LARTI vs. THE STATE [1965]DLSC1824

Date	1965-04-30
Suit No.
Citation No.	[1965]DLSC1824

MILLS-ODOI JSC

OLLENNU JSC

BRUCE-LYLE J.S.C.

M. A. METTLE FOR THE APPELLANT.

K. GYEKE-DAKO SENIOR STATE ATTORNEY (WITH HIM MRS. J.A. AMANKWA) FOR THE RESPONDENT.

[1965]DLSC1824
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >LARTI<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;vs. <o:p></o:p>THE STATE <o:p></o:p>[SUPREME COURT]<o:p></o:p>[1965] GLR 305<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

DATE:
30 APRIL 1965.<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 0in 0in">

M. A. METTLE FOR THE APPELLANT.<o:p></o:p>

K. GYEKE-DAKO, SENIOR STATE ATTORNEY (WITH HIM
MRS. J.A. AMANKWA), FOR THE RESPONDENT.<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM:
<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 0in 0in">

MILLS-ODOI, OLLENNU AND BRUCE-LYLE
JJ.S.C.<o:p></o:p>

</div><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>JUDGMENT OF BRUCE-LYLE J.S.C.<o:p></o:p>Bruce-Lyle
J.S.C. delivered the judgment of the court. This is an appeal from a conviction
for murder entered at the Criminal Session of the High Court held at Accra on
22 April 1964. The case for the prosecution is that the appellant and the
deceased Kwadjo Asare lived in the same house in Abenabo village near Suhum.
The deceased shared the same room with one Yaa Manko, the ninth prosecution
witness and his brother’s wife, who is also the appellant’s cousin. On the
evening of Friday 20 September 1964 the appellant visited the ninth prosecution
witness and the deceased in their room, conversed with them for some time and
when he was about to leave he insulted the deceased, saying that he was a beast
and had no sense; when the ninth prosecution witness asked him for his reason
for saying so, the appellant said nothing and went away and left the house. He
later returned to the house when the ninth prosecution witness and the deceased
had locked their door. The appellant then banged on the door and shouted saying
that he had seen the deceased having sexual intercourse with the ninth
prosecution witness and that if the deceased were a man he should come out for
a fight. This went on for some time until the appellant’s mother Akua Mankosa,
the tenth prosecution witness, came and advised the appellant to stop and to go
to bed. The following day the tenth prosecution witness reported the matter to
one Kwaku Asare the appellant’s uncle and the seventh prosecution witness, who
held an arbitration at which the appellant attributed his behaviour the
previous night to the effect of drink. As a result the appellant was asked to
pacify the deceased with half a bottle of akpeteshie and the appellant did so.<o:p></o:p>On the
following Sunday one Kofi Nketia, the eighth prosecution witness, who lived at
Suhum visited the village and went to the appellant’s house where he met the
appellant, one Kwasi Asare, the sixth prosecution witness, a boy aged seven
years and a girl by name Abena. The eighth prosecution witness took some
cassava with him with which the appellant prepared fufu and they all ate.
Whilst they were eating, the deceased entered the house, having returned from
his farm and the eighth prosecution witness invited him to join them but the
deceased declined the offer and went and had his bath and came and sat outside,
in front of his room, for some time before he went into his room. The eighth
prosecution witness then left the house with the appellant leaving the sixth
prosecution witness and Abena in the house. The appellant later returned to the
house. First, he entered his room, and then came out and went into the room of
the deceased, and after a brief moment the sixth prosecution witness heard the
deceased shouting in the room that he was being killed. The appellant then came
out of the room and went straight to the Suhum police station and made a report
to the police that he had killed his cousin Kwadjo Asare during a quarrel, and
in the course of making the report he handed to the police a blood-stained
cutlass. The police later went to the village and saw the deceased lying dead
in a pool of blood in front of his bed with several cutlass wounds on the body
and the intestines protruding. The post-mortem examination revealed no less
than 24 cutlass wounds.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>During
the investigations the appellant volunteered a statement under caution, exhibit
B, in which he gave his version of what happened on the previous Friday night
and continued as follows:<o:p></o:p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:5.0pt;
margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify;mso-pagination:none;border:none;mso-padding-alt:
31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt;mso-border-shadow:yes">“In the
evening which was 21 September 1963 Kwaku Asare came to our cottage and held arbitration
into the matter. He found me guilty for knocking the door when I saw that
Kwadjo Asare and Yaa Manko were flirting. He asked me to provide half a bottle
of Akpeteshie value 2s. which I did. I was not pleased at all. Today 22
September 1963, at about 12 noon Kwadjo Asare was asleep on his bed when I
entered the room and woke him up. He came out and stood in front of the door. I
sat on the verandah rail and asked him whether he loved me or not. And if he
loved me why he did not tell me anything about the 2s. debt I incurred the
previous night because of his conduct. I was referring to the 2s. worth of
akpeteshie taken from me. Kwadjo Asare simply told me to get away from him with
my foolishness. I also abused him that he was a stupid and a foolish man. I
gave him a blow with my fist. At that time only Kwasi Asare and Abena who are
both children were with us in the village in the compound playing. When I gave
Kwadjo Asare a blow he returned it. I then took up my cutlass which I placed on
the verandah nearby. Kwadjo Asare then turned round and ran towards his room. I
ran after him and struck his back with the cutlass. He fell on his bed and I
cut him again. He fell on the floor and I continued cutting him with the
cutlass. His intestines came out and he could not struggle again and so I left
him. The children were screaming. I then left the village towards Suhum holding
the cutlass when I met Kwaku Asare going towards our cottage. He asked me what
happened. I did not reply but passed him and came to Suhum and surrendered
myself to the police and gave out the cutlass. I was annoyed with Kwadjo Asare
because he always abused me that I was not a man, and that was why I killed
him.”<o:p></o:p>