Lawyers for one of the individuals accused in the ongoing criminal trial involving the former Sanitation Minister’s domestic workers have strongly suggested to Madam Cecilia Dapaah that the jewelry she reported stolen to the police actually belonged to the wife of Otumfuor Osei Tutu I. They claim that this jewelry has been returned to the Manhyia Palace following intense pressure from the community of Pankronu. On March 12th, Madam Cecilia Dapaah testified in court that her personal jewelry, which includes diamond and gold pieces, was among the valuable items stolen from her storage room at her residence in Abelenkpe in 2023.
In court on Monday, Augustine Gyamfi who is lawyer for the second accused person Sarah Adjei, suggested to the former minister that her late brother, who she had admitted in court was a sub chief (Numoa hene) in the Ashanti kingdom’s chieftaincy setup, unduly held on to the jewelry and passsed it on to her when he died. On her first day of testimony, the former Sanitation minister told the court that some of the valuables stolen from her storage room by her former housekeepers are pieces of jewelry she had kept for thirty-five years.
In answering the question, Madam Cecilia Dapaah described the claim by the lawyer as “news”. “My Lord, this has never happened; this is news to me. This is history to me”. She told the court. She also told the court that she does not have CCTV cameras at her residence.
When JoyNews Legal Affairs Correspondent approached the former minister for comments about the suggestions of the lawyer for the 2nd accused person, Madam Cecilia after initial hesitation, said “I answered it in court ” and then walked away with her husband.
By: Latif Iddrisu
