The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has raised strong concerns over what it describes as the current government’s handling of the conviction and imprisonment of former Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) Chief Executive, Sedina Christine Tamakloe Attionu, warning that any attempt to overturn her sentence outside the established judicial process could undermine Ghana’s anti-corruption framework and weaken public confidence in the rule of law.
In a statement issued by the party’s Constitutional and Legal Affairs Policy Committee, the NPP described the Sedina Tamakloe case as one of the most significant corruption prosecutions in recent history.
The party expressed alarm over what it called emerging efforts to help the former MASLOC boss evade the consequences of a conviction that followed years of investigations, prosecution, and judicial determination.
The intervention comes amid a broader political debate on accountability and equal application of the law under the current administration.
According to the NPP, developments since the change of government in January 2025 have raised concerns about consistency in the enforcement of justice, with allegations that some prosecutions have been discontinued while others have been pursued with greater intensity.
It is, however, the Sedina Tamakloe case that has become the focal point of the party’s latest criticism.
High-profile corruption case with years of legal proceedings
The legal proceedings against Sedina Christine Tamakloe Attionu stem from investigations conducted by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) during the Akufo-Addo administration. Following extensive investigations, prosecutors filed a 78-count charge sheet on January 30, 2019.
The charges included stealing, conspiracy to steal, willfully causing financial loss to the state, money laundering, and breaches of public procurement laws. Prosecutors alleged that the offences resulted in financial losses of nearly GH¢90 million to the state.
Given MASLOC’s mandate as a government agency established to provide microfinance support to small businesses, traders, and vulnerable groups, the case attracted significant national attention and became one of the most closely followed corruption trials in recent history.
Unlike many politically sensitive cases that often stall or collapse, the prosecution of Sedina Tamakloe proceeded through a full trial process.
Trial in absentia and conviction
Court records indicate that in 2021, the accused was granted permission to travel to the United States for medical treatment. However, according to the NPP statement, she failed to return to Ghana to continue her trial.
After repeated attempts to secure her appearance before the court, the High Court on January 24, 2023, invoked Article 19(3) of the Constitution and ordered that proceedings continue in absentia.
The decision allowed the prosecution to proceed without the accused present, a development that generated public debate at the time.
After months of hearings, the court delivered its judgment on April 16, 2024, finding Sedina Tamakloe guilty on the charges and sentencing her to ten years’ imprisonment with hard labour.
The conviction was widely regarded as one of the most consequential anti-corruption rulings in recent years.
Extradition and enforcement of sentence
For more than two years after the judgment, uncertainty persisted over enforcement, as the former MASLOC boss remained outside Ghana.
That changed on June 9, 2026, when she was extradited from the United States to Ghana. The NPP described the development as the first extradition from the United States to Ghana in sixteen years.
The extradition was widely viewed as a major milestone in international judicial cooperation and paved the way for the enforcement of her sentence.
NPP raises concerns over possible interference
It is at this stage that the opposition NPP says concerns have emerged over the handling of the case by the current administration.
According to the party, there are indications that efforts may be underway to secure relief for the convicted former MASLOC boss outside the normal appellate process.
While acknowledging that every convicted person has the constitutional right to appeal and pursue all legal remedies, the NPP insisted that any attempt to use administrative, political, or discretionary means to nullify a valid court sentence would set a dangerous precedent.
The party warned that if a conviction secured after years of investigations, prosecution, and judicial proceedings could be overturned outside the courts, it would severely weaken future anti-corruption efforts.
It further argued that such actions could discourage investigators and prosecutors, while eroding public trust in the justice system’s ability to hold public officials accountable.
Symbol of anti-corruption enforcement
Beyond the legal arguments, the Sedina Tamakloe case has become a symbolic reference point in Ghana’s broader fight against corruption and public sector accountability.
While supporters of the prosecution cite it as evidence that public officials can be held accountable regardless of political affiliation, critics argue that convicted persons must be allowed to exhaust all legal remedies available under the law.
For the NPP, however, the issue transcends the individual case. The party maintains that the integrity of Ghana’s anti-corruption architecture is now at stake.
In its statement, the party called on government to ensure that the High Court’s sentence is allowed to take its full legal course and that any challenge to the conviction is pursued strictly through the appellate system.
Broader political tensions over accountability
The intervention adds to growing political tensions over corruption prosecutions and the administration of justice in Ghana, with the Sedina Tamakloe case now at the centre of a wider national debate on accountability, governance, and the rule of law.
