Former Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) Chief Executive Officer Sedina Tamakloe Attionu has been acquitted and discharged after the Court of Appeal unanimously overturned her conviction and 10-year custodial sentence, ruling that the prosecution failed to establish its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The decision, delivered on Thursday by a three-member panel made up of Justices Emmanuel Ankamah, Emmanuel Senyo Amedahe and Samuel Obeng-Diawuo, reverses a High Court judgment that had found her guilty on dozens of corruption-related charges stemming from her tenure at the state agency.
Appeal court faults trial process
In its ruling, the Court of Appeal took issue with the manner in which the trial had been conducted, stating that the High Court lost sight of a basic constitutional safeguard.
According to the appellate court, every accused person is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and the prosecution bears the burden of proving every allegation beyond reasonable doubt. The judges concluded that the evidence presented during the trial did not satisfy that legal threshold.
The panel also criticised aspects of the prosecution's handling of the case, saying the evidence relied upon was insufficient to sustain the convictions. The court indicated that its full reasoning would be contained in a 94-page judgment expected to be released before the close of business on Thursday.
Conviction overturned
Sedina Tamakloe was convicted in April 2024 after a trial that began in January 2019. She received a 10-year prison sentence after the High Court found her guilty on multiple charges linked to the management of public funds at MASLOC.
She had faced 78 counts, 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 supported by investigations conducted by the Economic and Organised Crime Office, alleged that public funds had been diverted through several MASLOC programmes.
Among the allegations were the alleged diversion of a GH¢500,000 loan intended for Obaatanpa Microfinance after the institution declined the facility, the misuse of funds allocated for MASLOC sensitisation campaigns, the diversion of relief funds for victims of the Kantamanto Market fire and inflated procurement involving vehicles and mobile phones.
Prosecution evidence rejected
During the trial, prosecutors called seven witnesses and relied heavily on a forensic audit report to support the charges against the former MASLOC boss.
The Court of Appeal, however, found that the prosecution's evidence fell short of the standard required for a criminal conviction. That finding ultimately led the court to set aside the judgment delivered by Justice Afia Serwaa Asare Botwe at the High Court.
The ruling brings an end to one of Ghana's closely watched public sector corruption cases, at least at the appellate level, with Sedina Tamakloe now formally acquitted and discharged of all charges.
The court's detailed written judgment is expected to provide fuller legal grounds for the unanimous decision.
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