AFWIRENG vs. THE REPUBLIC [1972]DLHC11119

Date	1972-02-02
Suit No.	[1972] 1 GLR 270
Citation No.	[1972]DLHC11119

EDMUND BANNERMAN C.J.

DE GRAFT-JOHNSON FOR THE APPELLANT.

AVAH FOR THE RESPONDENT.

[1972]DLHC11119
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >AFWIRENG<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>THE REPUBLIC<o:p></o:p>[HIGH COURT, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p><div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt;">

[1972] 1 GLR 270 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;DATE:2 FEBRUARY
1972<o:p></o:p>

</div><h1 style="margin-left:0cm;text-align:justify">COUNSEL<o:p></o:p></h1>DE GRAFT-JOHNSON FOR THE APPELLANT. <o:p></o:p><div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt;">

<p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify;
line-height:151%;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">AVAH FOR THE RESPONDENT.<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM:<o:p></o:p>EDMUND BANNERMAN
C.J.<o:p></o:p><div style="border-top-width: 1.5pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-left: none; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-right: none; padding: 1pt 0cm;">

<h1 align="center" style="margin-left:0cm;text-align:center;border:none;
mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">JUDGMENT OF EDMUND
BANNERMAN C.J.<o:p></o:p></h1>

</div><h1 align="center" style="margin-left:0cm;text-align:center">&nbsp;</h1>The appellant was
charged with assault contrary to section 84 of the Criminal code, 1960 (Act
29), and was tried and convicted by a
district magistrate, Accra, and sentenced to a fine of ¢50.00 or four months’ imprisonment with hard labour.<o:p></o:p>A
supplementary ground of appeal filed
and argued before this court alleged that “the trial magistrate erred in law in holding that failure of
the accused to file notice of alibi rendered it impossible for the court to believe him.” It is not necessary for
me to go into the facts of the case in any detail. The complainant alleged in his evidence that the appellant
picked up a piece of brick and threw it so that it hit his left eye, thus injuring him in that eye; the
appellant denied that he did any such thing and said that, not only did he not know the complainant before seeing him
in court, but that on the day he was alleged to have committed the assault,
he the appellant, was not in the house as he “proceeded to Nsawam.” In commenting on the
appellant’s evidence, the
learned magistrate said:<o:p></o:p>“The case for the defence was a denial.
The accused would have this court believe
that at the date and time the incident occurred he was at Nsawam.
He made a statement which was silent on that fact. He never even filed a notice of alibi.<o:p></o:p>Consequently his failure
to do so renders
it impossible for this court to
believe him—”<o:p></o:p>Section
131 (3) and (4) of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1960 (Act 30), which deal with the
requirement to file notice of a
defence of alibi state: [His lordship here stated the provisions as set out in
the headnote and continued:]<o:p></o:p>Assuming
that the defence of the appellant was one of alibi (as the learned magistrate
found) the above section requires in
such a case the trial magistrate to call upon an accused person to file a
notice of alibi when such a defence
is raised without notice of the particulars of such alibi having been
previously given to the prosecution to adjourn the case for
such purposes, if necessary. It is only when the court has complied with this
requirement and the accused has failed
to furnish the details of his alibi as directed that any evidence of the alibi is shut out and excluded. Where the court has failed to comply with
subsection (3) of section 131 by calling on the</main>