The case involving former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Tamakloe Attionu, should serve as a caution to all appointees to be mindful of what is likely to happen to them if the government changes, the CEO of the Ghana Shippers Authority, Professor Ransford Gyampo, has said.
Prof Gyampo urged all his colleague appointees to strive to follow due process in the award of contracts.
“Serve in a manner that is mindful of what is likely to happen tomorrow,” he said on the KeyPoints on TV3 Saturday, June 12.
Prof Gyampo further said that all the rights of Sedina Tamakloe under the rule of law must be respected in the application of bail and appeal.
For his part, CEO of the National Petroleum persons (NPA), Godwin Edudzi Tameklo said that the rule of law must be allowed to play out in the case of former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Tamakloe Attionu.
Edudzi wondered why persons who were happy with the conviction by the rule of law are now unhappy with the same rule of law that is handling her appeal.
“The Government of Ghana pressured the Americans to bring her. Let us all maintain that it is the rule of law that got her convicted, but let us see the outcome of [the bail application],” he said on the KeyPoints on TV3 Saturday, June 12.
Edudzi further said that the case of Sedina Tamakloe Attionu was a usual case of politics played by the then New Patriotic Party administration.
He said the NPP was hell-bent on finding wrongdoing even where there was none against NDC officials.
“If the buses were inflated, what would be the basis for Mr Ofori-Atta to make the payment instead of abrogating the contract?” he said on the KeyPoints on TV3 Saturday, June 12.
Prior to his comments, a Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu had fingered former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta in the issues of Sedina Tamakloe Attionu.
He says that it is emerging that Ofori-Atta may have had a hand in the alleged financial crimes committed by Sedina Tamakloe
“It is becoming clear that Ken Ofori-Atta may have had a hand in the alleged financial crimes committed by Sedina Tamakloe,” he said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, June 12.
Kpebu further said that Ghanaians are keenly observing how the issues involving Sedina Tamakloe turn out.
He says the judgment on her appeal will come out for strong public scrutiny.
“Citizens are watching how this Sedina Tamakloe issue plays out
“The judgment will come out for greater scrutiny. It is beginning to look like Sedina has a case.
“Let all shapes of pinion be heard,” he said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, June 12.
Director of Communications of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah said that the National Democratic Congress was doing everything possible to shield Sedina Tamakloe Attionu from going to jail.
He made the point that Sedina Tamakloe’s co-accused is currently on bail and seated at home.
“The NDC is not interested in getting Sedina Tamakloe jailed because her co-accused is currently on bail and seated at home. The NDC is simply protecting their people,” he also said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday June 12.
Ahiagbah further stated that the Operation Recover All Loots (ORAL) initiative introduced by the Mahama administration was expected to fight corruption irrespective of whoever is involved, whether a member of the governing National Democratic Congress or the NPP.
Unfortunately, he said, the government appears to be focusing only on political opponents, thereby defeating the purpose of ORAL’s creation.
His comments follow reports that the Former chief executive of Ghana’s Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Christine Tamakloe-Attionu, has asked the Court of Appeal to overturn her conviction and 10-year prison sentence.
Ahiagbah said, “NDC is not governing well. Oral includes everybody, but somehow they don’t seem to understand that they are part.”
“What they have done right from day one is to shield their people and to prosecute other people,” he stressed. “The NDC is not interested in getting Sedina Tamakloe jailed because her co-accused is currently on bail and seated at home. The NDC is simply protecting their people,” he added.
Sedina Tamakloe argues that the charges brought against her were legally defective and violated her constitutional right to a fair trial.
In a report, the appeal submissions filed in February, Tamakloe-Attionu’s lawyers challenged a 2024 High Court judgment that convicted her on multiple counts, including stealing, causing financial loss to the state, money laundering, improper payment of public funds and breaches of public procurement laws.
The former MASLOC boss contends that several charges lacked sufficient particulars and merely repeated the wording of the relevant statutes without clearly outlining the specific acts she was alleged to have committed.
Her legal team argues that the omissions breached Article 19(2)(d) of Ghana’s Constitution, which guarantees accused persons the right to be informed in detail of the nature of the charges against them.
“This is an appeal against the judgment of the High Court… delivered on 16th April 2024,” the filing states, adding that the conviction should be set aside because of alleged procedural and evidentiary shortcomings during the trial.
Tamakloe-Attionu and a co-accused, Daniel Axim, were first arraigned in 2019 over allegations involving the management and disbursement of MASLOC funds during her tenure between 2013 and 2017.
One of the central allegations concerned a GH¢500,000 investment transaction involving Obaatanpa Micro Finance Company Limited. Prosecutors alleged that Tamakloe-Attionu rejected a refund cheque and instead requested payment in cash, which was subsequently delivered to her.
Her lawyers, however, argue that prosecutors failed to establish beyond reasonable doubt that she dishonestly appropriated the funds.
They further dispute the authenticity of a key acknowledgement letter relied upon by the prosecution, insisting that the burden rested on the state to prove authorship of the document.
The appeal also challenges findings relating to the withdrawal of more than GH¢1.8 million for a nationwide sensitisation and monitoring programme.
According to the defence, prosecutors failed to call key witnesses, including programme beneficiaries and regional MASLOC officials, whose testimony could have assisted the court.
On procurement-related charges involving vehicles, Tamakloe-Attionu maintains that no payments were made under the contract during her tenure.
Her lawyers argue that the agreement was renegotiated by a subsequent management team and payments were only made in 2018, more than a year after she left office.
The defence therefore contends that she cannot be held liable for losses arising from transactions completed after her departure from office.
The appeal further cites testimony from MASLOC’s former Head of Finance concerning ex gratia payments.
According to the defence, the witness testified that the payments were processed through established procedures based on documentation from the Office of the President and the institution’s human resources department.
The Court of Appeal is expected to determine whether the conviction and sentence should stand or whether the case warrants a retrial or acquittal.
