By: Ashiadey Dotse
Director of Research, Strategy and Communication at the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), Samuel Darko, says the lack of an unexplained wealth order in Ghana slowed down the investigation into former Sanitation Minister Cecilia Dapaah’s case.
Cecilia Dapaah, a former Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, became the subject of a high-profile investigation in 2023 after large sums of money were discovered in her home following a theft incident reported by her domestic staff. The discovery raised public questions about the source of the funds, leading to inquiries by state agencies.
He made the comment during an X Space conversation on Sunday, November 23, 2025, stressing that such a law would have allowed the OSP to act faster and more effectively.
Mr. Darko explained that Ghana is one of only about 10 countries out of 195 that do not have an unexplained wealth order, a key anti-corruption tool used globally. According to him, the absence of this law makes Ghana “far behind” in the fight against corruption.
He stated that an unexplained wealth order would have given the OSP the legal backing to require Madam Dapaah to prove the source of the large sums of money discovered in her home. “If a person’s lawful income does not match their assets, the burden should shift to them to explain how they acquired the wealth,” he said.
Mr. Darko revealed that the OSP has repeatedly recommended the introduction of this law since the office was established, but Ghana still does not have it. He noted that the new government has also been urged to prioritise its passage to speed up corruption-related investigations.
Due to the absence of the unexplained wealth order, the OSP considered money laundering as the next possible offense in the Cecilia Dapaah case. However, the OSP cannot prosecute money laundering on its own unless it is tied to a corruption charge. This meant the docket had to be referred to the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), which has the direct mandate to handle money laundering cases.
Mr. Darko recalled that under the previous administration, the Attorney-General instructed EOCO not to proceed because there was “no predicate offense.” He disagreed with that position, explaining that money laundering does not always require a predicate offense, and several possible offenses had already been identified in the docket.
With the change of government, the new EOCO leadership requested the docket, and the OSP has since forwarded it to them. “The docket has been with EOCO for about five or six months now,” he said, adding that any further update on the Cecilia Dapaah matter would come from EOCO.
