Member of Parliament for Bongo Constituency, Edward Bawa, has unloaded on the Office of the Attorney General, cautioning the department against circling the wagons on behalf of the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo administration.
He charges the Office of the Attorney General to pursue other scandalous issues in the Akufo-Addo administration just like the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) scandal.
“The state should equally be interested in other issues even the most scandalous ones because if you look at the figures that are being mentioned here and you compare to figures, today you have people who are involved in serious scandals like the Australian Visa scandal, not only were they not prosecuted but also ended up rewarding them with appointments and so when you see that depending on the situation, the attitude of the state to exercise its right of prosecution is different, that is not good for our democracy,” says the Bongo MP.
The Member of Parliament for Bongo who doubles as a member of the Energy Committee in Parliament accused the state of engaging in selective prosecution.
Speaking on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana on Thursday, April 17, the lawmaker emphasized that the alacrity with which the state handed a 10-year jail term to former MASLOC CEO, Sedinam Tamakloe for causing financial loss, should be the same with known persons who have squandered money under the current administration.
He also explained that “for me particularly with this issue, I have a funny feeling that it is also an opportunity to divert the attention of Ghanaians from the hardship that people are going through”.
Background
Sedinam Tamakloe, a former CEO of Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) , was sentenced to 10 years in prison with hard labour on April 16, 2024.
Also, Daniel Axim, a former MASLOC COO, has been jailed for five years with hard labour.
They were found guilty on 78 counts, including causing financial loss to the state, theft, conspiracy to steal, money laundering, and causing loss to public property.
The trial, ongoing since 2019, saw six witnesses testify for the state. Tamakloe was tried in absentia after leaving the country for medical reasons, while Axim testified in person but didn’t call any witnesses.
By: Vanessa Edotom boateng | Metrotvonline.com \ Ghana
