Why the Court of Appeal cleared Sedina Tamakloe – the bare facts

Because the theft and financial-loss convictions fell for lack of proof, the money laundering charges — which legally depend on there being an underlying theft — collapsed with them. And because every conviction was quashed, the Court declined to consider whether her original ten-year sentence was too harsh, holding that there was no valid conviction left to sentence her for.

In his concluding remarks, Justice Ankamah wrote that the rule requiring the prosecution to prove guilt, and barring that burden from shifting to the accused, "is not a technical nicety of procedure. It is the constitutional expression of the presumption of innocence, and it is owed to every accused." ...