BODUA ALIAS KWATA v. THE STATE
1966
SUPREME COURT
GHANA
CORAM
- OLLENNU
- BRUCE-LYLE
- SIRIBOE JJ.S.C
Areas of Law
- Criminal Law and Procedure
1966
SUPREME COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The appellant's conviction at the Criminal Session of the High Court for the offense of causing harm with an offensive weapon was overturned on appeal. The trial was flawed by misdirections to the jury regarding the evidence and the legal standards for self-defense. The court held that the judge had improperly influenced the jury by suggesting that the absence of marks on the appellants body disproved his claim of being struck with an iron rod and failed to adequately direct the jury on the nature of the self-defense claim. The appeal was allowed, the conviction quashed, and the appellant was acquitted and discharged.
JUDGMENT OF OLLENNU J.S.C.
Ollennu J.S.C. delivered the judgment of the court. The appellant was convicted at the Criminal Session of the High Court, of the offence of use of an offensive weapon. Particulars of the offence as set out in the bill of indictment are that he "unlawfully and intentionally caused harm to one Tetteh Bedu with an offensive weapon." The trial was a jury trial.
Three main grounds were argued in support of the appeal.
These are:
"(1) The learned trial judge misdirected the jury by stating 'If a rod was used, markings will be on the skin.'
(2) The learned trial judge failed to direct the jury adequately on the nature of the defence.
(3) The learned trial judge failed to direct the jury adequately on conflicts and doubts in the prosecution's story."
[p.53]
The only eye witnesses to the incident were the complainant and the appellant. The complainant, the first prosecution witness, deposed that while sitting in his house at about 4.30 a.m. to 5 a.m., he saw two persons, the appellant and another person, going in the direction of a piece of land in respect of which he was litigating with one Asafoatse Opata. He said he did not recognise the people and so decided to follow them, and that when he overtook them on the land, one of them whom he recognised to be the appellant attacked and cut him several times with a cutlass, and the other person whom he recognised to be one Amanor Gbordjor, also hit him with the butt of a gun and he fell to the ground unconscious. He said that he later went to the police station to report the incident.
The police officer in charge of the case gave evidence that about one hour before the first prosecution witness arrived at the police station to make the report the appellant had reported to the police that he had felled some palm trees and had been tapping the same, but each time he went in the morning to collect the palm wine, he met his pots broken and the wine destroyed. At about 3 a.m. on the day in question he went to keep watch, and while doing so, he saw the first prosecution witness come there and with an iron rod, he broke two of the pots and spilt the wine therein. He therefore challenged the first prosecution witness, whereupon the first prosecution witness knocked him down with the piece of iron rod, and hit him a number of times with the iron rod. When he managed to get up, the first prosecution witness took to his heels, he the appellant then chased and caught him; a struggle ensued d