Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, has dismissed suggestions that the state’s decision to appeal the acquittal of former MASLOC Chief Executive Officer, Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu, is politically motivated, insisting that the move is solely aimed at pursuing accountability.
Dr Ayine said the decision to challenge the Court of Appeal’s ruling was taken based on professional legal considerations and not because of any personal differences with the former MASLOC boss, whom he described as a personal friend.
Addressing the issue on Thursday, July 30, after presenting government’s White Paper on the recommendations of the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC), the Attorney General said public interest and the principles of justice guided his decision to proceed with the appeal.
“It’s not about individuals. If it were about individuals, let me tell you, Sedina is my friend. She’s my personal friend. It’s not about personalities. It’s about this country,” he said.
The Court of Appeal recently overturned the 10-year prison sentence imposed on Madam Tamakloe-Attionu and acquitted her of all charges after ruling that the prosecution failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt.
The judgment, delivered by a three-member panel comprising Justice Emmanuel Ankamah, Justice Emmanuel Senyo Amedahe and Justice Samuel Obeng-Diawuo, held that the evidence presented by the state did not meet the legal standard required for a conviction.
Although the Attorney General indicated that he was yet to fully study the Court of Appeal’s judgment, he maintained that his decision to pursue an appeal was made after reviewing the available documents and receiving advice from officials at the Attorney General’s Department.
“As a lawyer of many years’ standing, I will not comment on a matter until I have read the judgment, and I have not read the judgment of the Court of Appeal. It has been sent to me; I have not read it,” he stated.
Dr Ayine explained that the case file and related extradition request were inherited from the previous administration, but his office had a duty to continue with ongoing legal matters because government remains a continuous institution.
“I inherited the docket, I inherited the extradition request, but government is a continuum. I reviewed the documents and I worked on them,” he said.
The Attorney General also rejected claims that the appeal was intended to protect his reputation or that of President John Dramani Mahama’s administration, stressing that his decision was not influenced by political considerations.
“I am not the type of person who fears losing face. I am not doing this because I want to save face for either myself or the President of the Republic,” he said.
He added that the state would carefully examine the Court of Appeal’s ruling before filing its detailed grounds of appeal at the Supreme Court.
“We’ll review the judgment. You will see the grounds of appeal, and I’m sure at that point in time we can all have a discussion as to whether or not the appeal has any merit,” Dr Ayine stated.
