THE REPUBLIC vs. NANA ISSAKA, ISMAILA ATOBUGAH, MOHAMMED AYARIGA AND YAW ALARDAGO [2010]DLHC7868

THE REPUBLIC vs. NANA ISSAKA, ISMAILA ATOBUGAH, MOHAMMED AYARIGA AND YAW ALARDAG... [2010]DLHC7868

Date	2010-02-05
Suit No.	SUIT NO.: F10/1/06
Citation No.	[2010]DLHC7868

HIS LORDSHIP JUSTICE C. J. HONYENUGA J.A. SITTING AS AN ADDITIONAL HIGH COURT JUDGE

[2010]DLHC7868
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >THE REPUBLIC<o:p></o:p><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;
mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;color:#00B0F0">vs.<o:p></o:p>NANA ISSAKA, ISMAILA ATOBUGAH, MOHAMMED AYARIGA
AND YAW ALARDAGO<o:p></o:p>[HIGH
COURT, SEKONDI]<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">

SUIT
NO.:&nbsp; F10/1/06&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; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;DATE: 5TH FEBRUARY, 2010<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:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">

HIS
LORDSHIP JUSTICE C. J. HONYENUGA J.A., SITTING AS AN ADDITIONAL HIGH COURT
JUDGE<o:p></o:p>

</div><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">

</div>The accused persons were charged with abetment of
Rape contrary to section 20(1) and section 97 of the Criminal Code, 1960, Act
29.&nbsp; The first accused was charged with
Rape contrary to section 97 of Act 29, while all the accused persons and others
were charged with conspiracy to commit crime to wit kidnapping contrary to
section 23(1) and section 89 of Act 29.&nbsp;
All the accused persons were also charged with kidnapping contrary to
section 89 of Act 29 while they were also charged with conspiracy to commit crime
to wit Imprisonment contrary to section 23(1) and section 88(1) of Act 29.&nbsp; The accused persons were charged with
Imprisonment contrary to section 88(1) of Act 29.&nbsp; They were further charged with conspiracy to
commit crime to wit:- Assault contrary to section 23(1) and section 84 of Act
29 while all of them were charged with Assault contrary to section 84 of Act
29.&nbsp; Furthermore, the accused persons
were charged with conspiracy to commit crime to wit:- Stealing contrary to
section 23(1) and section 124(1) of Act 29 as amended by NLCD 398, paragraph 4
and also stealing contrary to section 124(1) of Act 29 as amended by NLCD 398,
paragraph 4.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The accused persons pleaded not guilty to all the
charges.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The facts were that, the complainants are Yaw
Afungo (PW2) and Ama Memuna (PW1).&nbsp; Ama
Memuna was married to the second accused and they lived at Dadieso for eight
years but due to alleged maltreatment from the second accused and his ex rival,
she deserted the matrimonial home and left for her parents home at Zebilla in
the Upper East Region.&nbsp; Ama Memuna stayed
in Zebilla for four months and during the process, she informed her ex-in-laws
of her intention to have the marriage to the second accused dissolved.&nbsp; <o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>One Alhassan, the father of Yaw Afungo approached Ama
Memuna and asked for her hand in marriage to Yaw Afungo while Yaw Afungo lived
at Sefwi Amraya at a village called Sekyikrom.&nbsp;
Ama Mamuna directed Alhassan to see her parents for the processes
towards marriage to her and when the second accused had wind of the marriage,
he travelled to Zebilla and attacked the parents of Ama Memuna.&nbsp; The Chief of Zegbeyire sat on the case and
the marriage between Ama Memuna and second accused was dissolved and Ama’s
parents returned the dowry to the second accused who accepted same.&nbsp; As a result of the dissolution of the
marriage, Ama married Yaw Afungo and brought her to his house at Sakyikrom near
Sefwi Amoaya.&nbsp; The arrival of the couple
at Sakyikrom angered the second accused so he summoned the couple before the
first accused who is the Zongo Chief of Amraya Zongo for Yaw Afungo to refund
an amount of Two million, Six hundred Thousand cedis (¢2,600,000.00) which he
expended when he looked for Ama Mamuna at the time of her escape from his
house.&nbsp; The couple refused to appear
before the first accused and on the 24th January, 2005 at about
2a.m., the first accused let the other accused persons together with twenty
others armed with guns, cutlasses, cudgels and other dangerous implements
stormed the cottage of Afungo and his wife and took them away at gun
point.&nbsp; In the process, the landlord of
Sakyikrom called Sakyi Yebrah and his tenants one Kwasi Opoku and Daniel Apreku
were severely assaulted by the accused persons and others.&nbsp; The&nbsp;
couple were escorted forcibly through the darkness to a nearby river
where they were forced to take their bath and after that four strong men took
Afungo out of the sight of his wife.&nbsp; Two
men among the group forcibly had sex with Ama Memuna in the presence of the 1st,
2nd accused and others.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>After the barbaric act, the group took Ama Memuna
to the house of the 1st accused where Yaw Afungo had earlier been
sent.&nbsp; Afungo was later handed over to
the Police at Sefwi Amoaya under the pretext that he had defrauded the 2nd
accused of ¢2,600,000.00.&nbsp; Later in the
day, the two wives of the 1st accused left the house and he took
advantage of that and forcibly had sex with Ama Memuna.&nbsp; After the 1st accused had
satisfied himself, he left the house and one Osama Bin Laden who is his brother
also forcibly had sex with Ama Memuna in the sitting room of the 1st
accused.&nbsp; The 1st accused and
his gang them went to the Amoaya Police Station to demand the release of Afungo
saying that they were going to settle the matter.&nbsp; The Police fearing a clash with gang,
released Afungo to them.&nbsp; Afungo was
taken to the 1st accused’s house where he was detained for five more
days.&nbsp; Ama Memuna was also detained in
the 1st accused’s house for 3 days until the 28th January
2005 when she was freed.&nbsp; Nana Bawa later
reported the matter to the Police and Ama Memuna led them to arrest the accused
persons but the other members of the gang run away and were at large.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>To prove their case, the Prosecution called seven
witnesses.&nbsp; PW1, Ama Kusasi Memuna
testified that the second accused was her former husband.&nbsp; On the 24th January 2005 at about
2a.m. when she was asleep with his new found lover, PW2, Yaw Afungo, a lot of
people armed with guns, cutlasses entered their bedroom and the first accused
ordered them to get up and go to his house.&nbsp;
She further testified that ropes were used in tying them and she was
taken to a nearby river, they were bathed while she was naked.&nbsp; According to her the accused persons were
present an</main>