Former Deputy Attorney General Alfred Tuah Yeboah has described the Court of Appeal’s decision to overturn the conviction of former Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) Chief Executive Officer Sedina Christine Tamakloe Attionu as legally weak and poorly reasoned.
Speaking on Eyewitness News on Friday, 31 July, Mr Tuah Yeboah criticised the court’s finding that the charge sheet used in the prosecution was defective. He said the charge sheet was valid and argued that, even if there had been technical errors, those defects should not have been enough to overturn the conviction when the evidence supported the original trial court decision.
“I have read the judgment and my initial comments are that it is poor in reasoning, poor in analysis, and lacks proper evaluation of the evidence on record. The judgment is very weak and cannot meet legal scrutiny,” he stated.
The former Deputy Attorney General said the Court of Appeal had failed to apply Section 31(2) of the Courts Act correctly. In his view, that provision prevents an appellate court from allowing an appeal solely because of a defective charge sheet where the evidence on record is sufficient to sustain a conviction.
“If the charge sheet, as they claim, was defective, then there are two key statutes the Court of Appeal ought to have considered. Section 31(2) of the Courts Act is clear that an appellate court shall not allow an appeal on the ground of a defective charge sheet, provided there is evidence on record to support the conviction, regardless of how the charges were framed,” Tuah Yeboah argued.
His comments followed Thursday’s unanimous decision by the Court of Appeal to quash Tamakloe Attionu’s conviction, set aside her 10-year prison sentence and acquit and discharge her on all charges.
The ruling was contained in a 94-page judgment delivered on 30 July by a three-member panel made up of Justices Emmanuel Ankamah, Emmanuel Senyo Amedahe and Samuel Obeng-Diawuo.
The judges held that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. They also concluded that the trial judge had improperly placed the burden of proof on the accused and had relied on evidence that did not meet the required legal standard.
The appellate court further rejected a preliminary objection raised by the Attorney-General. The objection argued that Tamakloe Attionu could not rely on the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal because she had absconded during proceedings before the High Court.
The Court of Appeal’s decision therefore overturned the judgment that had resulted in the former MASLOC chief executive’s 10-year sentence. However, Tuah Yeboah maintains that the appellate court’s approach to the charge sheet and its assessment of the evidence were not supported by the relevant law.
He said the court should have considered whether the evidence was sufficient to uphold the conviction, rather than allowing the appeal on the basis of the alleged defect in the charges.
