JUDGMENT OF MILLS-ODOI J.S.C.
Mills-Odoi J.S.C. delivered the judgment of the court. The appellant was charged with the murder of one Salifu Dagarti and was convicted of this crime on 7 April 1964, at the Criminal Session of the High Court, Accra, at a trial before Siriboe J. (as he then was) upon the verdict of a jury. He appealed to this court and it is not without significance that his notice of appeal raised the questions with which this court has been concerned, but which were merely a repetition, with some elaboration, of the defence which he raised at the trial.
The case for the prosecution was put forward primarily by four eye-witnesses, namely, Andrews Kwaku Botwey (fifth prosecution witness), Abdulai Sissala (hereinafter referred to as Abdulai), Emmanuel Narter Dosoo (eighth prosecution witness) and Dickson Yaw Fofie (eleventh prosecution witness) and was as follows: On 2 January 1964, Abdulai was in charge of four police constables, including the appellant, who were scheduled for duty at Flagstaff House from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. The eleventh prosecution witness was one of the other three police constables. Abdulai and his gang of four constables were supplied with .303 rifle ammunition and each carried on him, while on duty, a .303 rifle. The appellant had five rounds, and his rifle bore registration number 2310 on the butt. Abdulai and the eleventh prosecution witness had ten each, while the other two constables had five each, making a total of 35 rounds.
On the early morning of the fateful day, Abdulai and his companions reported for duty at Flagstaff House. The appellant was one of them. Shortly afterwards, the President of the Republic of Ghana (hereinafter shortly referred to as the "President") also arrived at Flagstaff House and went to his office. About 1 p.m. the same day the President came out of the office with the deceased, who was at the time the head of the security officers, and both started walking towards the former's car which was [p.553] parked in front of the residency. Suddenly, there was the report of a gun. No one then knew who fired it. The President and the deceased turned round to find out what had happened and as they did not see the one who had fired the gun they turned again and continued walking to the car.
Abdulai who also heard the report of the gun rushed to the direction of the President's office and saw the President and the deceased walking together towards the residency. He also saw the appellant carrying h
