The Attorney-General has moved to the Supreme Court to challenge the acquittal of former Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) Chief Executive Officer, Sedina Christine Tamakloe-Attionu, after withdrawing a stay of execution application before the Court of Appeal.
The Attorney-General has filed an application at the Supreme Court seeking a stay of execution of the Court of Appeal’s judgment that acquitted and discharged Madam Tamakloe-Attionu and overturned her 10-year prison sentence.
The latest development came on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, when the prosecution withdrew its earlier stay of execution application before the Court of Appeal.
A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, presided over by Justice Sophia Rosetta Benasko Essah, subsequently struck out the application as withdrawn.
“The Republic, applicant herein, wishes to withdraw the application filed on July 30. We filed the notice of withdrawal on August 10, 2026,” Principal State Attorney Hilda Craig told the court.
Counsel for Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu, Sidney Antonio, said the defence did not oppose the State’s request to withdraw the application, but noted that the prosecution should have sought leave of the court to withdraw it.
Justice Benasko Essah, in striking out the application, explained that the panel had already obtained a warrant from the Chief Justice to sit and deliver its ruling on the matter.
She said the case had initially been scheduled for ruling, but following the Attorney-General’s withdrawal, the application had been struck out as withdrawn.
The withdrawal, however, does not end the State’s attempt to suspend the effect of the Court of Appeal’s acquittal.
The Attorney-General has now taken the stay application to the Supreme Court, asking the apex court to suspend the effect of the Court of Appeal’s decision pending the determination of the State’s appeal.
Court of Appeal acquits Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu
The latest legal move follows the Court of Appeal’s unanimous decision on July 30, 2026, to overturn the conviction and 10-year prison sentence imposed on Madam Tamakloe-Attionu.
In a 94-page judgment, the three-member panel comprising Justices Emmanuel Ankamah, Emmanuel Senyo Amedahe and Samuel Obeng-Diawuo held that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The appellate court identified significant legal and evidential shortcomings in the prosecution’s case and found that the High Court had improperly shifted the burden of proof onto the accused.
It also held that the High Court had relied on evidence that did not meet the legal standard required to sustain a criminal conviction.
The Court of Appeal consequently set aside all the convictions against Tamakloe-Attionu, acquitted and discharged her on all charges and nullified the 10-year custodial sentence imposed by the High Court.
The appellate court also dismissed a preliminary objection raised by the Attorney-General, who argued that Tamakloe-Attionu, having absconded during her trial, was not entitled to invoke the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal.
Following the judgment, the Attorney-General indicated that the State intended to challenge the decision at the Supreme Court and sought a stay of execution to prevent the immediate effect of the acquittal.
The State’s position was that allowing the judgment to take immediate effect could enable Madam Tamakloe-Attionu to leave the jurisdiction and potentially frustrate the State’s intended appeal.
The Attorney-General has now formally pursued that stay application before the Supreme Court, setting the stage for another legal battle over the former MASLOC boss’s acquittal.
The Supreme Court will therefore be asked to determine whether the effect of the Court of Appeal’s acquittal should be suspended pending the hearing and determination of the State’s appeal.
Source: Purefmonlinegh.com || Evans Osei-Bonsu || 2026
