Cecilia Dapaah saga: Court remands Patience Botwe, 5 others into Prison custody
The High Court in Accra has remanded Patience Botwe, one of the two former housemaids of former Sanitation Minister Cecilia Abena Dapaah and five others into prison custody.
This was after state prosecutors led by Akosua Agyepomaa Agyemang, a senior state attorney, prayed to the court for them to be committed into prison custody instead of police custody, where they have been since.
Despite being admitted to bail in a combined sum of GH₵5,250,000 with two sureties each to be justified with landed properties, the accused persons have still not been able to satisfy their bail conditions.
The latest developments mean that the accused persons will now be under the care of the prison authorities and not the police, as previously.
Though defence lawyers led by Nana Addo Asirifi opposed the request for the time being to enable the accused persons to execute their bail conditions, the court said once their bail bonds are certified, they can go home.
The order of the court, however, does not affect Sarah Agyei, the other housemaid who is said to be breastfeeding a nine-month-old baby.
The “Case adjourned to March 15,” the Court said, adding that, “the accused who have been granted bail but are still on remand are to be remanded into prison custody to be brought by the prison officers.”
Justice Marie-Louise Simmons whose Court also hosted some Senior High School students said “I will make the exception for 2nd accused (Sarah Botwe) who is said to be breastfeeding a baby,” to remain in Police cells.
The Court was expected to conduct a case management conference on Friday, March 8, but some of the defence lawyers say they have not been served with the prosecution’s latest process filed on February 2.
State prosecutors have also applied for an order to restrict the accused persons from disposing of properties in their custody.
Botwe, 18, and Agyei, 30, together with Benjamin Sowah, Malik Dauda, Christiana Achab, Job Pomary and Yahaya Sumaila, have pleaded not guilty to 31 counts, ranging from conspiracy to steal, stealing, dishonestly receiving and money laundering.
They are before the Court in connection with the stolen monies and properties worth millions of Ghana cedis from the home of the former Minister, Cecilia Abena Dapaah.
On November 8, a new charge sheet was filed at the High Court, which proffered some 31 counts—eight more than the 14 that were on the amended charge sheet, which was withdrawn on November 8—at the Circuit Court.
The 31 new counts comprised 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 300,000 euros and other properties.
They have, since July 6, 2023, been put before the Court.
Patience Botwe, 18, a hairdresser, together with Sarah Agyei, 30, unemployed, Benjamin Sowah, 29, a plumber, Malik Dauda, 34, unemployed, Christiana Achab, a trader, Job Pomary, a mechanic, and Yahaya Sumaila, an excavator operator, were on a provisional 14 counts of offences before it was withdrawn.