[1991]DLCA2309 • March 21, 1991 • Court of Appeal
REPUBLIC vs. KORLE GONNO DISTRICT MAGISTRATE GRADE I; EX PARTE AMPOMAH
Emmanuel Atta Ampomah died on 29 January 1990 at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. A partial autopsy was conducted by Dr. Simmons at the request of Dr. Boateng, a relative, which did not conclusively determine the cause of death. Dissatisfied relatives requested a second autopsy supervised by Dr. Felix Dodu, which also failed to determine the immediate cause of death. The District Court Magistrate acting as coroner initiated an inquest to ascertain the cause of death. The widow, Madam Flora Ampomah, suspected of poisoning, challenged the inquest by certiorari and prohibition proceedings, alleging harassment. The High Court quashed the inquest, holding the cause of death was clear and the coroner had no mandate to hold an inquiry. The Republic appealed this ruling.
read moreThis is an appeal against the ruling of the High Court, Accra presided over by Aryeetey J. The facts briefly are as follows: On 29 January 1990, Emmanuel Atta Ampomah died at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. On the same day, an autopsy was conducted on the deceased by a pathologist, Dr. William Minnow Simmons, in the presence of one Dr. Boateng, a nephew of the deceased. It would appear that as Dr. Boateng did not suspect any foul play regarding his uncle’s death, he somehow rushed Dr. Simmons to do only a “partial post-mortem” just to verify the clinical diagnosis of cerebrovascular accident. And so if death had been caused by poisoning, for example, he could not have known through that partial post-mortem. Later, the relatives of the deceased expressed dissatisfaction with this autopsy and demanded another one from a different source. The second autopsy was carried out in the department of pathology under the general supervision of Dr. Felix Dodu. There also it was said: “Th...