Accra-based Lawyer casts doubt on OSP’s competence

Private legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu, has said his confidence in the work of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) under Kissi Agyebeng, is beginning to shake due to how he is handling the issues involving the former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah.

This was after Mr Agyebeng, failed to provide the evidence to the court after filing an application to freeze the bank accounts of Madam Dapaah.

The Financial Division of the Accra High Court, had ordered the OSP to return the seized property of Ms. Dapaah within seven days.

The Court said there was no justifiable basis for the seizure of the property, as the OSP entered the act wrongly. The Court also found the OSP, as having no reasonable grounds to freeze the bank accounts of the former Bantama Member of Parliament (MP).

It said the action by the OSP was borne out of speculation and reaction to public sentiments, thus undertaking poor investigations subsequently. The ruling was given on Thursday, August 31.

The OSP, had sought confirmation from the High Court to freeze accounts of Abena Dapaah at Prudential Bank and Societe Generale Ghana in accordance with section 38(1) of Act 959 and regulation 19(1) of LI2374. The confirmation was required, according to the OSP, to facilitate investigations.’ It had indicated in its motion that a search at the Abelemkpe residence of the former Sanitation Minister found $590,000 and GH¢2.73 million in the house.

It, then, put her under house arrest, believing that there was reasonable grounds to suspect her of corruption and corruption-related activities. But the entire application has been rejected by the court.

Asked whether he was surprised by the ruling of the court while speaking on the Ghana Tonight show on TV3 on Thursday, August 31, Mr Martin Kpebu said “A bit surprising but not too much. I expected that between the two applications, on the seizure that is the 590,000 and the 2.7 million that was found in Madam Dapaah’s house, I expected the judge to be able to scale the procedural lapses of the OSP and to confirm the seizure so that those assets would remain seized while investigations go on.

“As for the freezing of the account, the judge is spot on, the OSP, didn’t expect to get the order when the details of the account have not been provided, how much was involved.

“Those are the accounts one is said to have transaction volumes up to 5 million Dollars and the other one has transaction volumes up to 48 million Cedis. What was Mr Kissi Agyebeng thinking that the judge should grant him an order on the accounts when he has not given the details? How?

“That is the crown jewel of the case, the most crucial evidence that we have heard is that there are transaction volumes of up to 5 million Dollars in one account and transaction volumes of up to 48 million Ghana Cedis.”

He added “Mr Agyebneg is making the whole thing look like it is true that this thing is staged. This is basic, it is elementary, you want a court to freeze an account and you are hiding the bank statement or the information. How? He shouldn’t be doing doing that. I have been supporting him 150 percent but this thing is beginning to shake my confidence in his work.

“This is basic, even robots would expect some information to be able to act. It is what you put in, this is garbage in garbage out, he should not do that again for us to believe those theories that this thing is just staged. How can you go to court without the evidence?”