BY Grace Zigah
Fresh questions continue to surround the whereabouts of former Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) Chief Executive Officer, Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu, after government officials insisted she is serving her 10-year prison sentence but declined to disclose the correctional facility where she is being held, fuelling political controversy and demands for greater transparency.
The latest debate was reignited after Interior Minister Muntaka Mubarak-Mohammed attempted to dismiss allegations that the convicted former MASLOC boss was being held in a private residence or receiving preferential treatment following her extradition from the United States to Ghana.
Speaking in an interview on Joy News on Wednesday, June 24, Muntaka maintained that Tamakloe-Attionu has remained in the custody of the Ghana Prisons Service since arriving in the country to begin serving her sentence.
“From the day she came, she has been with us, and she’s with us, and she’s serving her term,” the Interior Minister stated.
Despite the assurance, the minister declined to identify the specific prison facility where the former MASLOC CEO is being held, arguing that such information is not ordinarily disclosed, particularly in the case of high-profile inmates.
According to him, once a judge sentences a person to imprisonment, responsibility for the convict shifts from the judiciary to the country’s security agencies.
“When a judge even sentences an offender, you don’t go back to the judge and ask which prison the person has been taken to. The judge has delivered the judgment. The person is now with the security agencies,” he explained.
Muntaka further defended government’s refusal to reveal Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu’s exact location, saying public disclosure could expose high-profile prisoners to security risks.
“Maybe in Ghana we take telling people where somebody is serving lightly. But in America and other countries, telling people that this kind of high-profile person is here can even lead to the death of that person. So it’s for safety,” he argued.
The Interior Minister insisted there should be no doubt that the former MASLOC Chief Executive is serving her custodial sentence under the supervision of the Ghana Prisons Service.
“Trust us, she’s serving her term. She’s not in any private residence. She is with us,” he stressed.
He also indicated that anyone seeking to visit Tamakloe-Attionu must apply through the Ghana Prisons Service, which would determine whether the inmate is willing to receive visitors before granting approval.
The latest clarification comes against the backdrop of mounting pressure from opposition politicians and sections of the public demanding clarity over the former public official’s detention.
The controversy intensified after Minister of State for Government Communications Felix Kwakye Ofosu earlier acknowledged that he did not know the exact correctional facility where Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu was being held, despite confirming that she had been extradited to Ghana and was in lawful custody.
His comments sparked criticism from Minority Members of Parliament and policy analyst Franklin Cudjoe, who questioned why government officials could confirm that the former MASLOC boss was serving her sentence while refusing or being unable to identify the prison where she was incarcerated.
Critics argue that the lack of disclosure has created unnecessary speculation, with some alleging that the former MASLOC CEO could be receiving special treatment outside the country’s mainstream prison system. Government, however, has consistently rejected those allegations.
The debate follows the extradition of Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu from the United States after years of legal proceedings.
The former MASLOC Chief Executive had been convicted in absentia by a High Court on corruption-related offences linked to her tenure at the state lending institution. She was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment after being found guilty of causing financial loss to the state and related offences.
Following her return to Ghana, government announced that she had been placed in the custody of the Ghana Prisons Service to begin serving her sentence.
Her legal team has since indicated that it intends to challenge the conviction through the appellate process.
While the legal process continues, the government’s refusal to disclose the specific prison facility where Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu is being held has remained at the centre of public debate, with opposition figures insisting that greater transparency is necessary to assure Ghanaians that the sentence imposed by the court is being fully enforced.
