Amadu Sumaila v. The Republic
2016
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
- M. Owusu, J.A. (PRESIDING)
- Dordzie, J.A.
- Gyan, J.A
Areas of Law
- Criminal Law and Procedure
- Evidence Law
- Constitutional Law
2016
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The appellant, convicted for possession of narcotic drugs and sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment, appealed for mitigation on grounds of being a first offender and repentant. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, citing the grave nature of the offense and the need for punitive and deterrent sentences. The Court also noted that the missing portion of the record did not impact the resolution. References were made to previous cases and the relevant legal statutes, affirming the sentence as appropriate and non-excessive.
MARIAMA OWUSU, (J.A.):
This appeal is against sentence.
The appellant was convicted on the charges of possession of narcotic drugs contrary to section 2 (1) of PNDCL 236.
He was sentenced to fifteen years IHL.
Dissatisfied with the decision of the High Court, the appellant appealed to the Court of Appeal on the following grounds:
1. (a) His Lordship should have thoroughly considered the repentant state of mind and heart of the appellant and reduced the sentence to the minimum.
(b) His Lordship should have given weight to mitigation of sentence and the fact that the appellant is a young offender and that was his first brush with the law and given him minimum sentence and that occasioned a miscarriage of justice.
(c) His Lordship should have stated expressly that he had considered the date of arrest and the number of years the appellant had spent in lawful custody in both judgments.
(d) The sentence of 15 years is excessive 2. The sentence is excessive.
Before dealing with the merits of this appeal, I will give a brief back ground of this case.
The facts as presented by the prosecution are that, the appellant a Ghanaian national is domiciled in Spain.
On 18th July, 2008, he arrived at the Kotoka International Airport to board Royal Air Maroc to Spain.
Whilst going through departure formalities, he was suspected of carrying narcotic drug in his stomach due to his strange demeanor by the personnel of the Narcotic Control Board on duty at the Airport.
A field test of his urine proved positive that he had narcotic substance in his system.
He was further questioned by the officers and he confessed that he had swallowed pellets of cocaine.
He was arrested and put under observation and within twenty four (24) hours, he expelled eighty (80) thump size capsules of whitish substance suspected to be cocaine.
During interrogations, the appellant claimed he was recruited by one JEFF in Spain to come and carry the cocaine from Ghana for a fee of three thousand euros (€3,000). That he came to Ghana and met someone at Kwame Nkrumah Circle where he collected the cocaine from the person and swallowed same.
The appellant claimed he did not know his supplier’s name and could therefore not assist police to arrest him.
The suspected narcotic drug was sent to Ghana Standard Board for analytical examination, where it proved positive for cocaine, a narcotic drug.
After police investigations into the matter, the appellant was charged with Possession of Narcotic Dr