News · Michael Teye Amartey
Attorney-General to appeal Sedina Tamakloe acquital at Supreme Court
The Attorney-General has announced plans to challenge the Court of Appeal’s decision to acquit and discharge former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre, MASLOC, Sedina Tamakloe Attionu.
. In a statement issued yesterday, the Attorney-General said the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP has been instructed to immediately file a notice of appeal at the Supreme Court, together with an application for a stay of execution of the Court of Appeal’s judgment.
The Attorney-General’s Office indicated that it remains convinced that the appellate court’s decision should be overturned.
The statement added that the Republic opposed the appeal by filing written submissions, contending that the appeal lacked merit and ought to be dismissed.
The Attorney-General remains committed to the due process of law and is confident that the appeal before the Supreme Court will succeed.
The Court of Appeal earlier yesterday unanimously acquitted and discharged Ms. Tamakloe, overturning her conviction by the High Court on April 16, 2024.
She had been convicted in absentia on 78 counts, including conspiracy to steal, stealing, causing financial loss to the state, money laundering, and offences under the Public Procurement Act.
She was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment with hard labour. The three-member panel, made up of Justice Emmanuel Ankamah, Justice Emmanuel Senyo Amedahe and Justice Samuel Obeng-Diawuo, ruled that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The court also held that the trial judge failed to properly apply the constitutional principle that every accused person is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
. Speaking to the media after the ruling, Ms Tamakloe’s lawyer, Enoch Deegbe, said the Court of Appeal’s decision was largely based on flaws in the charge sheet used by the prosecution.
According to him, the defence challenged the conviction on three grounds, the defective charge sheet, the absence of a proper prima facie determination against his client, and errors in the trial judge’s decision.
He explained, however, that the Court of Appeal focused mainly on the issue of the defective charge sheet in reaching its verdict.
Meanwhile, Daniel Axim, Ms Tamakloe’s co-accused, remains on bail after the Supreme Court granted him bail in January this year pending the hearing of his appeal.
Mr Axim was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment and had served nearly two years before being granted bail. With the Attorney-General now taking the case to the Supreme Court, the outcome can also have implications for Mr Axim’s pending appeal.