Ghana rocked by Sedina Tamakloe acquittal scandal as NPP accuses AG of political sabotage!

The recent decision by the Court of Appeal to acquit and discharge former Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) Chief Executive Officer, Sedina Christine Tamakloe-Attionu, has ignited a fierce political and legal dispute in Ghana. The ruling, which overturned her earlier conviction and 10-year prison sentence for offences including stealing, causing financial loss to the state, money laundering, and breaches of the Public Procurement Act, has drawn strong condemnation from the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) and a robust defense from the former Attorney-General.

The NPP has vehemently described the Court of Appeal's decision as politically motivated and carefully orchestrated. At a press conference on Friday, July 31, the NPP's National Organiser, Henry Nana Boakye, asserted that the ruling was not based on the merits of the appeal but was part of a broader plan to overturn corruption-related convictions involving former National Democratic Congress (NDC) officials. Mr. Boakye claimed that the judgment exposed a "system" designed to secure the freedom of politically connected individuals, vowing that the NPP intends to expose and confront this system. He highlighted that the conviction of Madam Tamakloe-Attionu had followed a meticulous five-year trial, relying on overwhelming documentary evidence, forensic audits, and witness testimony, leading to a detailed, count-by-count dissection of fraud by Her Ladyship Justice Afia Serwah Asare Botwe. The NPP questioned the legal basis of the acquittal, especially given that Madam Tamakloe-Attionu had been convicted in absentia after fleeing the jurisdiction mid-trial and was only acquitted within seven weeks of her forced extradition to Ghana. Mr. Boakye dismissed the Attorney General's stated intention to appeal the ruling at the Supreme Court, alleging it was merely part of a "well-choreographed plan."

Extending his accusations, Henry Nana Boakye directly implicated the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Ayine, accusing him of deliberately using his office to secure the release of NDC members and allies facing corruption-related prosecutions. The NPP National Organiser alleged that it has become the "modus operandi" of the current Attorney General to discontinue or overturn criminal cases involving former NDC officials. He cited several high-profile examples, including the SSNIT financial loss case and the UniBank case (involving alleged financial losses of GH¢5.7 billion), where, according to Mr. Boakye, the Attorney General entered a nolle prosequi or withdrew prosecution despite court rulings that the accused had a case to answer. The Saglemi Housing Project case and the COCOBOD trial were also mentioned as additional instances of this alleged pattern. Mr. Boakye stated that the NPP was "not surprised" by the MASLOC outcome, suggesting it was a predetermined agenda to free Madam Sedina Tamakloe.

In response to the acquittal and the NPP's allegations, the Attorney General's office has stated its commitment to challenging the decision. A press release issued on July 30, 2026, confirmed that the Attorney General had directed the Director of Public Prosecions to immediately file a notice of appeal to the Supreme Court, along with an application for a stay of execution of the judgment pending the appeal's determination. The statement indicated that the Republic had opposed the appeal, contending that it lacked merit, and expressed the Attorney General's confidence that the appeal before the Supreme Court would succeed, emphasizing the state's commitment to the due process of law.

Meanwhile, former Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has strongly rejected attempts by government communicators to hold him or the previous Akufo-Addo administration responsible for the acquittal, labelling such claims as "false and devious." In a statement, Mr. Dame accused agents of the governing NDC of deliberately seeking to shift responsibility. He maintained that his office never failed in handling the appeal process during his tenure, stating that no notice of an appeal filed by Madam Attionu in 2024 came to the attention of the Office of the Attorney-General during that period. He clarified that state attorneys only became aware of the appeal in April 2026 after the Court of Appeal directed both parties to file written submissions. Mr. Dame further argued that even if an appeal had been filed in 2024, no action was taken by the appellant until after the National Democratic Congress returned to office.

Mr. Dame defended his own record, noting that his office vigorously pursued Madam Attionu's extradition, which culminated in a United States District Court ruling on April 9, upholding the extradition request. He stressed that throughout the extradition proceedings, which spanned from July 2024 to April 2026, no appeal filed in Ghana in 2024 was mentioned, even by Madam Attionu's own documents before the U.S. Court. He detailed that Madam Attionu's lawyers obtained leave to file their written submissions on February 10, 2026, and filed them two days later, by which time he was no longer serving as Attorney-General. Prosecuting state attorneys were reportedly surprised to receive these submissions on February 16, 2026, having never been previously notified of the appeal. The prosecution subsequently filed its own submissions, highlighting procedural concerns such as an incomplete record of appeal, omitted prosecution exhibits, and late notification. Mr. Dame explained that the Court of Appeal, presided over by Justice Mensah Datsa, later directed that three volumes of the Record of Appeal be provided to the Republic. These proceedings, including the subsequent hearing by a differently constituted panel presided over by Justice Ankamah on June 17, all occurred after Mr. Dame had left office.

Beyond his defense, Godfred Dame criticized the current government's handling of criminal prosecutions, suggesting the acquittal reflected a broader trend by the current Attorney-General to discontinue criminal cases involving leading members and affiliates of the National Democratic Congress. He drew parallels to the Alfred Agbesi Woyome saga and questioned the apparent contradiction of discontinuing cases for its members while simultaneously pursuing the "Operation Recover All Loot" (ORAL) initiative and prosecuting opposition-associated individuals. Mr. Dame urged Ghanaians to demand greater accountability, arguing that prosecutorial decisions must be guided by law, not political considerations, to maintain public confidence in the justice system.