State Prosecutors have earlier on Tuesday January 16 filed “relevant documents and witness statements” in the case in which two house maids of former Sanitation Minister Cecilia Abena Dapaah are standing trial for stealing.
Patience Botwe, 18, and Sarah Agyei, 30, together with five others have been charged with some 31 counts for their respective roles in the alleged offence.
Justice Marie-Louise Simmons, had on December 13, last year, granted State Prosecutors one last opportunity to file their disclosures and witness statements before today’s Court session.
The rest are – Benjamin Sowah, Malik Dauda, Christiana Achab, Job Pomary and Yahaya Sumaila have pleaded not guilty to the various charges pressed against them – ranging from Conspiracy to steal, stealing, dishonestly receiving and money laundering.
However, despite being admitted to bail, they are still in lawful custody because they have not yet satisfied their respective bail conditions.
In Court on Tuesday, January 16, 2024, Prosecutions led by Akosua Agyepomaa Agyemang, an Assistant State Attorney, filed the processes on Tuesday.
“We have filed the relevant documents and witness statements we intend to rely on for the trial today, (Tuesday January 16)” the Assistant State Attorney told the Court.
While apologizing to the Court for not filing them earlier as directed by the Court before today’s court sitting, she said it was filed today due to certain challenges of getting their witnesses.
The Prosecution’s quest to have the accused persons remanded into Prisons custody was opposed by the defence lawyers.
It was the case of the defence that they will need the accused persons’ closure to the court to enable them to satisfy their bail conditions with the Court.
Justice Marie-Louise Simmons, the trial judge at the Criminal Division (2) of the High Court in Accra after listening to the parties, adjourned the case to February 6, 2024 for Case Management Conference.
EIB Network’s Legal Affairs Correspondent, Murtala Inusah, reports that all the accused persons were present while Daniel Osei Kuffuor
Background
On November 10, the two former House maids of Ex-Sanitation Minister Cecila Abena Dapaah, Patience Botwe and Sarah Agyei together with five others were granted bail in a combined sums of GHc5, 250,000 with two sureties each to be justified with landed properties.
Botwe, 18, and the other accused persons have all pleaded not guilty to 31 counts when they made their first appearance at the High Court on November 10.
As part of their bail conditions, the Court said one of the sureties each must be a resident in the Greater Accra Region and “should be gainfully employed.”
Justice Marie-Louise Simmons, the trial judge presiding over the Criminal Court ‘2’ of the High Court in Accra, also said, “the resident of the sureties and accused must be inspected and known to the case Investigator who is required to look for them when they run away.”
Justice Simmons also directed that, each sureties is to provide a copy of their Ghana Card to the Registrar whilst the Police Investigator is to take photographs of all the accused persons portraying their facials and make three copies.
Justice Simmons said, each of the copies should be placed on the bail bond on the Registrar’s documents, the court files and a copy retained by the Police.
The Court also said, the Registrar is to forward a copy of the bail bond to the court while the cost of taking the pictures should be borne by the sureties.
Botwe, 18, and Agyei, 30, together with Benjamin Sowah, Malik Dauda, Christiana Achab, Job Pomary and Yahaya Sumaila have all denied the various charges pressed against them – ranging from Conspiracy to steal, stealing, dishonestly receiving and money laundering.
They are before the Court in connection with the stolen funds and some properties worth millions of Ghana cedis.
On Friday, November 10, 2023, Justice Simmons had then directed the Prosecution led by Akosua Agyepomaa Agyemang, an Assistant State Attorney, to file disclosures and witness statements and have served on the accused and their lawyers by December 8.
The accused persons are represented by lawyers Augustine Gyemfi, Yaw Dankwah and Adams Abdul Basit.
According to EIB Network’s Legal Affairs Correspondent, Daniel Osei Kuffuor, the husband of Madam Cecilia Dapaah, one of the Complainants, was present in Court.
New charges
On November 8, a charged sheet was filed at the High Court which proffered some 31 counts, eight more than the 14 that were on the amended charged sheet which was withdrawn on Wednesday, November 8, at the Circuit Court.
The 31 new counts comprised of five counts of conspiracy, six counts of stealing, nine counts of dishonestly receiving and 11 counts of money laundering.
Patience Botwe, 18, and seven others have been charged for allegedly stealing various sums of money including $1 million, 300, 000 euros and other properties.
They were since July 6, this year, been put before the Circuit Court but that has been withdrawn and fresh charges proferred against them at the High court.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/Murtala Inusah
