GODSON MANTEY vs. THE REPUBLIC [2019]DLHC10112

Date	2019-07-04
Suit No.	CASE NO. CR/0484/2019
Citation No.	[2019]DLHC10112

JUDGMENT ON CRIMINAL APP

NANA AMA DANKWAA KESSEY ADINKRAH (MRS)

STATE ATTORNEY FOR REPUBLIC/RESPONDENT

[2019]DLHC10112
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >GODSON MANTEY<o:p></o:p>(CONVICT/APPELLANT)<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>THE REPUBLIC<o:p></o:p>(RESPONDENT)<o:p></o:p>[HIGH COURT
(CRIMINAL DIVISION, 5) ACCRA]<o:p></o:p><div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt;">

</div>COUNSEL:&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p><div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt;">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:
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padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">NANA
AMA DANKWAA KESSEY ADINKRAH (MRS), STATE ATTORNEY FOR REPUBLIC/RESPONDENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM:<o:p></o:p><div style="border-top-width: 1.5pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-left: none; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-right: none; padding: 1pt 0cm;">

<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
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mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">JUDGMENT ON
CRIMINAL APPEAL<o:p></o:p>

</div>JUSTICE GEORGE
BUADI J.<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;1.0&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Background
<o:p></o:p>1.1&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This is a criminal appeal from the
Circuit Court (1) Accra against the judgment of the court dated 29 February
2016<a href="file:///C:/Users/aggie/Desktop/2020-21/Criminal/Godson%20Mantey%20v%20Republic%20(2021_01_25%2010_26_20%20UTC).docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title="">[1]</a>
that convicted the appellant herein and two other persons<a href="file:///C:/Users/aggie/Desktop/2020-21/Criminal/Godson%20Mantey%20v%20Republic%20(2021_01_25%2010_26_20%20UTC).docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title="">[2]</a> on
charges of conspiracy and robbery contrary to s. 23(1) and s.149, Criminal &amp; Other offences Act, 1960 (Act 29)
respectively. Appellant was sentenced to a term of 32 years imprisonment in
hard labour (IHL).<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;1.2&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The brief facts are that on 29 March 2012
at about 10:45pm at Tema the appellant herein in the company of three others by
the use of arms robbed a lady, the complainant in the case (PW1) of her vehicle
Honda CRV registered as GT 2882-12 when the complainant was entering her house
with her son who had alighted from the vehicle to open the entrance gate to the
house. With gun pointed at the son to lie on the ground face down, the four
drove off the vehicle towards Community 22 - Mitchel Camp road with the lady
owner still seated at the front seat. The lady was later thrown out of the
vehicle into the bush at a place called Don Boro. The accused persons took away
the lady’s hand bag that contained among others a Samsung mobile phone and cash
sum of GH¢180. The vehicle was sprayed with a different colour sold and out in
Togo. <o:p></o:p>&nbsp;1.3&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As fate would have it, the appellant was
arrested in another robbery in which a police officer and one of the four
suspects in the crime were killed in a cross fire. At identification parade by
the police, the complainant (PW1) identified appellant as the one who snatched
her hand bag from her. She also identified the Samsung mobile handset that
appellant was holding at the parade as her handset that the accused persons
took away from her. The three suspects were arraigned before the Circuit Court
Accra, charged, successfully prosecuted and sentenced on 29 March 2012 as I
have earlier stated, appellant to 32 years IHL.<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;2.0&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Grounds
of the appeal<o:p></o:p>2.1&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; On 30 May 2019, appellant personally filed
notice of appeal pursuant to leave the Court granted him on 22 May 2019. I need
to state that the appeal is not against conviction; neither as I see it,
against the sentence, as I do not find any of the eight grounds of appeal seeking
to impugn any finding of the learned trial judge of the conviction or the
sentence. As I see it, the appeal is for mitigation, in fact for reduction of
the sentence. In fact, appellant is praying the court “to temper [j]ustice with
mercy and kindly reduce the sentence to the barest minimum”. Appellant’s plea
with the court:&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>&nbsp;“ … to take into account his efforts in
facilitating his reformation and the tender age at which he committed this
office and kindly grant him mitigation of sentence to enable him further his
education for a better career and to contribute his quarter towards national
development<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;