<p class="mb-5" id="contentDlCitation" hidden>[2012]DLCA3121</p> <div class="restriction-wrapper"> <div class="container-lg"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-12 restricted-content"> <div class="restricted-content-img-wrapper"> <div class="lock-icon bounce-7"> <img class="" src="https://www.dennislawgh.com/dl-assets/dl-images/lock-content.png" alt="Subscription based content"> </div> </div> <a href="https://www.dennislawgh.com/login" class="btn btn-primary btn-lg" style="font-family: 'open sans'; text-transform: capitalize; border-radius: 8px"> Login to Read Full Case </a> </div> </div> </div> </div> <main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" ><span style="font-size: 18px !important;"><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:#00B0F0">DOUGLAS AFRIYIE AND 9 OTHERS<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:#00B0F0">vs.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:#00B0F0">THE REPUBLIC<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">[COURT OF APPEAL, KUMASI]<o:p></o:p></span></b></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" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in; mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in; mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">CIVIL APPEAL NO. H2/10/2011 DATED: 29<sup>TH</sup> JUNE, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></p> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">COUNSEL</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">JOSEPH KAPONDE ESQ FO APPELLANT<o:p></o:p></span></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" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in; mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">AFUA SERWA ASARE BOTWE; PRINCIPAL STATE ATTORNEY FOR REP/RESPONDENT.<o:p></o:p></span></p> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">CORAM:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">MARIAMA OWUSU (MISS) J.A. (PRESIDING), F.G. KORBIEH J.A., IRENE C. DANQUAH (MS.) J.A.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border-top:solid windowtext 1.5pt; border-left:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;border-right:none; padding:1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in"> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;border:none;mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">JUDGEMENT<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">F.G. KORBIEH, J.A.<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">The ten appellants herein (together with one other person) were put before the District Court, Sunyani for committal for trial on indictment for three offences, namely conspiracy to commit murder, murder and causing unlawful damage. At this committal or preliminary hearing stage, the committal court explained the plea of alibi to each of them and asked that if they intended to plead alibi they should give their explanation to the committal court and later furnish the names of witnesses they proposed to call within the period stipulated by the statute. In each case each appellant said he had nothing to say since he had engaged the services of counsel. They were each committed to stand trial at the Sunyani High Court on the charges mentioned above. At the beginning of the trial the prosecution presented the facts of the case to the trial court. These may be summarized as follows: in March [2007] two persons died in the bush at Kuffour Camp near Atronie and it was rumoured that they had been killed by serial killers. On the 8/4/2007 fifteen young men went on procession to Atronie and informed the chief that they had sighted the killers in two private cars and had driven them away. Not too long after that the deceased was driving his private saloon car with the corpse of a friend’s mother in it through Atronie town. When the crowd of people in the procession saw the car of the deceased, they barricaded the road and proceeded to attack the vehicle and the occupants in it. A policeman and a police labourer managed to rescue the three ladies in the car but the man who was driving the car was pulled out of it and lynched. The car itself was totally damaged. Police reinforcements arrived at Atronie and the people in the crowd fled the scene. After police investigations, the appellants were put before court on the charges mentioned above. At the trial before the SunyaniHigh Court the prosecution called ten witnesses in all (including the independent witness who witnessed the second (confession) statement given the 1<sup>st</sup> appellant). Each one of them testified as to what he/she knew of the incident that fateful day. After the prosecution closed its case, none of the appellants put in an application to make a submission of no case to answer. The trial court then called upon the 1<sup>st</sup> appellant (Douglas Afriyie) to open his defence; which he did. He denied all the three charges leveled against him saying that on the 4/5/2007 he had gone to a place called Ayakomasu near Sunyani with his parents, his pastor and others for a conference; that returned to Atronie in the evening of the following Sunday at 9.30 and that on the way to his house he saw a damaged vehicle and a dead man lying on the street with stones and sticks by his body. He continued that he by passed the police station where he saw people gathered but he passed them and went home to sleep. The next day he was on his way to Wamanhinso when he was arrested by the police. He denied mentioning some names to ASP OchilFii, the investigator. It was at this stage that learned counsel for the 3<sup>rd</sup> and 10<sup>th</sup> appellants decided to make a submission of no case to answer on behalf of his clients. He was however over-ruled and the trial continued. The 2<sup>nd</sup> appellant (Stephen Donkor) also denied the charges. He said that on the 8/4/2007 he was at Hwidiem where he was invited to teach someone how to do an undertakers job (which is what he does). He said he was on his way back to Sunyani when the vehicle he boarded stopped at Atronie where he spent some time; from Atronie he was heading towards Sunyani when he, like all the other men in the vehicle, was picked by the police and taken to Sunyani where they were informed that there had been some trouble at Atronie and a man had been killed hence their arrest. The 3<sup>rd</sup> appellant (AkwasiNyantakyi) also denied the charges. He said that on the 8/4/2007 he was in Accra where he worked as a barber but decided to go to Atronie that day. He continued that it was whilst he was on the way to Atronie that heard that there was trouble at Atronie and the town was full of policemen and task-force people; that he alighted along the way and went back toSunyani but was arrested at BenuNkwanta. He said that upon his arrest together with other people they were severely beaten. He said that he had known the 1<sup>st</sup> appellant earlier because there had been a brawlbetween them. In cross-examination he admitted that he was also called Nana KwasiNyantakyi.The 4<sup>th</sup> appellant (Adams Hamidu) denied the charges. He said that he lived at Kuffour Camp but that on the 7/4/2007 he received a telephone call from his mother as a result of which he went back to Kuffour Camp only to be told that his father had been murdered on the farm. He went on that he went to Atronie to try and call his relatives on the phone to inform them about what had happened; that he got to Atronie at about 6.00 pm and went to his father’s house. He continued that he went to a drug-store near-by to make the calls and saw some people from Kuffour Camp who said they were going to report a case to the police; that Adjetey and Koffie were two of the people; that the people started heading towards the chief’s palace but later boarded a vehicle and went back to Kuffour Camp; that he also went to make his calls and later went to bed at his father’s house. The 5<sup>th</sup> appellant (James Dankwah) also denied the charges leveled against him. He saidhe had known the 1<sup>st</sup> to 9<sup>th</sup> appellants before the incident but they were not his friends. He went on that on the 8/4/2007 he was at the Ayum Forest weeding around timber trees; when he returned to his house at Atronie, he took his bath and went to Madam Yaa Kofi’s ‘chop bar’ where he ate a meal and thereafter returned to his house; he did not go out again until the next morning. He was arrested two weeks after the incident. He did not </main>
