YEBOAH ALIAS KRAMO vs. THE REPUBLIC

The appellant had been a party in a civil case before the District Court Grade II, Duayaw Nkwanta. Immediately after judgment was delivered against him, he was alleged to have said in open court: “You have not judged the case according to law.” He was arrested, apparently at the direction of the presiding magistrate, and the following day was charged before the same magistrate with “insulting court” contrary to section 224 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29). He pleaded guilty according to the record, was convicted, and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment with hard labour. He appealed against conviction and sentence on the basis, principally, that the proceedings were contrary to natural justice because the magistrate effectively sat as judge in his own cause. Portion of judgment: “The appellant was a litigant in a civil case before the District Court Grade II, Duayaw Nkwanta… the appellant was alleged instantly… to have uttered the following words: ‘You have not judged the case according to law.’… the next day those words formed the subject of a criminal charge… before the same magistrate.”