Lawyer Martin Kpebu has publicly voiced his disappointment following a decision by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to drop the criminal trial against former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Dapaah.
The OSP, led by Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng, announced at a press conference it would discontinue its case against Dapaah and her associates.
This decision was made after realizing the case was outside the OSP’s jurisdiction, and a lack of direct evidence of corruption was found in the seized funds and frozen bank accounts linked to Ms Dapaah.
Despite his disappointment, Kpebu acknowledged that the decision was legally mandated.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, Martin Kpebu expressed his sentiments: “It’s quite sad. It’s sad, but that’s the state of the law.”
He further noted that while initial developments in the investigation were promising, it soon became evident that substantial progress was unlikely.
The lawyer, however, stressed the positive impacts of the OSP’s efforts, stating, “But thank God, you know even though initially I was excited, but you know, as the weeks went on, it became clear that we were not getting any headway in terms of who brought the money.”
He emphasized the importance of the case in holding the government accountable and stirring public discourse: “But I am still excited that the fact that we found hardcore evidence has allowed us to bash this government and hold them accountable.”
The investigation, which spanned nearly seven months, included a concurrent inquiry by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States.
Despite the lack of conclusive evidence of corruption, Martin Kpebu believes the case still serves a critical purpose in Ghana’s governance discourse.
