couple’s chamber in their home in Abelemkpe, an Accra suburb, is where the allegedly stolen funds were found.
Between July and October 2022, Patience Botwe, 18, and Sarah Agyei, 30, are accused of stealing the couple’s money and personal belongings.
The first defendant, (A1) Patience, is being brought before the same court alongside her father, as well as her present and former partners.
Patience and Sarah (A2) are accused of stealing US$1 million, €300,000, and millions of Ghana cedis, as well as conspiring to commit a crime on one count.
Over $1 million allegedly stolen from Cecilia Dapaah’s house
During the same time frame, Patience and Sarah are accused of stealing Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah’s personal belongings, which included a variety of garments worth GH95,000, purses, and perfumes.
The remaining items are jewellery worth $95,000 from Cecilia Abena Dapaah.
However, Patience by herself took six pieces of Kente cloth costing GH90,000 and six sets of men’s clothes worth US$3,000 over the same time period. These items belonged to the minister’s husband.
Benjamin (A3), a 29-year-old plumber; Kweku Botwe (A4), a 65-year-old businessman; and Malik Dauda (A5), a 23-year-old unemployed man, have all been accused of defrauding the government of GH1 million and GH180,000, respectively.
The money indicated was taken from a bedroom that Cecilia Abena Dapaah shares with her husband, as was previously established, and is all property of Cecilia Abena Dapaah and her husband.
On Thursday, July 20, 2023, Susana Ekuful, the judge of an Accra Circuit Court, heard the arraignment of all five accused people.
Although their pleas have not yet been heard, Sarah has been granted bail in the amount of GH1,000,000 with two sureties. The sureties are required to leave their Ghana ID cards with the court’s registrar.
As she was acting as a relief judge, Her Honor Susana Ekuful added that the bail condition is subject to reconsideration by the substantive judge.
Patience had been remanded into legal custody along with her purported lovers and father.
Because Sarah is a breastfeeding mother, bail was granted.
Brief Facts
Patience, also known as Maabena, was a housekeeper for the complainants, Daniel Osei Kuffour and his wife, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, according to the amended charge sheet and summary of facts provided to the court.
Sarah was also a previous housekeeper for the complainants; this was further disclosed to the court. According to information provided to Her Honour Susana Ekuful, the complainants reported the incident to the police sometime in June of this year after discovering the theft of money and other personal belongings.
Prior to the complaint, Patience was discovered using a duplicate key to open and enter the couple’s room.
Mr. Kuffour, who had just returned from town, discovered that A1 had been caught after hearing an odd noise emanating from their bedroom and discovering that it had been opened.
As soon as Mr. Kuffour, the first complainant, entered the space, he discovered Al cowering behind the door.
The complainants discovered that some of their belongings were missing following this occurrence.
Despite being detained and granted police inquiry bail, A1 went into hiding with her lover, Benjamin, in Tamale after being arrested.
The couple is said to have spent GH 105,600 renting a three-bedroom apartment in Tamale and GH 120,000 renting a business.
After receiving information, the police detained her, and a search of their flat resulted in the recovery of US$40,000 and GH 72,619.70.
According to reports, Patience paid US$70,000 for a three-bedroom home in Amrahia and furnished it with brand-new equipment like a chest cooler, double-decker refrigerator, water dispenser, television, and washing machine.
She also spent GH80,000 on a Hyundai Elantra for Benjamin, who later sold it to buy a Honda Civic.
A1 also paid her father GH50,000 and her ex-boyfriend Malik GH1 million. A1 accused Sarah of being her accomplice during questioning, according to testimony given in court.
As a result, when they were cooperating in the complainants’ home, Al would stand watch at the front gate to let Sarah sneak into the couple’s room to steal, and then they would split the loot.
When Sarah was detained in Budumburam, it was discovered through an investigation that she had built a three-bedroom home there with her share of the stolen funds.