GAMELLI VINOTOR @ GABOO & ANOR vs. THE REPUBLIC [2015]DLCA7032

Date	2015-02-12
Suit No.	COURT APPEAL NO.: H2/6/2015
Citation No.	[2015]DLCA7032

KUSI-APPIAH J.A. (PRESIDING)

DZAMEFE J. A.

TORKORNOO J. A.

NII ADJEI MENSAH FOR APPELLANTS

ELIZABETH SACKEYFIO (MRS.) – SENIOR STATE ATTORNEY FOR RESPONDENT

[2015]DLCA7032
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >GAMELLI VINOTOR @ GABOO &amp; ANOR<o:p></o:p>(APPLICANTS/APPELLANTS)<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>THE REPUBLIC<o:p></o:p>(RESPONDENT/RESPONDENT)<o:p></o:p>[COURT OF APPEAL, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p>COURT
APPEAL NO.: H2/6/2015 &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: 12TH FEBRUARY, 2015<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border-top:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;border:none;
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<o:p></o:p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;border:none;
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APPELLANTS <o:p></o:p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;border:none;
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– SENIOR STATE ATTORNEY FOR RESPONDENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM:&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;&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;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<o:p></o:p>KUSI-APPIAH
J.A. (PRESIDING), DZAMEFE J. A., TORKORNOO J. A.<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border-top:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
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</div><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>GERTRUDE TORKORNOO, J. A <o:p></o:p>Section 149 of the
Criminal Offences Act 1960 Act 29 provides that: <o:p></o:p>149. A person who commits robbery commits
a first degree felony’<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;Section also defines robbery as:<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;150. A person who steals a
thing commits robbery —<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;'a. if in and for the purpose of stealing the
thing, that person uses force or causes harm to any other person or <o:p></o:p>b.
if that person uses a threat of criminal assault or harm to any other person,
with intent to prevent or overcome the resistance of the other person to the
stealing of the thing’. <o:p></o:p>The facts of this case are
that at about 2am of 18th January 2009, a group of armed men violently attacked
the house of the complainant and PW1, one John Kofi Mensah, an Executive Banker
with Unibank Ghana Ltd. After assaulting the security guard called Isaac Annan,
PW2 in the house, and taking GH¢150 (One Hundred and Fifty Ghana cedis) off
him, they entered the outhouse where the children and other relatives of the
complainant lived. They also entered the rooms of PW5 and PW6 by hitting the
doors open with bricks. While there, under threat of violence, they took GH¢250
(Two Hundred and Fifty Ghana cedis) and one Nokia phone from Mavis Annan, PW3
and the daughter of John Kofi Mensah. With the same threat of harm through
violence, one of the robbers forcibly took cash of 50 euros valued at GH¢230
(Two Hundred and Thirty Ghana cedis) from one Caroline Annan Mensah and a
Samsung F 300 phone valued at GH¢150 (One Hundred and Fifty Ghana cedis). He
also shot Christabel Quansah in the right hand and the pellets had to be
removed through surgery. <o:p></o:p>They then took Mavis Annan
hostage, and with a gun to her head, escorted her to the main house where they
threatened to kill her if her father did not give them GH¢50,000 (Fifty
Thousand Ghana cedis). They shot at the complainant within the main house, and
using bricks, broke down burglar proofing to reach him within the house. He
threw 700 Euros out to them. After PW1 shot at one of the armed robbers, they
got alarmed and ran out of the house, releasing PW3 in the process.<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;Five people were arrested namely GAMELLI VINOTOR @ GABOO (1A) ISAAC TETTEH @
REVEREND (2A), ROBERT TAYLOR @ BORNTY (3A), MENSAH DOGBEY @ FOFO (4A), EMMANUEL
QUAYE @ OLD SCHOOL (5A), and charged with conspiracy to commit robbery and
robbery contrary to sections 23 (1) and 149 respectively, of the Criminal
Offences Act (Act 29) 1960, as amended . They were tried in the High Court. On
25th September 2013, the appellant herein was convicted by the High Court in
Accra and sentenced to 40 years IHL for the offences. He has appealed against
the judgment on two grounds. Firstly that the conviction was an error in law,
and secondly that the sentence was too harsh.<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;In his statement of case filed for and on
behalf of the appellant, counsel for the appellant argued the two grounds of
appeal together. It was his submission that the appellant was arraigned over
the charges cited supra through a supposed identification by a witness and
after a phony identification parade. His argument was that the only thing
linking the appellant with some of the accused persons is that they were arrested
together at a drinking bar.<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;It is his case that the prosecution</main>