AWEDAM vs. THE REPUBLIC [1983]DLCA2094

Date	1983-03-30
Suit No.
Citation No.	[1983]DLCA2094

JIAGGE JA

EDUSEI JA

MENSA BOISON J.A.

HAMMOND FOR THE APPELLANT.

OSAFO SAMPONG SENIOR STATE ATTORNEY FOR THE REPUBLIC.

[1983]DLCA2094
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >AWEDAM <o:p></o:p>vs. <o:p></o:p>THE REPUBLIC <o:p></o:p>[COURT OF APPEAL, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p>[1987-88] GLR 902<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 MARCH 1983<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">

HAMMOND 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">

JIAGGE, EDUSEI AND MENSA BOISON JJ.A.<o:p></o:p>

</div><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>JUDGMENT OF MENSA BOISON J.A.<o:p></o:p>Mensa
Boison J.A. delivered the judgment of the court. The appellant, John Awedam,
was convicted at the Bolgatanga criminal session on 6 July 1979, of the murder
of Charles Awontera, at Navrongo on 4 February 1978, and was sentenced to death
by Okai J.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>On 2
February 1978, the deceased gave evidence for the prosecution in a case of
selling above the control price, in which one Chamaso was convicted and
sentenced to four months’ imprisonment at the District Court, Navrongo. The
charge was in respect of a tin of milk sold to one Peter Ayirizang, who gave
evidence later in the instant murder trial as the first prosecution witness.
There was nothing remarkable about that trial, but for the conduct of the
present appellant at the District Court, Navrongo and the events of 4 February
1978.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>What
happened was that on the conviction and sentence of Chamaso, the appellant, who
had been at the court during the trial, accosted the deceased and the first
prosecution witness in turn, and threatened that because they had caused his
friend to be jailed, he would kill them within three days. This threat was
repeated that same evening to the deceased, when the appellant, then in charge
of the Range Rover he was employed to drive, saw the deceased at the cinema
palace in town. His exact words were “Charlie you have made the court to jail
my friend. I will kill you.”<o:p></o:p>Both the
deceased and the first prosecution witness must have taken these threats as
empty bluff. Indeed, the deceased brushed aside advice to report the matter to
the police, as he thought he could match the appellant fist to fist. But on 4
February 1978, at about 3.30 p.m., the appellant ran over the deceased with his
Range Rover on the main town road in Navrongo. Strangely enough, this occurred
some twenty minutes after the first prosecution witness had, by a hair’s
breath, saved himself from being similarly run over in another part of that
road by the appellant with his Range Rover. The deceased was severely injured
and died within an hour after the incident at the Navrongo Hospital.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>4
February 1978 was a market day at Navrongo, with the main road from the market
to the Navrongo Secondary School thronged with people to and from the market.
At about 3.00 p.m., the first prosecution witness was making his way from the
cinema palace towards the market place and as it happened, he was walking along
the left side of the road close to the gutter, when he was alarmed by frantic
shouts of danger at the approach of a vehicle from behind. Instinctively, the
first prosecution witness jumped over the street gutter and fell down beyond
the gutter. As he fell a Range Rover from behind perilously whisked past where
he had been walking in the road a moment earlier. He noticed it was the Range
Rover driven by the appellant, and observed that the vehicle had been driving
along the left side, instead of the usual right in that direction. Terrified by
the sense of near death, the first prosecution witness picked himself up, and
ran without even a look back straight to his house. It was about twenty minutes
after he had got to the house, that he heard that the Range Rover had knocked
down and killed the deceased.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The
account of what happened to the deceased was from the sixth prosecution
witness, Moro Mumuni. At about 3.00 p.m on 4 February, he was with the deceased
on their way towards the secondary school. They were on the left side of the
road walking abreast and close to the street gutter, with the deceased on the inner
side. In that manner they had on-coming vehicles, driving on the right, facing
them, on their side.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>Some way
along in the town, he saw the appellant in his Range R</main>