Omanghana
The Court of Appeal has adjourned indefinitely after a three-member panel failed to reach a decision on the State’s urgent application for a stay of execution in the corruption case involving former Microfinance and Small Loans Centre Chief Executive Officer Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu.
The development occurred less than 24 hours after a separate panel of the appellate court overturned Tamakloe-Attionu’s conviction and 10-year prison sentence.
The State subsequently filed an application seeking to suspend the enforcement of the acquittal while pursuing a further appeal before the Supreme Court.
The application was considered by a panel comprising Justice Sophia Rosetta Bernasko-Essah, Justice Dr. Ernest Owusu-Dapaa and Justice Ayitey Armah-Tetteh.
After hearing arguments from the prosecution and defence lawyers, the judges retired to deliberate on the submissions. They reportedly spent nearly two hours in a closed-door conference but were unable to reach a majority or unanimous decision.
When the panel returned to the courtroom, it informed the parties that no consensus had been reached on whether the State’s application should be granted.
The matter was consequently adjourned indefinitely, with no date announced for a ruling or further proceedings.
Tamakloe-Attionu was convicted in absentia in 2024 while reportedly receiving medical treatment outside Ghana. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison over financial transactions connected to her tenure at MASLOC.
Following extradition proceedings, the United States Department of Justice returned her to Ghana on June 8, 2026. She was later processed and began serving her sentence at the Nsawam Medium Security Female Prison on June 24.
However, on July 30, 2026, a different panel of the Court of Appeal unanimously overturned the conviction. The judges reportedly concluded that the prosecution had failed to present sufficient evidence to sustain the charges.
The appellate panel also determined that the trial court had improperly shifted the burden of proof onto the accused, undermining the constitutional principle that a person must be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The Attorney-General’s office rejected the outcome and announced its intention to challenge the decision at the Supreme Court. It also filed the urgent stay application in an attempt to prevent the acquittal from taking effect while the appeal process continued.
With the panel unable to decide the application, the State’s attempt to suspend the effect of the acquittal remains unresolved.
The legal impasse could result in the matter being placed before a reconstituted panel or moved quickly to the Supreme Court for determination. Until further judicial directions are issued, uncertainty remains over the enforcement of the appellate court’s decision and Tamakloe-Attionu’s custodial status.
Source: Omanghana
