AKURUGU FRAFRA v. THE STATE
1966
SUPREME COURT
GHANA
CORAM
- OLLENNU
- AKAINYAH
- SIRIBOE JJ.S.C
Areas of Law
- Criminal Law and Procedure
- Evidence Law
1966
SUPREME COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The appellant was convicted of the murder of his wife, Akani Frafra, and appealed on grounds of various misdirections by the trial judge. The prosecution's case included eyewitness testimony and the appellant's own confession statements. The defence raised issues of insanity, self-defence, and provocation. The Court of Appeal analyzed whether the trial judge's summing-up adequately addressed these defences and found that, despite some shortcomings, there was no miscarriage of justice. The appeal was dismissed, and the court reinforced principles regarding jury instructions, the reliability of interpreted confessions, and the permissible latitude in summing-up language.
JUDGMENT OF AKAINYAH J.S.C.
Akainyah J.S.C. delivered the judgment of the court. The appellant was convicted at the Criminal Session of the High Court held at Tamale for the murder of his wife, Akani Frafra. Against his conviction he appealed on the following grounds:
"(1) Misdirection
(a) The learned judge failed in law to direct the jury that short of believing the story of the appellant if the story put forward would probably be true he was entitled to acquittal.
(b) The learned judge misdirected the jury by omitting to direct the jury that it is manslaughter and not murder if the accused would have been entitled to acquittal on the ground of self-defence except for the fact that in honestly defending himself, he used greater force than was reasonably necessary for his self-protection and in doing so killed his assailant, i.e. the deceased Akani Frafra. (R. v. Howe (1958) 32 A.L.R. 212; (1958) A.L.R. 753; 100 C.L.R. 448.)
(c) The learned judge also misdirected the jury by failing to put the defence adequately to the jury.
(2) The verdict is unreasonable and cannot be supported having regard to the evidence."
The case for the prosecution is that on 25 January 1964, at about 2 p.m. while his two younger brothers, Alevugia Frafra (the first prosecution witness) and Apibilla Frafra, the second prosecution witness, were sitting under a tree about 80 yards away from their house, the appellant went to them holding a blood-stained cutlass and told them that he had killed his wife, Akani Frafra, and that he was going to report to the police. As a result of the appellant's report, the first prosecution witness ran into the house and there saw the body of the deceased lying on the ground in a pool of blood with several cutlass wounds. The first prosecution witness therefore [p.15] raised an alarm and another brother of theirs Ayambilla Frafra, the third prosecution witness, came to the house. The first prosecution witness then chased the appellant and found him at the gate of the Residency, the official residence of the Regional Commissioner for the Upper Region. At the Residency the appellant who was still holding the blood-stained cutlass told one escort police constable, Ali Busanga, the fourth prosecution witness, on duty there that he had killed his wife. Constable Ali Busanga asked someone to telephone to the police at Bolgatanga. Consequently Police Constable Clement Akyea Ansah, the sixth prosecution witness, arrived at the Residency and took the