RICHARD BANOUSIN vs. THE REPUBLIC [2015]DLSC3046

Date	2015-03-18
Suit No.	CIVIL APPEAL NO. J3/2/2014
Citation No.	[2015]DLSC3046

ANSAH JSC (PRESIDING)

DOTSE JSC

ANIN-YEBOAH JSC

BAFFOE BONNIE JSC

AKOTO BAMFO(MRS) JSC

MR. MUJEEB RAHMAN AHMED ESQ. WITH HIM DR. FRANK ANKOBEA AND JANET FRIMPONG FOR THE APPELLANT

MR. WILLIAM KPOBI ESQ. (C.S.A) WITH HIM JOAN KING (S.S.A) FOR THE RESPONDENT.

[2015]DLSC3046
																																						<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" >RICHARD
BANOUSIN<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>THE REPUBLIC<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;[SUPREME COURT,
ACCRA]<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

CIVIL APPEAL NO. J3/2/2014&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;
DATE: 18TH
MARCH, 2015<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>MR.
MUJEEB RAHMAN AHMED ESQ. WITH HIM DR. FRANK ANKOBEA AND JANET FRIMPONG FOR THE
APPELLANT<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

MR.
WILLIAM KPOBI ESQ. (C.S.A) WITH HIM JOAN KING (S.S.A) FOR THE RESPONDENT.<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;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

ANSAH JSC (PRESIDING), DOTSE JSC, ANIN-YEBOAH JSC,
BAFFOE BONNIE JSC, AND AKOTO BAMFO(MRS) JSC<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;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

JUDGEMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&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>VICTOR DOTSE JSC: <o:p></o:p>On
the 18th day of March 2015, this court by a unanimous decision
allowed the appeal herein against the decision of the Court of Appeal dated
28/2/2013 and set aside the conviction and sentence imposed on the appellant by
the said Court of Appeal judgment and accordingly acquitted and discharged him
of his conviction for attempted rape and sentence of 7 years. We however
reserved our reasons for the said decision which we indicated would be filed on
or by the 2nd day of April 2015.<o:p></o:p>We
now proceed to give our reasons for our said decision as follows:<o:p></o:p>We
begin this opinion by an observation of the times and life of Sir Isaac Newton,
that great 17th Century English Mathematician and Philosopher who
has given the world some natural laws of physics which apply to human beings,
just as they apply to the movement of bodies in the universe. And we are sure everyone
isfamiliar with one of these laws, and that is, “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” This
in real terms means that for every action one takes, there is an opposite
reaction and a price to pay for it. This could be positive or negative.<o:p></o:p>How
does the above statement by Sir Isaac Newton apply to the circumstances of this
case? Well, if only the Accused/Appellant/Appellant, hereafter referred to as
the Appellant had not requested the victim of the rape charge, RashidaKanton,PWI
to follow him to his bungalow for her seized&nbsp;
pullover among others that he had seized from the students, the chain of
events, culminating in the conviction of the Appellant by the High Court, Wa,
and the subsequent confirmation of same by the Court of Appeal, would not have
resulted into the instant appeal by the appellant to seek a reversal of that conviction
and sentence to 7 years I.H.L. Fact of the matter is that, the career of the
appellant as a teacher has been brought to a pre-mature end by his lack of
discretion.<o:p></o:p>FACTS OF THE CASE<o:p></o:p>The
appellant was at all times material to the cause of events giving rise to his
arraignment before the High Court, Wa, on one count of rape contrary to section
97 of the Criminal and other Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) a teacher at the
Kanton Senior High School at Tumu in the Upper West Region. In that capacity
the appellant on the 28th day of July, 2009 requested the
complainant and victim of the rape charge Rashida Kanton Ibrahim, a student of
the same school to come to his apartment for some pullovers which the appellant
claimed he had seized from the students earlier at an entertainment programme in
his capacity as the entertainment master of the school. These pullovers also
included one seized from the complainant and the appellant therefore invited
the complainant to follow him to his apartment for her pullover and the others
at about 9.00 am on the said 28/7/2009.<o:p></o:p>The
complainant later alleged that the appellant had raped her and asked her to
wash herself before they returned to school. From the evidence on record, the
appellant informed one of her friends called Kashifa, also a student of the
same school about the said rape incident. But surprisingly, this student and
friend was never called as a witness.<o:p></o:p>Eventually,
the complainant informed her parents in the evening of the same day, following
which a report was made to the Headmaster of the school. As the appellant
denied the rape charge allegations before the Headmaster and the parents of the
victim at the school, a report was made to the Police as a result of which the
appellant was arraigned and tried summarily before the High Court, Wa, on one count
of rape which stated thus: <o:p></o:p>“Statement
of offence<o:p></o:p></span</main>