REPUBLIC vs. AYITTEY AND OTHERS [2003]DLHC1013

Date	2003-02-04
Suit No.
Citation No.	[2003]DLHC1013

AMONOO-MONNEY JA

HON GLORIA AKUFFO (MISS) DEPUTY ATTORNEY-GENERAL (WITH HER OSAFO SAMPONG DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS AND AUGUSTINE OBOUR ASSISTANT STATE ATTORNEY) FOR THE REPUBLIC.

JOHNNY QUASHIE-IDUN (WITH HIM D O LAMPTEY AND SAMUEL VANDER-PUYE) FOR THE FIRST ACCUSED.

J H SENOO FOR THE SECOND ACCUSED.

RODNEY HEWARD-MILLS (WITH HIM ANDREWS TETTEH) FOR THE THIRD ACCUSED.

TONY LITHUR FOR THE FOURTH ACCUSED.

[2003]DLHC1013
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" ><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;
color:#00B0F0">REPUBLIC<o:p></o:p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;
color:#00B0F0">vs.<o:p></o:p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;
color:#00B0F0">AYITTEY AND OTHERS<o:p></o:p>[HIGH
COURT, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p>[2003-2005]
1 GLR 54<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">

<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="margin-bottom:5.0pt;text-align:right;
mso-pagination:none;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">Date: 4 February 2003<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p>HON
GLORIA AKUFFO (MISS), DEPUTY ATTORNEY-GENERAL (WITH HER OSAFO SAMPONG, DIRECTOR
OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS AND AUGUSTINE OBOUR, ASSISTANT STATE ATTORNEY) FOR THE
REPUBLIC.<o:p></o:p>JOHNNY
QUASHIE-IDUN (WITH HIM D O LAMPTEY AND SAMUEL VANDER-PUYE) FOR THE FIRST
ACCUSED.<o:p></o:p>J H
SENOO FOR THE SECOND ACCUSED.<o:p></o:p>RODNEY
HEWARD-MILLS (WITH HIM ANDREWS TETTEH) FOR THE THIRD ACCUSED.<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">

TONY
LITHUR FOR THE FOURTH ACCUSED. <o:p></o:p>

AMONOO-MONNEY
JA<o:p></o:p>

</div>JUDGEMENT<o:p></o:p>Amonoo-Monney JA.
Alhaji Bukari Yakubu, a Superintendent of Police at the Police Forensic Science
Laboratory, which is under the Central Intelligence Department (CID),
Headquarters, commenced his evidence in this case on 20 January 2003 as the
sixth witness for the prosecution. He testified that an aspect of this case was
referred to him in January. 2000 by Assistant Superintendent of Police, Issah,
the investigator of this case. He was requested to compare a “questioned document”,
exhibit B, with the handwriting of the third prosecution witness, Dr Albert
Owusu Barnafo, Madam Georgina Okaitey and the first accused person. After
working on the materials given to him for comparison with his optical
instruments, he prepared a chart which he tendered in evidence without
objection as exhibits H and Hl. He also prepared a report on his work which he
sought to tender in evidence, but Mr D O Lamptey, one of the counsel for the
first accused, raised an objection on the grounds that the document, that is
the report, was not the original copy and that it was not on the letterhead of
the Police Service, and that no foundation had been laid to explain where the
original was. The court advised the prosecution to bring the original copy of
the report to court. The tendering of the document was therefore shelved, and
the case was adjourned.<o:p></o:p>When
the case was called on 28 January 2003 and the sixth prosecution witness was
about to continue his evidence-in-chief, Mr Lamptey again raised an objection,
but his time to the sixth prosecution witness giving evidence in this case as a
handwriting “expert” on the initial ground of non-compliance with the
provisions of section 114 of the Evidence Decree, 1975 (NRCD 323). In the
course of argument, however, Mr Lamptey contended that the sixth prosecution
witness is not, and cannot be said to be, a court expert, and so then based his
objection on the application of sections 112, 113 and 67 of NRCD 323.<o:p></o:p>The
Deputy Attorney-General, Miss Gloria Akuffo, for her part submitted that the
objection be overruled and argued that a person may be appointed under section
114 of NRCD 323 by the court to give evidence in a case as a court expert. She
said that under section 112 of NRCD 323, taken together with section 113 of
NRCD 323, any party to a suit may call expert evidence without an order of the
court, and that is what the prosecution has done in this case by bringing an
expert as a prosecution witness.<o:p></o:p>