Investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has expressed disappointment over the Court of Appeal’s decision to acquit and discharge former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu, saying the ruling raises concerns about accountability despite years of investigative work.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, August 1, Mr Awuni said the appellate court’s decision had left him questioning whether the sacrifices associated with investigative journalism were worthwhile.
“I feel the same way I felt when I first heard of the appeal and the outcome,” he said.
“There have been times in my life when I have asked myself whether it is even worth it. And this has been one of those instances where everybody knows that wrong has been done.”
His comments come two days after the Court of Appeal overturned Ms Tamakloe-Attionu’s conviction and 10-year prison sentence.
In its judgment delivered on Thursday, the three-member panel held that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt, setting aside the convictions imposed by the High Court.
The ruling followed an appeal filed by Ms Tamakloe-Attionu challenging both her conviction and the legality of being tried and sentenced in absentia. Her lawyers argued that the charges were defective and that the prosecution failed to prove the offences against her.
Ms Tamakloe-Attionu was extradited from the United States to Ghana on June 9, 2026, and began serving her 10-year sentence at the Nsawam Medium Security Female Prison on June 24 before the Court of Appeal overturned her conviction.
Reflecting on the judgment, Mr Awuni lamented what he described as a lack of consequences for wrongdoing, despite extensive investigative efforts backed by documentary evidence.
“But as things stand, nobody is going to account for the wrongdoing,” he stated.
“And it hurts when you spend your time, you risk your life and do all of these things. This is just one of the many instances where I have done work with evidence, and it ended up nowhere.”
The award-winning journalist, whose investigations have uncovered several high-profile corruption and governance issues over the years, suggested that outcomes such as the MASLOC case could discourage journalists committed to exposing wrongdoing in the public interest.
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