The Court of Appeal has unanimously overturned the conviction and 10-year prison sentence imposed on former Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) Chief Executive Officer, Sedina Tamakloe Attionu, acquitting and discharging her of all charges.
A three-member panel comprising Justice Emmanuel Ankamah, Justice Emmanuel Senyo Amedahe, and Justice Samuel Obeng-Diawuo ruled that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
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Delivering its judgment on Thursday, the appellate court criticised the trial court’s approach, stating that it had lost sight of the constitutional principle that every accused person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The court also found that the prosecution’s evidence fell short of the legal standard required to sustain the convictions.
The court said its detailed reasons, contained in a 94-page judgment, would be released later in the day.
Sedina Tamakloe was convicted by the High Court in April 2024 after a trial that began in January 2019. She had faced 78 charges, including stealing, conspiracy to steal, wilfully causing financial loss to the state, causing loss to public property, improper payment of public funds, unauthorised commitment, and money laundering.
The prosecution, led by then Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame and based largely on investigations by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), alleged that she misappropriated public funds through various MASLOC programmes, including the diversion of a GH¢500,000 loan, misuse of sensitisation funds, relief funds for victims of the Kantamanto Market fire, and inflated procurement of vehicles and mobile phones.
After hearing evidence from seven prosecution witnesses, the High Court convicted and sentenced her. However, the Court of Appeal has now set aside that judgment, bringing the case to a close with an order acquitting and discharging the former MASLOC CEO.
