THE REPUBLIC vs. KYEREMEH HARRISON [2015]DLHC3564

Date	2015-05-08
Suit No.	CASE NO.309/15
Citation No.	[2015]DLHC3564

HER LADYSHIP ANGELINA MENSAH-HOMIAH (MRS.) JUSTICE OF THE HIGH COURT

[2015]DLHC3564
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >THE REPUBLIC<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>KYEREMEH HARRISON<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;[HIGH COURT (COMMERCIAL
DIVISION), KUMASI]<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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CASE NO.309/15&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &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: 8TH MAY, 2015<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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HER
LADYSHIP ANGELINA MENSAH-HOMIAH (MRS.) JUSTICE OF THE HIGH COURT<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;
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</div>"...&nbsp; Justice is inverted when those engines of the
law, instead of pinching vicious men, keep honest ones in awe.." Daniel
Defoe (1889). <o:p></o:p>It
appears to me that the prosecution in this case are desirous of securing the
conviction of the accused person who stand charged with the offences of
conspiracy to commit crime, to wit robbery, and robbery, contrary to sections
23(1) and 149 of The Criminal Offences Act, 1960, Act 29.&nbsp; The particulars of&nbsp; the offences are that Kyeremeh Harrison ( A1)
and one Seidu ( at large) agreed and acted together to rob one Francis Nantwi
of his Pontiac Vibe Taxi cab with registration number AW 8489-&nbsp; 14 on 23/11/2014.&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>&nbsp;A1 pleaded not guilty to these charges, hence,
the instant trial.&nbsp; The facts on which
the prosecution rely are that on 23/11/2014 at about 1:30pm, the complainant
was in charge Pontiac Vibe with registration number AW 8489-&nbsp; 14 at Adum, Kumasi. The accused persons hired
his services to take them to Abrakaso, near Agona, to pick up a herbalist to
treat his sick mother in Kumasi. On their return journey to Kumasi, A1 suddenly
pulled the handbrake of the taxi cab and it stopped. He pulled a pistol and
pointed it at the driver and A2 also pulled a knife and asked the driver whether
he wanted to live or die.&nbsp; These two
accused persons allegedly pulled the complainant from the vehicle and sped off
with the car towards Agona direction with the complainant's cell phones, wallet,
driver's licence and cash the sum of GHS 210.00. At Abrakaso junction, they
were involved in an accident. In the process, A1 was arrested but A2 managed to
escape with the pistol.&nbsp; A1 admitted the
offence in his investigation cautioned statement and mentioned A2 as his
accomplice.<o:p></o:p>At
this juncture, the prosecution are required to discharge the burden of proof
placed on them by law. That is, proof beyond reasonable doubt as provided under
sections 11(2) and 13(1) of the Evidence Act, 1975 N.R.C.D. 323.&nbsp; This basic requirement of proof in criminal
cases was expounded by Ollenu&nbsp; JSC in
Oteng v The State&nbsp; (1966) GLR 352 . At
page 355 of the report, his Lordship&nbsp;
stated:<o:p></o:p>"
... the citizen too is entitled to protection against the state and that our
law is that a person accused of a crime is presumed to be innocent until his
guilt is proved beyond reasonable doubt as
distinct from fanciful doubt".<o:p></o:p>The
ingredients of these offences can be gathered from the sections &nbsp;23(1) and 150 of Act 29/60 thus:<o:p></o:p>Section
23 (1):<o:p></o:p>""
Where two or more persons agree to act together with a common purpose for or in
committing or abetting a criminal offence, whether with or without a pervious
concert or deliberation, each of them commits a conspiracy to commit&nbsp;&nbsp; or abet the criminal offence."<o:p></o:p>Section
150:<o:p></o:p>"
A person who steals&nbsp; a things is guilty
of robbery if and for the purpose of stealing he uses force or causes harm to
any other person, or if he uses a threat or 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
above definition was explained in R v Dawson ( 1977) 64 CAR 170 where it was
held that when a person is charged with robbery, the sole question is whether
he used force on any person in order to steal. &nbsp;Also, in Behome v The Republic ( 1979) GLR 112,
the court was of the view that one is guilty of robbery if in stealing a thing
he used any force or caused any harm or used any threat of criminal assault
with intent thereby to prevent or overcome the resistance of his victims, to
the stealing of the thing.<o:p></o:p>