AWUDU ALHASSAN SULEMANA @ DOZER MOHAMMED SOLEMANA @ BABANA AND SALAMATU KARIM @ MOTHER v. THE REPUBLIC
2016
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
Areas of Law
- Criminal Law and Procedure
- Evidence Law
2016
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
AI Generated Summary
The 1st and 2nd Appellants, charged with Conspiracy to commit murder and murder, objected to the admissibility of their confessional statements. They claimed the statements were obtained under duress through beatings and torture. The trial court conducted a mini-trial to examine the voluntariness of the statements and ruled against the appellants. On appeal, the Appellate Court considered the procedures followed by the trial court and the credibility of the testimonies. It was highlighted that scars on the appellants' bodies predated their arrests. The appellate court affirmed the trial judges ruling, noting no substantial miscarriage of justice occurred, and dismissed the appeal.
JUDGEMENT
WELBOURNE (MRS), J.A.
Background:
This appeal is brought by the 1st & 2nd accused persons as Appellants. The Appellants and the 3rd accused person are standing trial on indictment before the High Court, Accra.
The Appellants have been charged with the offences of Conspiracy to commit murder and murder and the 3rd accused has been charged with the offence of abetment of murder.
During the course of the trial, the Appellants raised an objection to the tendering of the confession caution statement that the police procured from the Appellants. On 1st December, 2015, the trial judge ordered a mini-trial to determine whether or not the statements were obtained voluntarily.
On 17th December, 2015, the trial judge dismissed the objection of the Appellants and admitted the confession caution statements in evidence as Exhibits ‘A’ and ‘B’ respectively.
(The ruling can be found at pages 53-54 of the record of appeal)
Dissatisfied with the ruling, the Appellants filed the following grounds of appeal:
a. That the trial judge erred in holding that the caution statements were voluntarily obtained from Appellants and,
b. That the ruling admitting the caution statements in evidence cannot be supported having regard to the evidence adduced at the mini-trial and the law.
The grounds shall be considered together as they are inter- related. The whole appeal hinges on whether or not the confession statements were taken voluntarily or not. In such a determination, one has to look at the procedure used in obtaining the statements. The Evidence Act, 1975 (as amended) provides that:
Section 120:
1. In a criminal action, evidence of a hearsay statement made by an accused admitting matter which:
a. Constitute; or
b. Forms an essential part of; or
c. Taken together with other information already disclosed by him is a basis for an inference of,
The commission of a crime for which he is being tried in the action is not admissible against him unless the statement was made voluntarily.
2. Evidence of a hearsay statement shall not be admissible under subjection (1) if the statement was made by the declarant while arrested, restricted or detained by the State unless the statement was made in the presence of an independent witness (other than a police officer or member of the Armed Forces) approved by the accused.
3. The independent witness must be a person who:
a. Can understand the language spoken by accused;
b. Can read and understand the language in whic