Minister of State in charge of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has disclosed that former Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) Chief Executive Officer Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu remains in prison custody despite the Court of Appeal’s decision to acquit and discharge her.
Speaking in an interview, Mr Kwakye Ofosu dismissed claims that Ms Tamakloe-Attionu had been released or was never held in lawful custody after returning to Ghana.
“For the avoidance of doubt. The day that Sedina landed in Ghana till the Court of Appeal made its pronouncements, she has always been in prison custody. So, the claims that she was home and was not kept by Prison authorities are blatantly false… Should we publish pictures or show videos before you believe that she was in prison?”
He further stated that the former MASLOC boss has not been released following the appellate court’s decision.
“I can tell you Sedina has not been released; she’s still in custody.”
Mr Kwakye Ofosu made the remarks in an interview with Channel One TV.
His comments come after Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie granted permission for the Court of Appeal to sit during the legal vacation to hear the Attorney-General’s application for a stay of execution of the judgment that acquitted and discharged Ms Tamakloe-Attionu.
The application is scheduled to be heard on August 16.
Meanwhile, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has announced plans to stage a protest on Thursday, August 6, arguing that the Court of Appeal erred in overturning Ms Tamakloe-Attionu’s conviction.
The party has also accused the government of intimidating members of the opposition while allegedly protecting its political allies from prosecution.
Ms Tamakloe-Attionu’s 10-year prison sentence, imposed by the High Court after she was convicted of causing financial loss to the state, was overturned by the Court of Appeal, which held that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Following that ruling, the Attorney-General filed an application at the Supreme Court seeking a stay of execution pending the determination of the State’s appeal.
