DAGARTI vs. REPUBLIC

On 14 December 1984 the appellant, Kwame Dagarti alias Bukari was found guilty of the murder of Thomas Asika and convicted accordingly. The statutory sentence of death was passed on him. He appealed to this court against his conviction and sentence on several grounds. The facts which gave rise to the prosecution of the appellant may be briefly stated as follows: Both the appellant and deceased were convicts and inmates of Sunyani Central Prisons. They shared Cell No 4 Down. The appellant enjoyed the status of “supervisor” in Cell No 4 Down, a status that empowered him to give orders to the other prisoners and occupants in Cell No 4 Down. These other prisoners were obliged to obey his commands and orders. The deceased had been found “guilty” of stealing roasted corn flour, the property of the appellant. The punishment meted out to the deceased was that he should, for three consecutive days, go to a river to fetch drinking water for the use of the inmates of the cell. The decease...