J U D G M E N T :
On or about 2nd February 2010, the Appellant herein was charged with a count of possession of Narcotic Drug Contrary to Section 2(1) of the Narcotic Drugs (Control, Enforcement and Sanctions) Act 1990 (PNDCL.326). He was arraigned before the Circuit Court 1, Accra where he denied the charge. After a full trial, the trial court delivered its judgment on 17th December 2010. The Appellant was found guilty. He was consequently convicted and sentenced to ten (10) years imprisonment with hard labour.
Aggrieved by and dissatisfied with his conviction and sentence, the Appellant lodged this appeal, seeking to have the said conviction and sentence set aside upon the grounds listed below:
1. That the Judge erred when he convicted and sentenced the Accused Person to ten (10) years prison term when the Accused denied that he was the owner of the bag and its contents.
2. That the Judge did not consider all the facts contained in the case before the court and
3. That the driver cannot be found guilty when a prohibited item is found on a passenger in his vehicle.
The facts of the case as presented by the Prosecution were that on 7th June, 2009, at about 11.40p.m., a group of police personnel under the command of the Legon Police Commander were on patrol duties along the Accra-Tema Motorway. At a point close to the Trassaco Valley Estates they saw an Opel Astra Caravan with Registration Number ER 276 V being driven by the Accused person. No sooner did the Accused person see the police patrol vehicle than he made a quick u-turn towards the Motorway. The patrol team chased the Accused person’s vehicle till the latter stopped. Two men who were on board the Accused person’s vehicle managed to run into the nearby bushes. A search in the Accused person’s vehicle revealed six (6) parcels of dried leaves suspected to be cannabis sativa, a narcotic drug, concealed beneath the spare tyre in the booth of the car. Although Accused person denied ownership of the bag and its contents he was nevertheless arrested. The dried leaves proved positive for cannabis sativa a narcotic drug when examined by the Police Forensic Laboratory.
It would appear that the Lawyer for the Appellant lumped all the three grounds of appeal together and argued same. He started by stating the general principle of law with regard to how an Appellate court must treat a finding of fact made by a trial court. Indeed Lawyer accurately started the principle as follows: ”findings of fact ma
