Sedina Tamakloe free as Court of Appeal strikes out AG’s application to stay acquittal
A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal has struck out the Attorney-General’s application seeking to stay the execution of its judgment acquitting and discharging former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Christine Tamakloe-Attionu.
The decision followed the State’s withdrawal of the application during proceedings on Wednesday, August 12, 2026.
Principal State Attorney Hilda Craig informed the court that the Republic had decided to withdraw the application, which was filed on July 30.
“The Republic, applicant herein, wishes to withdraw the application filed on July 30. We filed the notice of withdrawal on August 10, 2026,” she told the court.
Counsel for Mrs Tamakloe-Attionu, Sidney Antonio, said the defence did not oppose the State’s request, although he noted that the Attorney-General should have sought leave of the court before withdrawing the application.
The panel, presided over by Justice Sophia Rosetta Benasko Essah, subsequently struck out the application as withdrawn.
Justice Benasko Essah explained that although the panel had been issued a warrant by the Chief Justice to sit and deliver its ruling on the application, the withdrawal meant there was no longer a matter for the court to determine.
She said the case had initially been scheduled for ruling, but following the Attorney-General’s withdrawal, the application had been struck out.
Court overturns Tamakloe-Attionu’s conviction
The development follows the Court of Appeal’s July 30 decision overturning the conviction and 10-year prison sentence imposed on Mrs Tamakloe-Attionu by the High Court.
In its unanimous 94-page judgment, the three-member panel comprising Justices Emmanuel Ankamah, Emmanuel Senyo Amedahe and Samuel Obeng-Diawuo held that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The appellate court found significant legal and evidential shortcomings in the prosecution’s case and concluded that the High Court had improperly shifted the burden of proof onto the accused.
It subsequently set aside all the convictions against Mrs Tamakloe-Attionu, acquitted and discharged her on all charges and nullified the 10-year custodial sentence.
The Court of Appeal also dismissed a preliminary objection by the Attorney-General, who had argued that Mrs Tamakloe-Attionu, having absconded during her trial, was not entitled to invoke the jurisdiction of the appellate court.
Following the judgment, the Attorney-General filed the application for a stay of execution, arguing that allowing the acquittal to take immediate effect could enable Mrs Tamakloe-Attionu to leave the jurisdiction and potentially frustrate the State’s intended appeal.