SGT. JOHN AGYAPONG vs. THE REPUBLIC [2015]DLCA8053

Date	2015-02-12
Suit No.	CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. H2/1/2009
Citation No.	[2015]DLCA8053

MARIAMA OWUSU (MISS) J.A. (PRESIDING)

F.G. KORBIEH J.A.

SENYO DZAMEFE J.A.

JOSEPH KAPONDE FOR THE APPELLANT

ELIZABETH SACKEYFIO(MRS) S C A FOR THE REPUBLIC

[2015]DLCA8053
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >SGT. JOHN AGYAPONG<o:p></o:p>(APPELLANT)<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>THE REPUBLIC<o:p></o:p>(RESPONDENT)<o:p></o:p>[COURT OF APPEAL, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. H2/1/2009&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &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>COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p>JOSEPH KAPONDE FOR THE APPELLANT <o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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ELIZABETH
SACKEYFIO(MRS) S C A 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;
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MARIAMA
OWUSU (MISS) J.A. (PRESIDING), F.G. KORBIEH J.A., SENYO DZAMEFE J.A.<o:p></o:p>

</div>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
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padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">JUDGMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>F.G. KORBIEH, J.A.<o:p></o:p>A
summary of the facts of the case leading to this appeal is as follows: the
appellant herein and eleven others were arraigned before the Circuit Court in
Accra and charged with two offences: 1. Conspiracy to commit a crime; to wit
robbery and 2. Robbery. They all pleaded not guilty to both charges and were
therefore tried summarily. The appellant was convicted of both conspiracy and
robbery. On appeal to the High Court, his conviction on robbery was set aside
but that on conspiracy maintained. His sentence of twenty years was also
maintained. He has therefore appealed against the upholding of his conviction
on the conspiracy charge and the sentence imposed on him. It is useful, at this
juncture, to give the brief facts as given to the trial court by the prosecution.
They are as follows: one Kweku Duah (the complainant and P.W.1 at the trial
court) arrived in Accra from Switzerland on the 1st February, 2008
and informed his friend (the 8th accused person during the trial)
that he had come to buy gold. The complainant later checked into the Relax
Court Hotel at Dzorwulu in Accra. The day after the arrival of the complainant,
some of the accused persons and another (now at large) including the 8th
accused, went to the hotel room of the complainant ostensibly to transact the
gold-buying business with him. The 8th accused however locked the
door of the complainant’s hotel room from the outside. One of the accused subsequently
pulled a pistol on the complainant but the complainant knocked the pistol down
and fled his room through the bedroom window. Once outside, the complainant met
some of the other accused persons who assaulted him and removed monies and
other items from his pockets. Other accused persons looted and ransacked his
hotel room. He was then bundled into Mercedes Benz saloon car and driven to the
Tesano Police Depot to the 1st accused, DSP Kwapong, who interrogated
him for some time and then demanded US$30,000.00 from him. The complainant
asked DSP Kwapong to take him to Tema to see his friend (the 8th
accused) as all his money had been taken away. The 1st, 2nd,
3rd and 4th accused persons took the complainant to Tema.
The car in which they went was driven by the 3rd accused. After some
time in Tema, the 8th accused person drove the complainant back to
the Relax Court Hotel. The next day the complainant made a report to the police
and the accused persons were arrested. Investigations indicated that the one
group of policemen who went to the hotel was led by L/Cpl. Karim Muntari whilst
another was led by Chief Inspector Adu. Both groups said that they had been
sent to the hotel by DSP Kwapong. <o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>In
his statement to the police and in court, the appellant was emphatic that at
all material times he had driven the car on the instructions of his superior
officer, Chief Inspector Adu. He was nonetheless convicted on both counts and
sentenced to twenty years imprisonment, the sentences to run concurrently. He
appealed to the High Court where his conviction on the charge of robbery was
set aside but that on conspiracy upheld. He therefore appealed to this Court on
the following grounds:<o:p></o:p>1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
The
learned High Court judge erred when he failed to appreciate that the appellant
was obeying lawful orders of a superior officer.<o:p></o:p>2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
The
appellant raised reasonable doubt at the trial to secure his acquittal and
discharge from the charge of conspiracy to rob.<o:p></o:p>