A-G Moves to Supreme Court Over Sedina Tamakloe Acquittal

The Attorney-General has filed an application at the Supreme Court seeking a stay of execution of the Court of Appeal’s decision acquitting and discharging former Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) Chief Executive Officer, Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu. The application was filed on August 11, 2026, by Principal State Attorney Hilda W. Craig on behalf of the Attorney-General. The matter has been listed for hearing on October 13, 2026.

The move comes shortly after the Attorney-General withdrew a separate application filed at the Court of Appeal seeking to suspend the effect of the same acquittal. The Court of Appeal subsequently struck out that application as withdrawn, clearing the way for the release of Tamakloe-Attionu from custody. The State’s latest application at the Supreme Court does not amount to a withdrawal of its challenge to the acquittal. Rather, it represents a further step in the government’s attempt to preserve the position pending determination of its appeal against the appellate court’s judgment.

Tamakloe-Attionu was acquitted and discharged by the Court of Appeal after her earlier conviction and 10-year prison sentence were overturned. She had been convicted by the High Court on 78 charges arising from alleged financial and procurement-related offences connected to her tenure as MASLOC chief executive. The Court of Appeal’s decision brought a major reversal in the long-running case, prompting the Attorney-General to pursue further legal action before the Supreme Court. The State is now asking the Supreme Court to stay the execution of the Court of Appeal’s decision while its appeal is determined.

The practical significance of the application is that the Attorney-General is seeking judicial protection against the immediate consequences of the acquittal while the Supreme Court considers whether the Court of Appeal was right to overturn the conviction. The Court of Appeal’s withdrawal proceedings, however, resulted in a release warrant being issued for Tamakloe-Attionu, and she has since been released from prison. Her release does not automatically bring the State’s case to an end. The Attorney-General’s substantive appeal remains the central issue to be determined by the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court will therefore have to consider the State’s grounds of appeal and, separately, the request for a stay of execution. Until the Supreme Court makes an order to the contrary, the Court of Appeal’s acquittal remains the operative judgment. The case is consequently entering a new legal phase, with the State seeking to persuade Ghana’s highest court that the acquittal should not take final effect while its appeal is pending.

By: Joyce Owusu