Investigative journalist and coordinator of the civil society-led Pledge Against Corruption campaign, Manasseh Azure Awuni, has filed a Right to Information (RTI) request with the Judicial Service seeking detailed records on the filing and processing of Sedina Christine Tamakloe Attionu’s appeal.
The request, submitted on August 5, 2026, seeks to clarify the timeline surrounding the appeal that ultimately led to the former MASLOC Chief Executive’s acquittal and discharge by the Court of Appeal on July 30, 2026.
Sedina Tamakloe served as Chief Executive Officer of the state-owned Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) from November 2013 to January 2017.
She was convicted and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment by the High Court’s Financial Crimes Division on April 16, 2024, following a trial in absentia.
The former MASLOC boss had remained outside Ghana after being granted permission by the court to travel to the United States for medical treatment but failed to return to face the proceedings.
She was prosecuted on 78 counts, including conspiracy to steal, stealing, conspiracy to wilfully cause financial loss to the state, wilfully causing financial loss to the state, causing loss to public property, improper payment of public funds, money laundering, unauthorised commitment resulting in financial obligation for the government and contravention of the Public Procurement Act.
Questions over appeal timeline
Court records indicate that Tamakloe challenged her conviction at the Court of Appeal on May 9, 2024, while she was still at large.
She was subsequently repatriated from the United States in June 2026 to serve her sentence before the Court of Appeal acquitted and discharged her on July 30.
While the Court of Appeal’s decision has generally been received as legally sound, questions have emerged over the timeline of the appeal, particularly when the Attorney-General’s Office was notified.
Although the appeal is said to have been filed in May 2024, reports indicate that the Attorney-General’s Department was not notified until February 2026—almost two years later.
The timeline has triggered speculation and conspiracy theories about possible irregularities in the handling of the case.
Former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Godfred Yeboah Dame, who served in the position from 2021 to January 2025, has also stated that he was unaware of the appeal when he left office.
Manasseh’s RTI application seeks documentary evidence from the Judicial Service to establish the exact sequence of events and determine whether the delay in notifying the Attorney-General’s Office was an administrative anomaly or part of the normal judicial process.
What Manasseh is seeking
Among other things, the journalist is asking the Judicial Service to provide the date and time on which Suit No. H2/17/2026, Sedina Christine Tamakloe Attionu v The Republic, was filed.
He is also requesting copies of Form 2 and Form 6 relating to the case.
The request further seeks:
- The date and time the appeal was served on the Office of the Attorney-General, together with proof or an affidavit of service showing when the service was effected.
- Photocopies of receipts for payment of bonds and any other payments made by the appellant in relation to the case.
- The date and time the appeal was entered into the court’s Case Registration Book.
- A copy or printout of the relevant page of the Case Registration Book showing the case’s position among matters filed before and after it. If the case was entered on a new page, he is requesting the preceding page as well.
- The BP Number assigned to Suit No. H2/17/2026.
Manasseh is also asking the Judicial Service to directly address the reported delay in notifying the Attorney-General.
“If the information in the public domain that the Attorney-General was not notified of the appeal purportedly filed in May 2024 until February 2026 is true, please provide an explanation for this,” the request states.
He is further asking whether such a delay constitutes the normal practice or an anomaly and what specifically occasioned the delay in serving the Attorney-General.
‘Quest for transparency’
According to Manasseh, the RTI request is intended to establish the facts surrounding the appeal and help dispel uncertainty over its timeline.
He said the request is “in line with my work as a journalist and a quest for transparency, which would help to deepen trust in the judiciary.”
The information sought from the Judicial Service could therefore provide documentary clarity on when Tamakloe’s appeal was filed, when it was registered, when the Attorney-General was served and the administrative steps taken before the Court of Appeal eventually determined the matter.
The response to the RTI request is expected to shed further light on the timeline that has become a subject of public discussion following Tamakloe’s acquittal and discharge.
