Former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu has criticised his former office over its handling of the de-freezing of five bank accounts linked to former Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecelia Dapaah.
He accused the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) of deceiving the public with its supposed investigation of the source of wealth of the former sanitation minister.
Martin Amidu, a former Minister of Justice and Attorney General, in a statement copied to GhanaWeb, could not understand why the OSP unfroze some bank accounts of Cecilia Dapaah and announced the move to the public.
According to him, the right way was for the OSP to state the reasons for revoking the freezing order and not just making the announcement.
“Kissi Agyebeng is running away with his tail between his legs from the adversarial process of the High Court even in matters which are subjudice. The proper forum for a competent and an experienced Special Prosecutor to state why the five (5) bank accounts should be de-frozen when the matter is already in court, is before the High Court and not in the media to con the unsuspecting public,” he stated.
Martin Amidu suggested that the lawyers of Cecilia Dapaah should address what he describes as the abuse of the court process by the Special Prosecutor in an open court.
“Cecilia Abena Dapaah’s lawyers should pursue the abuse of the process of the court entailed in the Special Prosecutor’s conduct to hold him accountable in open court after the petition has been dealt with by the Chief Justice’s directives and the substantive case filed on September, 11, 2023, comes on for hearing,” he stated.
Martin Amidu added “the issue of whether the frozen bank accounts should or should not be de-frozen has also become subjudice before the High Court. The proper procedure for the Special Prosecutor to have followed to have the five (5) bank accounts de-frozen at this stage of the proceedings was to apply to the court to order the de-freezing of those five (5) bank accounts and to order the hearing on the remaining bank accounts to continue.”
The former Special Prosecutor further cautioned the OSP against working in the office just as he did when he was the counsel for the anti-corruption entrepreneurial Tiger Eye PI.
“Kissi Agyebeng needs to be reminded that the public Office of Special Prosecutor is not akin to his former status as counsel for the anti-corruption entrepreneurial Tiger Eye PI where no law governs its operations,” the statement added.
Background:
Cecilia Dapaah is currently under investigation by the OSP for corruption and corruption-related offences after two of her houses helps have been charged for stealing more than $1 million, €300,000 in cash and other valuable items from her residence at Abelemkpe.
The OSP for a second time froze the accounts of the embattled former minister effective September 5, 2023, after an Accra High Court directed the office to unfreeze the accounts and investment of the former minister, Cecilia Dapaah and return her seized monies, after an initial freeze order.
GhanaWeb, on August 9, 2023, reported that the embattled former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Dapaah’s assets and bank accounts containing millions of dollars and cedis had been frozen by the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
On October 16, 2023, the OSP revoked the freez order on 5 of the bank accounts belonging to Cecilia Dapaah.
The office indicated that although it has released 5 of the bank accounts, the freezing order is still in force and effect in respect of the other bank accounts and financial assets of the embattled former minister.
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