KUO-DEN ALIAS SOBTI AND OTHERS vs. THE REPUBLIC [1990]DLSC626

Date	1990-06-18
Suit No.
Citation No.	[1990]DLSC626

ADADE J.S.C

FRANCOIS J.S.C

WUAKU J.S.C

AMUA-SEKYI J.S.C

AIKINS J.S.C

G. DJABANOR FOR THE APPELLANTS.

SAM BADDOO CHIEF STATE ATTORNEY (WITH HIM MRS. ANSON CHIEF STATE ATTORNEY) FOR THE REPUBLIC.

[1990]DLSC626
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >KUO-DEN ALIAS SOBTI AND
OTHERS<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;vs. <o:p></o:p>THE REPUBLIC<o:p></o:p>SUPREME COURT, ACCRA <o:p></o:p>[1989-90] 2 GLR 203<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:
18
JUNE 1990<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">

G. DJABANOR FOR THE APPELLANTS.<o:p></o:p>

SAM BADDOO, CHIEF STATE ATTORNEY (WITH HIM MRS.
ANSON, 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;
padding:0in 0in 0in 0in">

ADADE, FRANCOIS, WUAKU, AMUA-SEKYI AND<o:p></o:p>

</div><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>JUDGMENT OF AIKINS J.S.C.<o:p></o:p>Aikins
J.S.C. delivered the judgment of the court. The appellants were convicted
before Dove J. in the High Court, Bolagatanga on 24 February 1982 of the murder
of Aliu Nuhu and sentenced to death.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The case
for the prosecution is that on 15 February 1977 the deceased, Aliu Nuhu, a
Fulani man, left his village at Numoro in Nandom in the morning to graze his
cattle. In the evening the cows came back to the village in batches without the
deceased. His brother Modi Nuhu became worried when he realised that the
deceased had not accompanied the cows and reported the incident to his chief
who informed him that he had heard that some Dagartis had chased a Fulani man
in the bush. On hearing this the brother, the first prosecution witness, went
to the house of the Dagarti chief at Sugo and the chief confirmed the story of
the chase. The chief, the fifth prosecution witness, said that when he heard of
the chase he went to the appellants who told him that three of their cows were
stolen by the Fulani man, but that they had recovered their cows and that the
Fulani man had gone away. When therefore the first prosecution witness came to
him, he invited the appellants to his house to meet him. Four of them came
including the one who died before the trial commenced.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>On the
arrival of the four persons (all Dagartis), the chief asked them about the
whereabouts of the Fulani man in the presence of the first prosecution witness,
and they admitted chasing the Fulani man but said that the man ran away with
his cattle. The first prosecution witness said that at the chief’s house he
asked the four Dagartis whether they had killed his brother, but they said they
had not killed him; all they did was to drive him away with his cattle.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>Not
satisfied with what he heard, the first prosecution witness reported the
incident to the police at Nandom the same day. The police arrested the first
and second appellants as well as the other person who died before the trial. At
that time the third appellant was at large and was only arrested eight months
later.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The
appellants were interrogated by the second prosecution witness, the police
detective who investigated the case, one after another separately. According to
him, the first appellant stated that while they were drinking pito at his
house, the fourth prosecution witness, a relative of the third appellant,
informed them that when he was out grazing the third appellant’s cattle, he met
the deceased in the bush, and fearing the deceased would steal his cattle he
had come to report to the third appellant. The three appellants therefore went
to the bush together with their deceased colleague and a fifth Sissala man
called Kojo and met the deceased. While there, the first appellant told the
police, they tried to invite the deceased to Sugo, their village, but the
deceased rather drew a knife and they all started to throw stones at him. He
stated further that the third appellant hit the deceased with a club and he
fell down and died.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>When the
second appellant was interrogated, he confirmed that when they chased the
deceased he drew a knife and they all started throwing stones at him. He added
that the third appellant collected the knife and killed the deceased. He also told
the police that an amount of ¢32 was found on the deceased and they all shared
it, but the first appellant later surrendered his share of the money to him.
The second appellant gave the amount to the police and one of the cedi notes
was found to have stains suspected to be blood.<o:p></o:p>