By Francis Kobena Tandoh
The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has described the acquittal and discharge of former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu as politically motivated, according to a statement on Thursday.
The statement, signed by General Secretary Justin Kodua Frimpong, follows a Court of Appeal judgement which unanimously acquitted and discharged the former MASLOC boss, overturning her 2024 conviction and 10-year custodial sentence.
The NPP said it is surprised with “the decision of the Court of Appeal to acquit and discharge the former Chief Executive Officer who was convicted by the High Court in April 2024 on multiple counts of stealing, causing financial loss to the state, money laundering and breaches of the Public Procurement Act, and sentenced to ten (10) years’ imprisonment.”
According to the NPP, Tamakloe Attionu was tried by a competent court of jurisdiction over a period of five years. The trial court, after a painstaking examination of the evidence, found that her conduct as CEO of MASLOC between 2013 and 2016 occasioned a loss of almost GH¢90 million to the Ghanaian taxpayer.
The former MASLOC boss, the opposition party continued, is said to have fled the jurisdiction while on trial, was convicted in absentia, and had to be extradited from the United States of America at great cost and effort only to arrive in Ghana on 9th June 2026. Barely seven weeks later, she walks free.
According to the party, the judgement of Her Ladyship Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe convicting Madam Tamakloe-Attionu meticulously details, count after count, the fraudulent disbursements and the unaccounted-for funds, including monies meant for loan beneficiaries and for victims of the Kantamanto Market disaster, as well as the deliberate schemes by which the resources of MASLOC were diverted.
The NPP said overturning a conviction anchored on such an abundance of evidence in the manner it has been done “defies logic, law and common sense”.
“The NPP states without equivocation that this acquittal is politically motivated, orchestrated and planned. The speed and convenience with which this matter has been disposed of, coming so soon after her extradition and against the backdrop of the conduct of the Attorney-General since January 2025, leaves no room for any other conclusion,” said the statement.
The largest opposition party is, therefore, asking the Attorney-General to, as a matter of consistency and fairness, immediately discontinue and discharge all appointees of the previous NPP administration currently standing trial, as it cannot be the case that the law is a weapon against one side of the political divide and a shield for the other.
The party is also calling for the immediate acquittal and discharge of Bernard Antwi Boasiako (Chairman Wontumi), the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP.
It has urged the attorney general to render a full public account of every case involving persons affiliated with the governing party that has been discontinued, withdrawn or otherwise terminated since January 2025, together with the reasons.
The party urged the Judicial Council and the leadership of the judiciary to take urgent steps to restore public confidence in the administration of justice.
The NPP assured the good people of Ghana that it shall pursue every lawful avenue, including a review of today’s decision at the Supreme Court where applicable, to ensure that those who plundered the public purse are held to account. Enditem
Source: Ghana Eye Report
