ANDREWS BOMBANDE v. THE REPUBLIC
July 20, 2022
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
- IRENE CHARITY LARBI (MRS.), JA (PRESIDING)
- GEORGINA MENSAH-DATSA (MRS.), JA
- YAW DARKO ASARE, JA
Areas of Law
- Criminal Law and Procedure
- Evidence Law
- Constitutional Law
July 20, 2022
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
This Court of Appeal judgment, authored by Justice Georgina Mensah-Datsa, addresses Andrews Bombande (alias Azay) and his challenge to both conviction and sentence arising from a robbery near New Yakase by the Ghana–Côte d’Ivoire border. Bombande and Alhassan Fuseini, with others at large, were arrested after youth in Dadieso intercepted them; cash and an LG phone later identified by victim Lucy Baidoo were found on Bombande. The Circuit Court convicted and imposed 70-year concurrent terms; the High Court affirmed conviction but reduced the sentence to 25 years. On further appeal, the Court reviewed the case by way of rehearing, upheld the sufficiency of identification evidence and corroboration, and found no miscarriage of justice. Turning to sentence, the Court underscored mandatory consideration of remand time under Article 14(6), first-offender status, deterrence, and reformative principles. Exercising powers under Section 30(a)(ii) of Act 459, it affirmed the conviction but reduced the sentence to 17 years effective 12 January 2011, declining to reach the statutory minimum given weapon use and the offense’s seriousness.
GEORGINA MENSAH-DATSA (MRS.), J.A.
This is an appeal by the Accused/Appellant/Appellant (hereinafter referred to as Appellant) from the judgment of the High Court, Sekondi dated 22nd June, 2017 which reduced the seventy (70) years imprisonment IHL imposed on the Appellant by the Circuit Court, Tarkwa to twenty-five (25) years imprisonment IHL.
The grounds of appeal are as follows:
That the first Appellate Court having found out that the Appellant was a first offender ought to have reduced the sentence to the minimum.
That having regards to the evidence on record, the appellate High Court ought to have set aside the judgment of the trial Court.
The relief sought by the Appellant is for the Court to reduce his sentence to the minimum.
The Appellant (then first accused, A1) and one other were arraigned before the Circuit Court, Tarkwa. They were charged with one (1) count of conspiracy to commit crime, to wit, robbery and nineteen (19) counts of robbery contrary to Sections 23(1) and 149 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) as amended by Act 646 of 2003.
The facts of this case as presented by the Prosecution are that the complainants are driver Benedick Bentum in charge of Kia truck No. AW 53-09 resident at Old Yakase near Enchi and eighteen (18) others resident at Dubi in the Republic of La Cote d’lvoire and various towns in Ghana. On 30/03/2010, the first accused (A1) Andrews Bombande alias Azay (Appellant herein) and the second accused (A2) Alhassan Fuseini and four others at large arrived at new Yakase near Enchi on Toyota Corolla taxi No. AS 2671 T from Sunyani. They parked the taxi cab at the outskirts of New Yakase and armed with guns and cutlasses laid ambush in the forest close to Apuja village near the Ghana-Cote d’lvoire boundary and barricaded the road with pieces of logs. On the same day at about 1:20pm, the victims on board the Kia truck from Ghana-Cote d’lvoire boundary to New Yakase were obstructed by the logs on reaching the scene and the accused persons together with those at large attacked and robbed them of their properties at gun point. The accused persons and their accomplices after robbing the complainants hijacked the Kia truck and sped towards New Yakase direction leaving the victims helpless at the scene. The Kia truck was found abandoned about a mile to New Yakase town where the accused persons boarded their parked Toyota Corolla Taxi Cab No. AS 2671 T and sped off through New and Old Yakase towns towards Dadieso.
Acc