A newly constituted Court of Appeal panel failed to reach a decision on the Attorney-General's application for a stay of execution in the Sedina Tamakloe Attionu case, leaving the former MASLOC Chief Executive Officer behind bars as the courts head into a two-month vacation.
Stay Application Hits a Roadblock
The panel, made up of Justices Sophia Rosetta Bernasko Essah (presiding), Dr Ernest Owusu-Dapaa, and Aryittey Armah-Tetteh, was convened at extremely short notice on Friday morning to hear the application. Despite hearing submissions from both sides, the judges retired to write their judgment around 10:20 am and returned nearly two hours later to announce they could not agree on a ruling.
The court has now indicated it will seek a warrant from the Chief Justice to sit during the legal vacation, a move that could leave Ms Tamakloe Attionu at Nsawam Prison for weeks longer, despite her acquittal and discharge by a previous panel just a day earlier.
A Rushed Application and a Short-Served Respondent
The timeline of events has raised serious questions about procedural fairness. On Thursday, July 30, the Court of Appeal delivered its unanimous judgment acquitting and discharging Ms Tamakloe Attionu. Hours later, the Attorney-General's office filed an urgent application for a stay of execution pending an appeal to the Supreme Court. The application was served on the prison authorities in the evening, well after normal court hours, but critically, Ms Tamakloe Attionu's lawyers were not informed.
Her legal team only learned of the application through informal channels and made their way to court Friday morning to find proceedings already being set in motion. "Her lawyer was not informed. But he got wind of it, so he was in court before the judges came in," a source close to the matter said. The court acknowledged that Ms Tamakloe Attionu had been short-served, a fundamental breach of procedural rules that ordinarily would have warranted an adjournment to allow the respondent to file an affidavit in opposition.
The Consequences of Delay
The practical effect of Friday's non-decision is that Ms Tamakloe Attionu, who was acquitted and discharged by a unanimous Court of Appeal on Thursday, remains incarcerated at Nsawam Medium Security Female Prison. She was extradited from the United States on June 9, 2026, after being convicted in absentia by the High Court on April 16, 2024, on 78 counts including conspiracy to steal, stealing, causing financial loss to the state, money laundering, and procurement-related offences.
The appellate court that acquitted her on Thursday found that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. That acquittal, which should have meant immediate release, has now been effectively frozen by the Attorney-General's application, despite no ruling having been granted.
Unanswered Questions
The proceedings raise difficult questions about the administration of justice in Ghana. How can a court hear a stay application on an emergency basis when the respondent has not been properly served? Is it fair for a respondent to be effectively forced to waive their procedural rights simply because the legal year is ending? Why did a panel of three judges – after nearly two hours of deliberation – fail to reach a decision, leaving the matter unresolved?
Will a warrant during vacation delay matters even further, keeping an acquitted person in custody? Since the stay of execution has not yet been granted, is it legal to keep a person who has been acquitted and discharged by a court of competent jurisdiction in jail until the court deems it fit to render judgment?
The Law and the Chief Justice
Under Order 79 Rule 1 of C.I. 47, the Chief Justice may appoint any day, including days during vacation, for the hearing of matters. The court has indicated it will apply for such a warrant, which could mean that Ms Tamakloe Attionu will remain in prison for weeks longer. The case raises important questions about the administration of justice in Ghana and the need for transparency and accountability in the courts.
Source: Joy Online
