[1974]DLHC2274 • August 23, 1974 • High Court
DONKOR vs. THE REPUBLIC
The appellant, an eighteen-year-old woman, became pregnant by Gariba Sadick. On instructions from Gariba, she interfered with the pregnancy resulting in an abortion on 16 November 1973. The aborted baby was found in a public latrine. The appellant was arrested in a semiconscious state and taken to hospital. She was charged with concealment of the body of a child under section 62 of the Criminal Code, 1960 (Act 29).
read moreThe appellant aged about eighteen years became pregnant by one Gariba Sadick who according to her had been her boy friend for two years prior to the date of her arrest. The evidence is not clear as to the date of her conception but the undisputed facts however show that there was some interference with the pregnancy on the instructions of the said Gariba as a result of which on 16 November 1973, the appellant aborted and the baby was found in a public latrine. Following a report made to the police not long after the appellant had left the public latrine, she was traced to a friend’s house where she was arrested and taken first to the Cape Coast District Police Station in a semi-conscious state and later to the Cape Coast General Hospital where the placenta was removed. Police investigations show that they were contemplating preferring charges against Gariba for being responsible for the abortion but events turned against the appellant who on 4 February 1974, was arraigned before the .....