A former Ghanaian Sanitation Minister, Cecilia Abena Dapaah,
who resigned over the weekend after her houseworkers allegedly stole more than
$1 million in cash from her home, has been arrested for suspected corruption, a
special prosecutor said on Monday.
Dapaah has denied any crimes, but the case drew criticism
from Ghana’s opposition, which questioned why a minister had such large amounts
of cash in her house.
Special prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng said Dapaah was placed
under arrest on Monday “in respect of suspected corruption and
corruption-related offences regarding large amounts of money.”
Ghana’s special prosecutor’s office deals with cases of corruption involving public officials, judges or senior political party members.
The arrest came as President Nana Akufo-Addo’s government
deals with the country’s worst economic crisis in years, which has pushed Ghana
to seek a $3 billion loan from the IMF.
Akufo-Addo’s ruling NPP party is preparing for primaries
later this year to choose its candidate to run in next year’s election.
In her statement on Saturday, Dapaah handed in her
resignation, saying she did not want to be a “hindrance” to the government, but
rejected reports of such large amounts of cash at the family home.
“I am resigning therefore because I do not want this matter
to become a preoccupation of government and a hindrance to the work of
government,” Dapaah said.
According to court documents, the two domestic workers face
charges of stealing $1 million, 300,000 euros and millions of local Ghanaian
cedis, as well as clothing. from a bedroom last year.
Akufo-Addo on Sunday accepted the resignation and applauded
the former minister for her loyalty and “devotion”, his spokesman said.
But former Ghanaian leader John Dramani Mahama, who is the
opposition NDC candidate for the 2024 election, described the incident as
“scandalous”.
“$1m + €300k and millions of GHS in a Ghanaian Minister’s
home? Scandalous!! Even if genuinely acquired, why keep millions of hard
currencies at home?” He wrote on his Twitter account.
“Will Akufo-Addo ever set a good example for public office
holders in his administration?”
A good governance advocate, Baffour Agyeman-Duah, has called
on the ombudsman to probe the case.
“A lot is going through people’s minds,” he told AFP. “It
involves a high-ranking public official so the Office of the Special Prosecutor
must take it up just to clear any doubts.”
AFP
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