PERCY ABOAGYE vs. THE REPUBLIC [2019]DLCA6349

Date	2019-03-26
Suit No.	CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. H2/01/2018
Citation No.	[2019]DLCA6349

FRANCIS KORBIEH JA (PRESIDING)

MABEL AGYEMANG (MRS) JA

MERLEY WOOD (MRS) JA

ISAAC AIDOO FOR THE APPELLANT

NANA DJANKUMA DJARBA MENSAH FOR THE REPUBLIC/RESPONDENT

[2019]DLCA6349
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >PERCY ABOAGYE<o:p></o:p>(APPELLANT)<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>THE REPUBLIC<o:p></o:p>(RESPONDENT)<o:p></o:p>[COURT OF APPEAL, KOFORIDUA]<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.&nbsp; H2/01/2018&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &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, 2019<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL: <o:p></o:p>ISAAC
AIDOO 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">

NANA
DJANKUMA DJARBA MENSAH FOR THE REPUBLIC/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;
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FRANCIS
KORBIEH JA (PRESIDING), MABEL AGYEMANG (MRS) JA AND MERLEY WOOD (MRS) JA<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:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
text-align:center;line-height:115%;mso-outline-level:1;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:
solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">RULING<o:p></o:p>

</div>MERLEY
WOOD JA<o:p></o:p>This is an appeal against the Judgment
of the High Court, Criminal Court 4 on 20th July 2017 affirming the
decision of the Circuit Court, Accra on 2nd December 2013. The
Appellant was convicted by the Circuit Court, Accra on charges of conspiracy to
commit robbery contrary to sections 23(1) and 149 of the Criminal Offences Act,
1960, (Act 29) and robbery contrary to Section 149 of the same enactment. <o:p></o:p>The brief facts of the case &nbsp;leading to the charges being levelled against
the Appellant are that on 13th February 2011, at about 2:00am, the Appellant
hired a taxi cab with Registration Number GS 6212 10 from Kwame Nkrumah Circle
to Odorkor and directed the taxi driver to a place behind the main Odorkor
Terrazzo Road. Upon the Appellant asking the driver to stop upon reaching a
particular house, the Appellant put off the ignition and his accomplices
emerged from the back of a kiosk wielding cutlasses and a pistol.&nbsp; They attacked the taxi driver and bolted with
his vehicle. A report was lodged at the police station and on 23rd
March 2011, the Appellant was arrested in connection with another offence of
car snatching. &nbsp;During an identification
parade conducted on 28th March 2011, the Appellant was identified by
the taxi driver as the one who hired his services and whom he drove to Odorkor
on 13th February 2011. The Appellant admitted the offence in his
Caution Statement and he led to the arrest of the other accused persons. Upon
these facts the Appellant together with three others were arraigned before the
Circuit Court, Accra where they were charged with the offences of conspiracy to
rob contrary to Sections 23(1) and 149 of the Criminal Offences Act 1960, (Act
29) and robbery contrary to Section 149 of the same enactment. After a full
trial the Appellant was convicted of the said offences and sentenced to 20
years and 25 years respectively to run concurrently.&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>Being aggrieved with the judgment of
the High Court dismissing his appeal, the Appellant has appealed to this Court
on the following grounds as per his Notice of Appeal filed on 28th
August 2017 found on page 118 of the Record of Appeal.<o:p></o:p><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;">a.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
His
Lordship should have thoroughly considered the repentant state of mind and
heart of the appellant and reduced his sentence to the minimum.<o:p></o:p><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;">b.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
His
Lordship should have given weight to the mitigation of sentence and the fact
that the Appellant was a young offender and that was his first brush with the
law and given him a minimum sentence and that occasioned a miscarriage of
justice.<o:p></o:p><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;">c.