Private legal practitioner Samson Lardy Anyenini has argued that former MASLOC Chief Executive Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu's 10-year prison sentence is likely to begin from the date she is taken into custody in Ghana, rather than from the date the sentence was pronounced by the court.

Speaking on Joy FM's Top Story on Tuesday, June 9, Mr. Anyenini said interpreting the law to mean that a sentence begins immediately upon pronouncement, regardless of whether the convicted person is in custody, would lead to an untenable legal outcome.

Responding to a question about when Tamakloe Attionu's sentence legally begins, he acknowledged that a literal reading of Section 315 could suggest that a sentence commences the moment it is pronounced. However, he cautioned against such an interpretation.

“The interesting thing is that Section 315 interprets it literally that it commences the very moment it is pronounced. But if you are trained to apply it in that sense, you will create a complete legal absurdity. The law does not make room for that kind of absurdity that you have been convicted to serve a sentence, and you never set your foot in custody, and your sentence will run,” he explained.

Mr. Anyenini noted that although some legal commentators have argued that the wording of the law supports such a position, courts must interpret statutes in a manner that promotes justice and avoids absurd results.

Drawing comparisons with legal systems in other jurisdictions, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Nigeria, he said imprisonment ordinarily begins when a convict is placed in custody.

“If you look across other jurisdictions, it is custody that triggers the commencement of the serving of the sentence. In the U.S., in the UK, even in Nigeria, where the law is almost like ours, the courts have held that it doesn't make sense. It creates a legal absurdity that cannot be tolerated,” he stated.

Mr. Anyenini was emphatic that time spent as a fugitive cannot count toward the completion of a prison sentence.

“The sentence must begin with custody. It cannot be that you abscond; you're a fugitive from justice, and it is then said that you have served your sentence while you were away. The fugitive time will definitely have to be eliminated,” he argued.

He warned that any contrary interpretation would undermine the purpose of criminal punishment and encourage convicted persons to evade justice.

“If you don't do that, the absurdity that is created will be most unpardonable. It sends the law completely on its head and throws society into a silly situation,” he said.

The legal practitioner further pointed to international practice, including at the International Criminal Court, where sentences begin upon a convict's transfer to a detention facility rather than at the time judgment is delivered.

He also disclosed that Attionu filed an appeal immediately after her conviction and sentencing. According to him, the appeal remains pending and could raise additional legal questions.

Mr. Anyenini revealed that one of the grounds of appeal challenges the severity of the sentence imposed by the court.

“Among the grounds of the appeal was that the 10 years were disproportionate. So we look forward to how that goes,” he said.

His comments come amid renewed public interest in the legal implications of Attionu's return to Ghana following her extradition from the United States to serve a 10-year sentence imposed after her conviction in absentia in the MASLOC financial loss case.

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Lawyer says Sedina's sentence starts when she is caught, not when judge gave it

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