Sedina Tamakloe's 10-year sentence has not started as argued — Dr. Justice Yankson

Legal practitioner Dr. Justice Dufu Yankson has dismissed arguments that former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu, has already served part of her 10-year prison sentence.

Ms. Tamakloe-Attionu was convicted in absentia by the Accra High Court in April 2024 on charges including causing financial loss to the state, stealing, money laundering and procurement-related offences.

She was extradited from the United States and returned to Ghana on June 9, 2026, to begin serving her sentence after losing a legal battle against her extradition.

Some legal observers have argued that because Section 315 of the Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) Act states that a sentence begins on the day it is pronounced, part of her prison term may already have elapsed.

Speaking on Accra-based JoyNews' Newsfile programme on Saturday, June 13, Dr. Yankson rejected that interpretation, noting that a prison sentence cannot be deemed to have started while a convicted person remains outside the custody of prison authorities.

"Under a purposive approach, you cannot tell me that you make a pronouncement, you have not been put into custody, you are free somewhere and partying, enjoying or whatever it is, and then after a certain number of years, weeks or months, it is deemed that you served your sentence," he said.

According to him, serving a prison sentence goes beyond the mere pronouncement of a conviction and necessarily involves physical confinement under the supervision of prison authorities.

"Serving a sentence includes the physical restraints in the prison, and there are rules around it. So, for me, as far as I'm concerned, the sentencing hasn't started," Dr. Yankson stated.

The legal practitioner also argued that Ms. Tamakloe-Attionu had been afforded due process throughout the criminal proceedings, noting that she was initially present during the trial and had legal representation before her eventual absence from the jurisdiction.

He stressed that both the Ghanaian and United States legal systems followed the required procedures before her extradition to Ghana.

He further supported Ms. Tamakloe-Attionu's decision to challenge her conviction at the Court of Appeal, describing it as a legitimate right under Ghana's legal system.

However, he stressed that the existence of an appeal does not negate the need for the sentence to take effect once the convict is in lawful custody, unless a court orders otherwise.