National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for the Ketu North constituency, Edem Agbana, has condemned the sentencing of former CEO of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Christine Tamakloe Attionu, to 10 years imprisonment for causing financial loss to the state.
Agbana described the sentence as a miscarriage of justice and a blow to the justice delivery system because it happened in her absence.
In a panel discussion on TV3, April 17, 2024, he emphasized that while the NDC does not condone misconduct by public officials, it advocates for fair and lawful proceedings.
Adding that Article 19(3) of the 1992 Constitution, stipulates that criminal proceedings must take place in the presence of the accused.
“Our (NDC) position is that where we are today with the facts available to us, what happened in court yesterday was a glaring miscarriage of justice and a dent … on our justice delivery system.”
“Article 19(3) of our 1992 constitution provides that during criminal proceedings or trials, it must be done in the presence of the accused, and in the present case, the basic understanding of law means either physically and also must be present or mentally. It means the person must be able to follow the proceedings fully.”
“But in this case, Madam Sedina Christine Tamakloe Attionu followed or was going to court religiously until she felt sick and her lawyers sought permission from the court for her to travel abroad for medical attention,” he added.
Edem asserts that the court has been unfair to the accused, who sought permission to be absent from court, yet the court proceeded to pass a sentence in her absence.
Sedina Christine Tamakloe Attionu and the former Chief Operating Officer of MASLOC, Daniel Axim, have been sentenced for their involvement in various crimes.
Attionu has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, while Axim will serve five years with hard labor.
They were convicted on 78 counts including causing financial loss to the state, stealing, conspiracy to steal, money laundering, and causing loss to public property, all in violation of the public procurement law.
The trial, which began in 2019, saw the state presenting six witnesses. Notably, Attionu was tried in absentia as she absconded after obtaining permission from the Accra High Court to seek medical treatment abroad.
Really !!!