ATTO-MENSAH vs. THE REPUBLIC

JUDGMENT OF ARCHER J. The appellant was convicted by the Circuit Court, Cape Coast, on two counts of defaming the National Liberation Council contrary to section 183A of the Criminal Code, 1960 (Act 29), and was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment with hard labour on each count. He has appealed against both the conviction and the sentence and his learned counsel Mr. Sarpong, with leave of court argued the additional grounds of appeal in conjunction with the ground of appeal relating to sentence. Mr. Sarpong’s first ground was that the trial circuit judge wrongly overruled the submission of no case made at the close of the case for the prosecution. His main quarrel under this ground was with the construction of section 183A of the Criminal Code, 1960 (Act 29), (inserted by section 1 of the Criminal Code (Amendment) Act, 1961 (Act 82), and as amended by the National Liberation Council (Proclamation) (Amendment) (No. 2) Decree, 1966 (N.L.C.D. 104)), which reads: “An...