One more person has been admitted to bail in the case in which seven persons are standing trial for allegedly stealing sums of money from former Sanitation Minister Cecilia Abena Dapaah’s residence in Accra.
So far, three out of seven accused persons are on bail.
The Circuit Court presided over by Mrs Afia Owusua Appiah admitted Job Pomary, the sixth accused person, to bail in the sum of GHC300, 000 with three sureties to be justified.
The Court directed Pomary to deposit his passport with the Court’s Registry.
The remaining four accused persons have been remanded into Police custody by the court and are expected to reappear on September 5.
When sitting resumed on Tuesday, August 22, 2023 Counsel for Pomary drew the court’s attention to the bail application it had filed.
The prosecution, led by Akosua Agyapoma, an Assistant State Attorney, did not oppose the application for bail.
She said the State was earnestly working hard to conclude investigations and prayed for the court to grant them two weeks adjournment.
Lawyers of other accused persons, who wanted to make an oral application for bail, were directed by the court to do so by filing written bail applications.
The two accused persons, who were said to be lactating mothers, were granted bail of GHC1 million each with three sureties at the last sitting.
The two are Patience Botwe and Christiana Achab.
All the accused persons are facing eleven charges for allegedly stealing money and items from the residence of the former Minister.
The charges include six counts of stealing and five counts of dishonesty.
The court ordered the defence counsels for the two who were granted bail to provide documented evidence proving that they are lactating mothers.
Earlier the prosecution, led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Emmanuel Nyamekye, said that the facts and charge sheets had been amended.
Meanwhile, the Court has dismissed Kwaku Botwe, father of Patience Botwe, alias Maabena.
The prosecution said one other accused, Franklin Sarakpo, was at large.
DSP Nyamekye said the complainants in the case were Mr Daniel Osei Kufour and his wife Mrs Cecilia Abena Dapaah, who lived at Abelemkpe in Accra.
The prosecution said the first accused, Patience Botwe, was a house help of the complainants, and that the second accused, Sarah Agyei, was unemployed and a former house help of the complainants.
DSP Nyamekye said the third accused, Benjamin Sowah, was Patience Botwe’s boyfriend, and the fourth accused, Malik Dauda, was first accused’s former boyfriend and the fifth accused is Christiana Achab, a trader.
The Court heard that the sixth accused is Job Pomary, husband of fifth accused, the seventh accused, Yahaya Sumaila, an excavator operator, residing at Sagnarigu, in the Tamale Metropolis and eighth accused, Franklin Sarakpo, son of fifth accused, who is on the run.
DSP Nyamekye said the Police commenced investigations when in June 2023, the complainants reported theft of their cash and personal effects.
It said police investigations led to the arrest of the first and third accused persons at their hideouts in Tamale in the Northern Region.
DSP Nyamekye said when a search was conducted in the rooms of the accused, $40,000 and GHC7,619.70 were found.
The prosecution said further investigations revealed that in October last year, Mr Kufour returned from town and noticed that their bedroom had been opened and he heard an unusual noise in the house.
DSP Nyamekye said when he (complainant) entered the room, he found the first accused hiding behind the door of the storeroom holding duplicate keys to the master bedroom.
The Court heard that the complainants detected theft of money and personal belongings from the room.
DSP Nyamekye said the first accused told the police during interrogation that she gave $70,000 out of the stolen money to the fifth accused allegedly to buy a three-bedroom house at Amrahia for her, and also bought some brand-new items, which were retrieved from the house.
Source: GNA