The Attorney-General has expressed concern that former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre, Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu, could leave Ghana before the Supreme Court determines the State’s appeal against her acquittal.
The concern is contained in the Attorney-General’s application seeking a stay of execution of the Court of Appeal’s judgment acquitting and discharging her, pending the final determination of the appeal.
However, the Court of Appeal on Friday adjourned the application indefinitely after the judges said they were unable to reach a decision.
The three-member panel, comprising Justice Sophia Rosetta Bernasko-Essah, who presided, Justice Dr Ernest Owusu-Dapaa and Justice Ayitey Armah-Tetteh, heard arguments from the State and lawyers for Mrs Tamakloe-Attionu before retiring to consider the application.
After approximately two hours, the judges returned to the courtroom and informed the parties that they had been unable to arrive at a decision.
The court consequently adjourned the matter indefinitely without indicating when it would reconvene to deliver its ruling.
In its application, the Attorney-General argued that allowing the Court of Appeal’s judgment to take immediate effect could enable Mrs Tamakloe-Attionu to leave the jurisdiction, thereby frustrating the State’s appeal and rendering its efforts in the case ineffective.
The State said this constituted a special circumstance warranting a stay of execution.
It further contended that the Court of Appeal’s judgment had occasioned a substantial miscarriage of justice and contained material errors of law and fact.
According to the Attorney-General, the appeal filed at the Supreme Court raises substantial and arguable legal grounds with a real likelihood of success.
Mrs Tamakloe-Attionu was convicted in absentia by the Accra High Court on April 16, 2024, and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment after she was found guilty of several offences, including causing financial loss to the State, stealing and money laundering.
She had left Ghana during the trial, which subsequently continued in her absence.
The State later initiated extradition proceedings against her, leading to her return to Ghana from the United States in June 2026 to begin serving her sentence.
However, the Court of Appeal on July 30, 2026, unanimously allowed her appeal, overturned the conviction and sentence, and acquitted and discharged her after finding that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt.
The Attorney-General filed a notice of appeal against that decision on the same day and subsequently applied for a stay of execution to prevent the acquittal order from taking effect while the Supreme Court considers the case.
Until the Court of Appeal delivers its ruling on the application, the legal position regarding the enforcement of its judgment remains unresolved.
