- The Office of Special Prosecutor’s request to have the assets and bank accounts of the former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources frozen was denied by the High Court in Accra. Elizabeth Cecilia Dapaah.
- The Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 Act 959 was violated by the Office of the Special Prosecutor by filing the application beyond the deadline, the court presided over by Justice Edward Twum ruled today (Aug. 31, 2023).
- Additionally, the OSP failed to persuade the court that the allegedly tainted properties were utilized in connection with a crime since, in the opinion of the court, it was unclear who really owned the claimed tainted property discovered in Cecilia Dapaah’s home.
- “How did he (OSP) come to the conclusion that the property is tainted if he (OSP) is unsure of ownership?” The judge in charge questioned.
- “Ownership and possession are not the same,” Justice Twum said, adding that the application was premature because the OSP had not shown the validity of the suspicion.
- It also stated that the OSP’s use of the Act 959’s seizure authority lacked any justification.
- Therefore, the former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources must receive the confiscated assets back from the OSP within seven days starting today (August 31), according to the court’s ruling.
- “The application is based on public sentiments and not on any justifiable legal basis,” Justice Twum remarked.
- The Office of Special Prosecutor’s request to have the assets and bank accounts of the former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources frozen was denied by the High Court in Accra. Elizabeth Cecilia Dapaah.
- The Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 Act 959 was violated by the Office of the Special Prosecutor by filing the application beyond the deadline, the court presided over by Justice Edward Twum ruled today (Aug. 31, 2023).
- Additionally, the OSP failed to persuade the court that the allegedly tainted properties were utilized in connection with a crime since, in the opinion of the court, it was unclear who really owned the claimed tainted property discovered in Cecilia Dapaah’s home.
- “How did he (OSP) come to the conclusion that the property is tainted if he (OSP) is unsure of ownership?” The judge in charge questioned.
- “Ownership and possession are not the same,” Justice Twum said, adding that the application was premature because the OSP had not shown the validity of the suspicion.
- It also stated that the OSP’s use of the Act 959’s seizure authority lacked any justification.
- Therefore, the former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources must receive the confiscated assets back from the OSP within seven days starting today (August 31), according to the court’s ruling.
- “The application is based on public sentiments and not on any justifiable legal basis,” Justice Twum remarked.
