[1988]DLSC706 • May 31, 1988 • Supreme Court •
APPIAH vs. THE REPUBLIC
The appellant, Mr. J.E.K.A. Appiah, was appointed special prosecutor under the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council Special Tribunal and Other Matters Decree, 1979 (AFRCD 23) to continue prosecutions against corruption and related offences. Despite his role, he was charged with extortion for allegedly obtaining money (£1,000 and £10,000) from two petitioners, Henry K. Djaba and E.K. Owusu, by virtue of his office. The prosecution relied heavily on bank statements and documents showing payments into the appellant's London bank account. The appellant denied knowledge of these payments and challenged the evidence and the circumstances surrounding the prosecution.
read moreJUDGMENT OF FRANCOIS J.S.C. Francois J.S.C. delivered the judgment of the majority of the court. The cathartic attempts to cleanse Ghana of corruption and the other ills of society which accompanied the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council’s (the AFRC’S) assumption of power in 1979 was not meant to end with the AFRC’s withdrawal from office. A special tribunal was set up under the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (Special Tribunal and Other Matters) Decree, 1979 (AFRCD 23) to continue the exercise, and Mr. J.E.K.A. Appiah, the appellant herein, by a letter dated 22 September 1979 was appointed its special prosecutor. His duties were spelt out in section 9 of AFRCD 23 and section 17 (6) of the transitional provisions of the Constitution, 1979. It is a cruel irony that the prosecutor to whom was entrusted the continuation of the duty of stable cleaning, has himself fallen foul and is criminally tainted. In protesting his innocence, he urges a critical examination of the ...