THE STATE vs. KWADJO OFORI [1961]DLSC1325

Date	1961-03-17
Suit No.
Citation No.	[1961]DLSC1325

VAN LARE JSC

SARKODEE-ADOO JSC

AKIWUMI JSC

J. C. ARMAH FOR THE APPELLANT

K. DUA SAKYI FOR THE RESPONDENT (THE STATE).

[1961]DLSC1325
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&nbsp;[SUPREME COURT]

[1961] GLR 162

DATE: 17TH MARCH, 1961.

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COUNSEL:&nbsp;&nbsp;

J.
C. ARMAH FOR THE APPELLANTK. DUA SAKYI FOR THE RESPONDENT (THE STATE).

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VAN LARE, SARKODEE-ADOO AND
AKIWUMI, JJ.S.C.

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&nbsp;

Van Lare JSC delivered the judgment of the court. The evidence
including that of the appellant himself is overwhelming in support of the
learned trial judge’s finding that the appellant attacked his wife in a most
savage way and literally butchered her to death because he was uncontrollably
jealous and suspected his wife of having committed adultery with one Kwabena
Awortwi. For some time previously, the appellant had been under the impression
that the deceased, his wife, had been illicitly associating with the man
Kwabena Awortwi, a relative who had been staying in the same house with the
deceased and her parents. On the morning of the fatal day the deceased and her
mother were going to the farm, and, not far away from the house, the appellant
suddenly appeared, armed with a cutlass and attacked the deceased. The
appellant had on the previous evening quarrelled with the deceased, and
appeared so angry that he had to be taken home by his wife’s father. On the way
to the village according to the evidence, there had been no discussion between
the deceased and her mother concerning the appellant, whose name was not even
mentioned before his sudden appearance; and the evidence is that without any
excuse of any kind, such as the exchange of words or a quarrel, or the deceased
even being aware of the appellant’s presence, she was suddenly attacked by him
and slashed in several places with a cutlass. In his cautioned statement to the
police which he admitted making, he, however, stated that on the fatal morning
he was himself going to his farm when he overheard his deceased wife and her
mother discussing him, and he became annoyed. The statement continued as
follows:

“What annoyed me most was that my mother-in-law told my wife that
if she was not successful to divorce my wife from me she would let somebody
have sexual intercourse with my wife. She went on to say that if my wife’s
daughter was grown enough she would let my wife go to Kwabena Awortwi to have
sexual connection with her. After this talk I appeared before them. I told them
that I have heard all what they said and that I have seen that the
mother-in-law was not in my favour and that if I went to the house to tell the
elders what I have heard I would not be believed and so I have finished
entirely with the woman. I at once attacked her with my cutlass and I inflicted
some wounds on her. Whilst I was inflicting the cutlass wounds on my wife I
told my mother-in-law that I was not attacking her with my cutlass because she
would take care of my daughter. But whilst I was on her the mother-in-law took
to her heels and went away. I ran away to the bush looking for Kwabena Awortwi.
I was looking for him to kill him also because it was through him the trouble
came. I went to his farm for seven days and I never saw him. As I could not get
him I intended going to Bekwai Police Station to make a report. On the way I
had a lorry to Bekwai and as soon as I joined the lorry the passengers said
they have arrested me. Nobody arrested me. I joined the lorry to Bekwai Police
Station.”

This is a damaging piece of evidence on a charge of murder in a
trial against the appellant for killing his wife who died later the same day in
hospital from the injuries so sustained. The trial came before

Apaloo J., sitting with the aid of assessors at the High Court,
Kumasi, on the 10th November, 1960, when the appellant in his
evidence on oath appeared to have substantially reiterated the statement he had
earlier made to the police but added that when he approached and talked to
deceased she slapped him on the face in addition to confessing that she had in
fact had sexual intercourse with Kwabena Awortwi.

The learned trial judge adequately dealt with the question of
provocation both in his summing-up and in his judgment. The assessors by their
unanimous verdicts of guilty of murder rejected the plea of provocation as
might reduce the killing to manslaughter. The learned judge found that the
deceased did not slap the appellant as alleged by him, and with this finding we
have no ground for interfering. According to the law of this country, even if
the prisoner’s evidence that his deceased wife had made a sudden confession of
adultery by her with Awortwi were believed, that would not amount to such
extreme provocation as would reduce the offence to one of manslaughter; it
would have been otherwise if the adultery as alleged had been in view of the
prisoner: see the judgment of this court in Regina v. Grunshie.

In the circumstances we have no alternative but to hold that the
learned trial judge came to the correct conclusion both on the facts and the
law when he found that it had been proved that the prisoner on the 3rd day of
August, 1960, at Denyasefokrom intentionally caused the death of his wife Afua
Asantewa by unlawful harm and that he did so without provocation.