ZORTOVIE vs. THE REPUBLIC [1984]DLCA1012

Date	1984-11-04
Suit No.
Citation No.	[1984]DLCA1012

FRANCOIS JA

EDUSEI JA

MENSA BOISON J.A.

S.A.X. TSEGAH FOR THE APPELLANT.

SAM BADDOO CHIEF STATE ATTORNEY FOR THE REPUBLIC.

[1984]DLCA1012
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" ><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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ZORTOVIE <o:p></o:p>

{COURT OF APPEAL, ACCRA} <o:p></o:p>

[1984-86] 2 GLR 1<o:p></o:p>

DATE:
11 APRIL 1984<o:p></o:p>

</div><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>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">

S.A.X.
TSEGAH FOR THE APPELLANT.<o:p></o:p>

SAM
BADDOO, CHIEF STATE ATTORNEY, FOR THE REPUBLIC.<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;
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FRANCOIS, 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. This is an appeal by Kobla
Doku Zortovie (hereafter referred to as the appellant) against his conviction
and sentence dated 11 November 1981 for the murder of Ebenezer Abotsi Korsinah
on 23 June 1979. The trial was before a jury at the High Court, Accra presided
over by Sarkodee J. Ayiku Frakwa, the would be second appellant, we were
informed, has since his conviction died and in consequence his appeal stood
abated. We will still retain him in that role for easier reference. It is as
well to mention also that standing trial on the same indictment as the present
appellant and the second appellant at the court below, were a third and fourth
accused persons, Peter Zortovie, son of the appellant, and Lucky Francis Agu
respectively. These two latter persons were charged with aiding and abetting
the commission of the murder of Korsinah. The two abettors were, however,
acquitted and discharged; the third accused on the verdict of the jury and the
fourth on a direction by the trial judge on a submission of no case. The appeal
therefore concerns only the first appellant herein but the nature of the
evidence the prosecution sought to rely on makes reference to these others
necessary.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The case
of the prosecution sets the scene at Ada Junction, also called Kasseh, where on
23 June 1979 the appellant hired a taxi cab to take him to Kadjanya, a village
nearby. The taxi cab was driven by the fourth accused, with the second
prosecution witness, Ahwahe Baba, a son of the owner, as his driver’s mate.
Before the taxi cab had left Ada Junction the appellant had his son, the third
accused, picked up from a house by the road to accompany him. En route to
Kadjanya was the village of Tamatoku, at which place the appellant requested
the driver to stop. The appellant alighted, went into the village and soon returned
followed by the second appellant and another person. These joined the appellant
in the taxi who asked them to accompany him for something at Kadjanya. Thence
the taxi proceeded to Kadjanya market where the appellant finally ordered the
fourth accused to stop. Except for the driver and his mate, the second
prosecution witness, all the others alighted from the taxi and were led away
into the darkness of the village by the appellant.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>A little
while later, the appellant’s son, Peter (i.e. the third accused) came back from
the village to tell the driver and the second prosecution witness of a fight in
a room. Having made that report the third accused went back into the village.
The reaction of the driver was to drive away instantly with the second
prosecution witness back to Ada Junction, leaving the appellant and his group
to their fate at Kadjanya.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>In one
part of the deceased’s house was his daughter, the first prosecution witness,
with whom he had had the evening meal before he retired to his room. About the
same hour, as that of the ominous visitation, her child had been struck with
some fit of unconsciousness. In her agony she went out to fetch the deceased to
help; but found the room of the deceased empty, and obviously disturbed and
with a lot of blood splashed about the room. Thus alarmed, the first
prosecution witness raised a cry to alert the villagers to her fears. So in
turn a report was made to the police at Battor Junction.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>A police
investigator, the fifth prosecution witness who inspected the scene in the room
early on 24 June 1979, confirmed that the room had been greatly disturbed and
found pieces of broken bottles scattered about the floor. Multiple blood stains
he saw in the room eventually trailed and led him to a well about 50 yards behind
the house of the deceased. In it he found the dead body of Korsinah. On the
same day the body was deposited at the Korle-Bu Hospital mortuary. Upon the
identification of the fourth prosecution witness, a son of the deceased, a
pathologist performed the autopsy at the mortuary on 28 June 1979 in the
presence of the police investigator. Somehow the pathologist was not available
and gave no evidence at the trial as to the cause of death.<o:p></o:p>