Comparing Sammy Gyamfi’s dollar gift to Cecilia Dapaah’s stashed cash dead on arrival — NPP’s Owusu Bempah

A Deputy National Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Ernest Kofi Owusu Bempah, says it is unthinkable to compare the mere dollar gift from Acting GoldBod CEO Sammy Gyamfi to Agradaa with the stashed cash scandal involving former Sanitation Minister Cecilia Dapaah.

Cecilia Dapaah reported to the police in 2023 that $1 million, 300,000 euros, and 350,000 Ghana cedis in cash, along with personal items including handbags worth $35,000 and jewellery valued at $95,000, where stolen by her domestic workers from her home.

The case triggered public outrage and led to her resignation, followed by investigations and prosecution by the Office of the Special Prosecutor.

With Sammy Gyamfi, a viral video captured him handing over an undisclosed amount of money to a former fetish priestess turned evangelist, Nana Agradaa.

The video drew widespread backlash — including his own party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), where he serves as National Communications Officer.

The criticism prompted Gyamfi to issue an unqualified apology on Sunday, May 11, describing the gesture as “unfortunate” and “regrettable.”

Speaking on Accra-based NET2 TV on Monday, May 12, Owusu Bempah argued that comparing the two incidents is misplaced.

“It’s wrong to compare Cecilia Dapaah’s case with Sammy Gyamfi. That’s like comparing apples and mangoes. Cecilia Dapaah was a minister who had large sums of money stashed under her bed and reported some of it stolen to the police. There was concrete evidence in that case, which even got the Special Prosecutor involved,” he said.

He further claimed that Sammy Gyamfi has long been financially stable, even while in opposition.

“Even when we were in government, Hopeson Adorye and I flew economy while Sammy Gyamfi, though in opposition, flew business class. We once travelled with him to the United Nations General Assembly. He’s a lawyer by profession and earns his own money,” he stated.