AKROFI KUDOAJI vs. THE REPUBLIC [2015]DLCA8276

Date	2015-03-26
Suit No.	SUIT NO.: H2/10/2014
Citation No.	[2015]DLCA8276

OWUSU (MS.) J.A. (PRESIDING)

ACQUAYE J.A.

DZAMEFE J.A.

MR. J. K. YEBOAH FOR THE APPELLANT

MRS. VALARE ADUSI-POKU (CSA)FOR THE RESPONDENT

[2015]DLCA8276
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >AKROFI KUDOAJI<o:p></o:p>(APPELLANT)<o:p></o:p><span lang="EN-GB" 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;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB">vs.<o:p></o:p>THE REPUBLIC<o:p></o:p>(RESPONDENT)<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</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;
padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">

SUIT NO.:&nbsp;
H2/10/2014&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &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: 26TH MARCH, 2015<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p>MR. J. K. YEBOAH FOR THE APPELLANT<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">

MRS. VALARE
ADUSI-POKU (CSA)FOR THE RESPONDENT<o:p></o:p>

</div><span lang="EN-GB" 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;;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB">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">

OWUSU (MS.) J.A. (PRESIDING),
ACQUAYE J.A., 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;
padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">

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

</div>ACQUAYE,
J. A.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>This judgment is in respect of an
appeal lodged against the conviction and sentence of the appellant to 50 years
imprisonment with hard labour imposed by a Fast Track High Court in Accra on 17th
January 2007.<o:p></o:p>The appellant was the 5th
out of seven persons charged together on the first count with conspiracy to rob
contrary to Sections 23(1) and 149 of the Criminal Act 29 of 1960.&nbsp; The first four of the seven accused persons
were also charged on the second count with the substantive offence of robbing
Gladys Kwao, Rose Narh and Jonathan Narh of 120 million old cedis at Ashaiman
on 30th January 2002.&nbsp; After a
trial in which the first five accused persons denied their involvement in the
crime and knowledge of each other the last two admitted they were approached by
one Dada alias Awuley who had by then absconded, to look for people to rob the
5th appellant’s uncle.&nbsp; The
trial judge, relying mostly on the confession statements of the accused person
convicted all of them and sentenced all the seven charged in count one to 50
years imprisonment with hard labour and the first four, charged in count two,
to 60 years imprisonment with hard labour to run concurrently.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>Dissatisfied with the judgment the
appellant who was the fifth accused charged with conspiracy has appealed on the
following grounds.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
That
the trial court erred in law by convicting the appellant exclusively on the
confession statement of the appellant.<o:p></o:p>2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
The
court wrongfully accepted the confession statement in evidence when the said
confession statement did not contain a jurat that the contents of appellant’s
statement was read and interpreted to him and he seemed perfectly to have
understood it.<o:p></o:p>