THE REPUBLIC vs. CHRISTIANA HOLDBROOK AND DR. REDEEMER AMEGBO-DELA [2020]DLHC10136

Date	2020-05-11
Suit No.	CASE NO. CR 335/2019
Citation No.	[2020]DLHC10136

JUSTICE GEORGE BUADI J.

STELLA OHENE APPIAH MRS (SENIOR STATE ATTORNEY) FOR THE REPUBLIC

KWAME OPPONG- ADADE FOR 1ST ACCUSED PERSON (A1)

PAUL ASIBI ABANGA FOR 2ND ACCUSED PERSON (A2)

[2020]DLHC10136
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >THE REPUBLIC<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>CHRISTIANA HOLDBROOK AND DR. REDEEMER
AMEGBO-DELA<o:p></o:p>[HIGH COURT, 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;">

CASE NO. CR
335/2019&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:
11TH MAY 2020<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p>STELLA
OHENE APPIAH MRS (SENIOR STATE ATTORNEY) FOR THE REPUBLIC<o:p></o:p>KWAME
OPPONG- ADADE FOR 1ST ACCUSED PERSON (A1)<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;">

PAUL ASIBI
ABANGA FOR 2ND ACCUSED PERSON (A2)<o:p></o:p>

<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:115%;
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solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">JUDGMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>&nbsp;1.0&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Background<o:p></o:p>1.1&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Judgment in this suit was scheduled for
delivery on 30 March 2020. It could not be delivered. The parties and the
lawyers failed to attend court. This is due to the restrictive order that the
President of the Republic issued as part of measures in addressing the
Coronavirus pandemic. The executive order, subject to a few exemptions,
affected and restricted the movement of persons and residents within the
Greater Accra metropolis, certainly including the parties in the matter who as
a result did not turn up in court, though the court was ready.<a href="file:///C:/Users/aggie/Desktop/2020-21/Criminal/Rep%20v%20Christiana%20Holdbrook%20&amp;amp;%20Anor%20(Autosaved)%20(2021_01_25%2010_26_20%20UTC).docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title="">[1]</a>
Despite the absence of the parties and their lawyers, the lawyers kept contact
with the court clerks and agreed with the clerk to reschedule delivery of the
judgment to today 11 May 2020<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;1.2&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; On 3 April 2019, the two accused persons were
arraigned before this court, each charged with two counts of criminal offense -
conspiracy to commit a crime of Human Trafficking contrary to s.23(1) of the
Criminal Offences Act 1960 (Act 29), and s.2(1) and (2) of the Human
Trafficking Act, 2005 (Act 694).<a href="file:///C:/Users/aggie/Desktop/2020-21/Criminal/Rep%20v%20Christiana%20Holdbrook%20&amp;amp;%20Anor%20(Autosaved)%20(2021_01_25%2010_26_20%20UTC).docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title="">[2]</a>
Both denied the charges and pleaded not guilty. <o:p></o:p>&nbsp;2.0&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The
facts of the case<o:p></o:p>2.1&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The factsheet that accompanied the police
charge sheet in support of the charges suggests that on or about 7 July 2016 at
Ashaiman the accused persons did agree to act together with a common purpose
and succeeded to recruit and facilitate the travel of Iris Yeboah, the victim
to Ebril in Iraq for purposes of exploitation. Both accused persons work health
training institutions: 1st accused (A1) teaches at the New Chrystal
Health Training Institute, a nursing school at Adjei Kojo, Ashiaman, whilst the
2nd accused (A2) is the Director of ‘I Care’ Health Training College
at Afienya, Tema. The victim, Iris Yeboah was once a nursing student at A1’s New
Chrystal Health Training School from the year 2014 to 2016 and thus became very
close personally to A1.<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;2.2&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In June 2016, A1 informed Iris, her
former student of a working scholarship opportunity in London as a nurse. A1 gave
A2’s phone contact to Iris for further briefing and explanation of the
opportunity. Iris expressed interest in the said opportunity and therefore contacted
A2 who requested Iris to pay GH¢2,800<a href="file:///C:/Users/aggie/Desktop/2020-21/Criminal/Rep%20v%20Christiana%20Holdbrook%20&amp;amp;%20Anor%20(Autosaved)%20(2021_01_25%2010_26_20%20UTC).docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title="">[3]</a>
for the preparation of her passport, and also for medical and other
miscellaneous of Iris traveling expenses. Iris paid the amount to A2, who introduced
Iris to one Evans (now at large) who acted as the travel and tour agent with
the assumed duty to procure Iris’s visa. Evans later informed Iris that she
will first have to go to Turkey to work as a nurse for some time before she can
finally travel to London. <o:p></o:p>&nbsp;2.3&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; On 7 July 2016, A2 took the
victim Iris to the airport in the company of the complainant Eric Kisseih, a
trader at Ashaiman. According to the factsheet, it was at the airport that Iris
first saw Evans who handed over Iris passport to her, but instead of Turkey, the
facts state that the accused persons sent Iris rather to Ebril in Iraq where
Iris worked as a domestic servant instead of a nurse as earlier promised. In
Ebril, Iris’s passport was taken away from her by the local agent who picked
her up at the airport. In Ebril, as a domestic, Iris was subjected to long
hours of work. Iris requested to be returned to Ghana, but she was told to
either serve for two years or to refund USD$3000 which her agent in Ghana had
been paid before she would be released. Iris worked for a month and was paid
$250. She later informed her guardian in the United States of America about her
situation in Ibris, Iraq. The guardian sent an amount of USD$1,900 to Iris employer,
and that with the help of the Ghana Embassies in Iran and USA, Iris was rescued
and brought back to Ghana.<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;3.0&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The trial commenced on 7 October 2019.
This was after lawyers in the case, particularly the prosecution had complied
with all pretrial processes that the court pursuant to Criminal Practice
Direction<a href="file:///C:/Users/aggie/Desktop/2020-21/Criminal/Rep%20v%20Christiana%20Holdbrook%20&amp;amp;%20Anor%20(Autosaved)%20(2021_01_25%2010_26_20%20UTC).docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title="">[4]<!--</main>