HELEGAH vs. THE REPUBLIC [1973]DLCA2382

Date	1973-02-15
Suit No.
Citation No.	[1973]DLCA2382

LASSEY JA

ARCHER JA

KINGSLEY-NYINAH J.A.

ODURO FOR THE APPELLANT.

MRS. J. AMANKWA SENIOR STATE ATTORNEY FOR THE RESPONDENT.

[1973]DLCA2382
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >HELEGAH <o:p></o:p>vs. <o:p></o:p>THE REPUBLIC <o:p></o:p>[COURT OF APPEAL,
ACCRA]<o:p></o:p>&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;[1973]
2 GLR 29<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 0in 0in">

DATE:
15 FEBRUARY 1973.<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">

ODURO FOR THE APPELLANT.<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">

LASSEY, ARCHER AND KINGSLEY-NYINAH
JJ.A.<o:p></o:p>

</div><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>JUDGMENT OF ARCHER J.A.<o:p></o:p>The
appellant was tried on an indictment at the High Court, Ho, for the murder of
his wife Korsiwor Kwami at Wumeve cottage in the Volta Region and was found
guilty of murder. He has appealed against the verdict on the grounds that:<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">(a) The conviction is wrong
because at the time the offence was alleged to have been committed there was
doubt that he was sane.<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">(b) The learned trial judge did
not direct the jury properly on the law of insanity.<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">The appellant’s contention,
therefore, was that the special verdict of “guilty but insane” should have been
brought by the jury.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The
prosecution’s story was that the appellant was married to the deceased and they
had a young child and they lived together at their cottage. The mother of the
deceased wife received a message in August 1968 while she was in Ashanti that
her daughter was sick. She therefore returned to the Volta Region and went to
Live village to visit the daughter who had been sick for about a month. After
the daughter’s recovery, the mother decided to go back to reside at Live but
the daughter persisted that she would go with the mother to Live at the
mother’s cottage. This persistence was contrary to the wishes of the appellant
who reported the matter to his own father. On the eve of their departure, the
appellant summoned the mother and the daughter before the appellant’s father
who also did not approve of the appellant’s wife going away with her mother.
After the meeting, the parties dispersed and the appellant and his wife
returned to their house. Shortly afterwards, the mother of the deceased went to
the appellant’s house and entered the appellant’s room. There to her horror,
she found that her daughter had been decapitated. She was in a sitting position
but her head had been completely severed and was lying on the ground near the
trunk of the body. She also found the young baby of the marriage also slashed
to death near by. When she exclaimed, “Who has done this,” the appellant
suddenly emerged from another room holding a cutlass besmeared with blood. The
mother attempted to run but the appellant chased her and slashed her with the
cutlass in several places on her body. She fell in front of the appellant’s
father’s room and when she feigned that she was dead, the appellant left her.
When she recovered after losing consciousness, she found herself at the Akatsi
Clinic and was later admitted to a hospital in Lome.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>After the
appellant had slashed the mother of the deceased, the appellant’s father went
to the house where he found that the appellant’s wife and also his son had been
slashed to death. On seeing his own father, the appellant attempted to slash
him too but he was overpowered and the cutlass fell and the appellant was
arrested and sent to the Akatsi Police Station. On the same day, 20 August
1968, the police completed their investigations and on the next day 21 August,
that is within 24 hours of the commission of the crime, the appellant was
charged with the crime of murder and after having been cautioned in the
presence of two independent witnesses, the appellant voluntarily made a
statement which was recorded. In that statement, the appellant narrated how he
got married to the deceased and revealed details of their married life at the
cottage. He also mentioned how his mother-in-law came to visit them and later
expressed a wish to go away with the daughter a move he and his father
resented. The following extracts from his statement are very important and they
are quoted verbatim for the purpose of further reasoning in this judgment. In
his own words:<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">“So that
when she star</main>