Former Deputy Attorney General Alfred Tuah-Yeboah has criticised the Court of Appeal's decision to acquit and discharge former MASLOC Chief Executive Officer Sedina Attionu-Tamakloe.

He argued that the appellate court erred in concluding that the prosecution failed to establish its case.

Speaking on Joy FM's Newsnight on Thursday, July 30, he said that even if the charge sheet contained technical defects, the court should have considered whether a substantial miscarriage of justice had occurred before overturning the conviction.

Citing provisions of the Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) Act, he maintained that technical defects in a charge sheet should not invalidate a conviction where sufficient evidence exists to support the offences.

"With all due respect, the Court of Appeal erred big time. It never adverted its mind to the law that we have in our statute books and decided to acquit and discharge Tamakloe without any basis," he said.

Mr. Tuah-Yeboah said he was surprised by the judgment, insisting that the evidence presented during the trial was strong enough to sustain Ms. Attionu's conviction.

"I knew that she had the right to appeal, but I never had in mind that the Court of Appeal was going to set her free on the grounds that I've seen in the judgment they delivered today. So, I'm surprised," he said.

The Court of Appeal overturned Ms. Attionu's conviction after identifying what it described as evidential shortcomings and legal defects in the prosecution's case.

However, the former Deputy Attorney-General rejected that conclusion, praising prosecutors from the Office of the Attorney-General and investigators from the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) for what he described as their meticulous handling of the case.

"The evidence on record, I can say without any equivocation, is so solid that the decision of the Court of Appeal to set her free on the grounds that the evidential burden was not met is rather strange and very surprising," he stated.

To support his argument, Mr. Tuah-Yeboah cited evidence relating to a GH¢500,000 MASLOC loan advanced to a microfinance company in the Ashanti Region.

According to him, officials of the company decided to return the money after realising they could not satisfy the loan conditions. He alleged that Ms. Attionu instructed them to refund the money in cash instead of returning the cheque.

He said evidence before the trial court showed that the officials travelled to Accra with GH¢500,000 in cash and handed it over to Ms. Attionu, who allegedly issued a written acknowledgement of receipt.

"If this is not evidence that the Court of Appeal should accept, then what else do you expect a court of law to accept?" he asked.

Mr. Tuah-Yeboah also referred to evidence concerning funds allocated to support victims of the Kantamanto market fire. He alleged that although more than GH¢1.4 million had been released for the intervention, an audit found that less than GH¢800,000 had been utilised, with the balance unaccounted for.

He further pointed to evidence relating to about GH¢1.8 million budgeted for a nationwide sensitisation programme for MASLOC beneficiaries. According to him, the prosecution demonstrated that only three regions were visited and approximately GH¢1,300 was spent, leaving a substantial portion of the funds unexplained.

He also cited another allocation of GH¢246,000, claiming it was never used for its intended purpose and was not returned to MASLOC.

The Court of Appeal's decision has generated widespread legal and political debate, with supporters of the judgment arguing that it corrected flaws in the prosecution's case, while critics contend it overlooked compelling evidence presented during the trial.