Felix Kwakye Ofosu, the Minister of State in charge of Government Communications, has revealed that former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu, remains in prison custody despite her acquittal by the Court of Appeal.
According to Felix Kwakye Ofosu, Sedina Tamakloe has remained in lawful custody since returning to Ghana.
He explained that Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu has not yet been released because the Attorney-General has filed an application for a stay of execution.
Speaking in an interview with Umaru Sanda Amadu on Channel One TV’s Face to Face on Tuesday, August 4, Kwakye Ofosu stated, “For the avoidance of doubt. The day that Sedina landed in Ghana till the Court of Appeal made its pronouncements, she has always been in prison custody. So, the claims that she was home and was not kept by Prison authorities are blatantly false…Should we publish pictures or show videos before you believe that she was in prison?”
He further stated, “I can tell you Sedina has not been released; she’s still in custody.”
Reports suggest the Chief Justice has granted permission for the Court of Appeal to sit during the legal vacation to hear the Attorney-General’s application for a stay of execution, with the hearing scheduled for August 16.
It will be recalled that the Appeal Court has adjourned indefinitely without delivering a ruling on the State’s application for a stay of execution following the court acquittal of former Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) Chief Executive Officer, Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu.
Sophia Rosetta Bernasko-Essah, who presided, Justice Dr Ernest Owusu-Dapaa and Justice Ayitey Armah-Tetteh, the three-member panel who heard the arguments, retired approximately two hours later and returned to the courtroom, revealing that they were unable to reach a decision on the application.
The Court of Appeal consequently adjourned the matter indefinitely without indicating when it would reconvene.
The development follows Dr Dominic Ayine, the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, who filed an urgent application at the Court of Appeal seeking a stay of execution of the judgment that acquitted and discharged Sedina Tamakloe Attionu.
On Thursday, July 30, the Attorney-General’s application was filed after the Court of Appeal unanimously overturned Attionu’s conviction and 10-year prison sentence.
Dr Dominic Ayine is asking the Court of Appeal to suspend the effect of its judgment until the Supreme Court determines the state’s appeal.
The AG motion, filed by Principal State Attorney Hilda W. Craig on behalf of the Attorney-General, is supported by an affidavit sworn by Assistant State Attorney Andrew Owusu-Agyemang.
The Attorney-General in the affidavit states that the Court of Appeal’s judgment resulted in a substantial miscarriage of justice because of what he describes as material errors of law and fact on the face of the record.
The affidavit further discloses that the Republic has already filed a notice of appeal at the Supreme Court.
According to the Attorney-General, failing to grant a stay of execution could render the intended appeal ineffective if the acquittal remains in force.
They then ask the Court of Appeal to suspend the operation of its July 30 judgment pending the final determination of the appeal by the Supreme Court.
Also, court documents show that notice of the application has been directed to the Registrar of the Court of Appeal and Attionu at the Nsawam Medium Security Prison and the Director of the Ghana Prisons Service at Nsawam.
Meanwhile, Justice Abdulai, a private legal practitioner, has said the Court of Appeal’s decision to acquit and discharge Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu is a sound judgment.
The private legal practitioner defended the Court of Appeal’s decision to acquit and discharge Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu despite the intense political debate it has generated.
According to Justice Abdulai, after a careful legal assessment, the Court of Appeal’s reasoning leaves little room for criticism.
Speaking on The Big Issue on Saturday, August 1, Justice Abdulai stated, “Unfortunately, I cannot divorce myself from the political angle, but I do respect the opinions of my colleagues from both angles. There is a bit of politics, there is indeed a bit of public perception, and then there is the purely legal aspect of it”.
“I think the legal bit is where most people would not want to address because, looking at the judgment as delivered, I think it will be very difficult for you to fault it completely. It is a sound judgment. It’s a good law,” he stated.
“So faulting it or using it as a basis for these arguments may not yield to those who would want to take this whole argument from the legal angle. It is easier then to make it politics rather than legal,” he added.
@ghnow_ Washroom facilities constructed at the Pokuase Interchange #FYP #GHNow ♬ original sound – FEG ZIGGY SARKCESS
@ghnow_ A Ghanaian man shares the devastation left in the aftermath of an anti-illegal mining raid on a galamsey site by personnel of the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS). #GHNow #fyp ♬ Sad Music – Max-Music
