The Director of Legal Affairs of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gary Nimako Marfo, has expressed mixed views on the Court of Appeal’s decision to acquit and discharge former MASLOC Chief Executive Officer Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu, saying he agrees with some aspects of the judgment but believes the court placed an excessively high burden on the prosecution.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile programme on Saturday, August 1, Mr Nimako Marfo said he had read the judgment in full and concluded that while some parts of the court’s reasoning were sound, other aspects went beyond the legal threshold required in criminal prosecutions.
He argued that the decision appeared to require the prosecution to prove its case “beyond a shadow of a doubt,” a standard he believes is higher than what the law demands.
“I have read the judgment in its entirety. There are portions of the judgment I tend to agree with the Court of Appeal. There are portions where I think it was an overreach because it tends to place a very high burden on prosecutors to prove an accused person’s guilt beyond a shadow of a doubt, and that I have a problem with. Overturning the conviction and the sentencing, I thought maybe they could have asked for a retrial at the High Court,” he said.
His comments follow Thursday’s Court of Appeal ruling, which overturned the High Court’s conviction and 10-year prison sentence imposed on Ms Tamakloe-Attionu over offences relating to the management of MASLOC funds.
Following the judgment, the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, announced that the state would appeal the decision at the Supreme Court.
Gideon Boako warns against one-party dominance in Parliament
