COMFORT AND ANOTHER vs. THE REPUBLIC [1974]DLHC2267

Date	1974-03-22
Suit No.
Citation No.	[1974]DLHC2267

OSEI-HWERE J.

DR.OHENE-DJAN FOR THE APPELLANTS.

OSSEI FOR THE RESPONDENT.

<p class="mb-5" id="contentDlCitation"  hidden>[1974]DLHC2267</p>
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" ><span style="font-size: 18px !important;"><span style="font-size: 18px !important;"><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span lang="en-GH" style="font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;
mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;color:#548DD4;mso-fareast-language:#0C00">COMFORT
AND ANOTHER</span></b><span lang="en-GH" style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span lang="en-GH" style="font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;
mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;color:#548DD4;mso-fareast-language:#0C00">vs.</span></b><span lang="en-GH" style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span lang="en-GH" style="font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;
mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;color:#548DD4;mso-fareast-language:#0C00">THE
REPUBLIC</span></b><span lang="en-GH" style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span lang="en-GH" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Book Antiqua&quot;, serif;">[</span><span lang="en-GH" style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: &quot;Book Antiqua&quot;, serif;">HIGH COURT, SUNYANI]</span><span lang="en-GH" style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid windowtext; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">

<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: none; padding: 0cm;"><b><span lang="en-GH" style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: &quot;Book Antiqua&quot;, serif;">[1974] 2 GLR 1</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">&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;</span><i><span lang="en-GH" style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: &quot;Book Antiqua&quot;, serif;">DATE:</span></i><b><span lang="en-GH" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:
&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;color:#00B0F0;mso-fareast-language:
#0C00">&nbsp;</span></b><span lang="en-GH" style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: &quot;Book Antiqua&quot;, serif;">22 MARCH 1974.<o:p></o:p></span></p>

</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; line-height: 15.55pt; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span lang="en-GH" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Book Antiqua&quot;, serif;">COUNSEL:&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></b><span lang="en-GH" style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span lang="en-GH" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Book Antiqua&quot;, serif;">DR.OHENE-DJAN FOR THE
APPELLANTS.</span><span lang="en-GH" style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid windowtext; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: none; padding: 0cm;"><span lang="en-GH" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Book Antiqua&quot;, serif;">OSSEI FOR THE RESPONDENT.<o:p></o:p></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: none; padding: 0cm;"><b><span lang="en-GH" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Book Antiqua&quot;, serif;">OSEI-HWERE J.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>

</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span lang="en-GH" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Book Antiqua&quot;, serif;">JUDGMENT
OF OSEI-HWERE J.</span></b><span lang="en-GH" style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span lang="en-GH" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Book Antiqua&quot;, serif;">On 8 March 1974 I allowed
this appeal and set aside the conviction and sentence of the appellants and
substituted an acquittal and discharge and ordered that the fines imposed if
paid should be refunded forthwith to the appellants. I reserved my reasons which
I now proceed to give. The first and second appellants were jointly charged in
count 1 for assaulting one Peter Adjei and the first appellant alone was
charged in count 2 for assaulting one Abena Frema. The prosecution’s case, in a
nutshell, disclosed that the complainants, Peter Adjei and Abena Frema (the
first and second prosecution witnesses respectively) had attended a
spiritualist meeting which the first appellant had conducted at her house to
exorcise evil spirits and that in the course of the meeting the first
appellant, who is acknowledged by the group as a prophetess and was therefore
the chief actress in the drama, had hit the head of Abena Frema several times
with a stick in her effort to exorcise Abena Frema of her evil spirit. The
first prosecution witness, Peter Adjei, went and held the stick and the second
appellant hit him on the chest and first appellant hit him on the head.</span><span lang="en-GH" style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span lang="en-GH" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Book Antiqua&quot;, serif;">&nbsp;</span><span lang="en-GH" style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span lang="en-GH" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Book Antiqua&quot;, serif;">The appellants denied the
charges. The evidence of the first appellant showed that she had no knowledge
of what happened that particular night of the alleged assault. It is also
evident from her testimony that when she conducts her prayer meetings she at
times falls into a trance when she does not realize what she does or says. The
second appellant also relied on his statement to the police. In that statement
he said that he was rather the victim of an unprovoked attack from the first
prosecution witness Peter Adjei. The statements of both the accused were
forwarded together with the record of proceedings. The first appellant’s
statement to the police supported what she said in the box that when she is
filled with the “spirit” at her prayer meetings she does not realize what she
does. Two witnesses were called for the defence other than the appellants and
they supported the defence contention that the</main>