AGYEMAN II vs. REPUBLIC

FORSTER JA. The appellant, Nana Oppong Sarfo Agyeman II, is the Chief of Bawore, in Ashanti. In August 1991 he was arraigned before the Circuit Court, Kumasi, on a charge of stealing three wooden electric poles valued ¢75, 000, the property of Bawore citizens. At the close of the case for the prosecution, learned counsel for the defence submitted that the accused person had no case to answer. In a very brief ruling, warranted of course by the simple nature of the case, the learned circuit judge held that the prosecution had made out a prima facie case against the accused. The appellant's subsequent appeal to the High Court, Kumasi, was dismissed. It is from the judgment of the appellate High Court that the appellant appealed to this court. On 4 March 1993, we dismissed this appeal and reserved our reasons and accordingly, we now give our reasons. This being a second appeal, we are guided by Azu Crabbe JA’s dictum in Kwesi v Republic [1977] 1 GLR 448 at page 452. He said: “On a...