The Verdict Of The Court On Tamakloe's Case: A Political Prosecution Exposed

Story By: Akure Albert Mbawini

Let us be honest with ourselves. The Court of Appeal has acquitted Sedina Tamakloe, and while the headlines will scream about corruption being overturned, those of us who followed the politics closely understand exactly what has happened here.

We all have our views on Tamakloe's case, but in a courtroom, public outrage is not admissible evidence.

The law demands proof. Hard and tangible proof. The appeal court examined what the prosecution actually presented and found it insufficient. That is not a failure of the judiciary. That is a failure of the prosecution to do its work properly.

You cannot convict someone because it feels right. You convict them because the evidence leaves no room for doubt. In this case, the doubt was substantial.

Godfred Dame's office kept this case alive for years, and it is the same playbook we witnessed with Ato Forson. Drag someone through court, generate headlines, score political points and leave the judiciary to clean up the mess later. Let us call it what it is: prosecution for public relations, not for justice.

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If the current Attorney General had discontinued the Ato Forson case early, we all know the noise the NPP would have generated. Yet when the court finally examined that case, what happened? Acquittal. No case. All that time, all those resources and all that media attention for nothing.

The outcome of the Tamakloe case follows the exact same pattern. These cases were never built to withstand appellate scrutiny. They were built to last an election cycle and damage political opponents.

This is where the conviction was always vulnerable. Tamakloe was tried in absentia and convicted without ever presenting her defence. In any reasonable system, that is indefensible.

We have a principle in this country, affirmed in cases like Awuni vs. WAEC, that you cannot penalise someone without giving them a fair hearing. That is not a technicality. It is the very foundation of justice. If you were accused of something serious, would you accept a verdict delivered while you sat in another room unable to speak? Of course not. Neither should Tamakloe.

Once that foundational flaw emerged, the appeal court had only one option: discharge and acquittal. Anything else would have been a travesty of justice.

We all want corruption prosecuted. We all want our public officials held accountable, but accountability cannot come at the expense of due process. When the state rushes to court with weak cases, relies on public sentiment rather than solid evidence and tries people without giving them a voice, it does not strengthen the fight against corruption. It weakens it. The Tamakloe acquittal is not a victory for corruption. It is a verdict on prosecutorial laziness and political expediency.

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Until we demand better from our Attorney General's office, we will keep seeing these high-profile cases collapse. That is not justice. That is a waste of our time and our taxes.

.......signed..........

Akure Albert Mbawini

Concerned Citizen

From

Binduri