|
Wrongly Convicted Database Record
|
Charge: |
Financial Loss to the State (or other govt. entity) |
Sentence: |
5 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
0.58 |
Year Crime: |
1992 |
Year Convicted: |
2008 |
Year Cleared: |
2016 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Ghana |
County or Region of Crime: |
|
City of Crime: |
|
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Tsatsu Tsikata was wrongly convicted on June 18, 2008 of three counts of causing financial loss of about ¢2.3 million to the state and misapplying public property in Ghana. Tsikata was the CEO of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) in 1991 when Valley Farms contracted a loan from Caisse Francaise de Developement in 1991, but defaulted in the payment and the GNPC, which acted as the guarantor, was compelled to pay it in 1996. Tsikata insisted he was innocent of any wrongdoing. Tsikata's trial in the Accra Fast Track High Court began in October 2002. His trial lasted for 5 years and 8 months. After his conviction Tsikata was sentenced to five years in prison. In August the State appealed the sentence as too lenient. While Tsikata was hospitalized in prison, on January 6, 2009 he was granted an absolute presidential pardon by then-President John Kufuor. However, Tsikata rejected the pardon, and vowed to pursue his innocent through judicial processes. Tsikata wrote a two-page handwritten letter to President Kufuor on the day he learned of the pardon: "I have never sought, and I do not need your pretence of mercy. Justice is my quest and I will pursue this quest in accordance with the constitution and laws of Ghana. Your apparent exercise of the presidential prerogative of mercy in respect of a conviction and imprisonment which you were the prime mover of, is the height of hypocrisy." Tsikata was released after the pardon. Tsikata filed an appeal on June 30, 2016 challenging his sentence and conviction. On November 30, 2016 Ghana's Court of Appeal quashed Tsikata's convictions based on insufficient prosecution evidence to prove his guilt, in ruling it was a miscarriage of justice. Tsikata told reporters after the ruling: "What the court has done today is to decide the merits of this case and thereforefore set aside the [earlier] judgment and I am now acquitted."" |
Conviction Caused By: |
|
Innocence Proved By: |
"On November 30, 2016 Ghana's Court of Appeal quashed Tsikata's convictions in ruling it was a miscarriage of justice." |
Defendant Aided By: |
|
Compensation Awarded: |
|
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
|
Age When Imprisoned: |
|
Age When Released: |
|
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"Tsatsu Tsikata ‘not guilty’ of causing financial loss – Court of Appeal, By Staff, CITI 97.3 FM, November 30, 2016" |
Information Location 1: |
http://citifmonline.com/2016/11/tsatsu-tsikata-not-guilty-of-causing-financial-loss-court-of-appeal/ |
Information Source 2: |
"Tsatsu Tsikata Challenges His Sentence For Causing Financial Loss To State, By Staff, Peace FM Online, July 13, 2016" |
Information Location 2: |
https://www.peacefmonline.com/pages/politics/politics/201607/285269.php |
Information Source 3: |
|
Information Location 3: |
|
Information Source 4: |
|
Information Location 4: |
|
Information Source 5: |
|
Information Location 5: |
|
Book About Case: |
|
Book Information: |
|
Book About Case (2): |
|
Book Information (2): |
|
Movie About Case: |
|
Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org