GEORGE AYITTEY v. THE REPUBLIC

Dennis Adjei, J.A., writing for the Ghana Court of Appeal, reviewed the conviction and sentence of the third accused for conspiracy to commit robbery and robbery arising from a March 2009 attack on Stephen Boafo’s East Legon residence and theft of his Toyota Previa van (CR 3T). The van was pursued by the Stopper 3 Patrol Team; the driver was arrested, and subsequent investigation, including a confession by the second accused, implicated the third accused. Despite missing portions of PW1’s testimony, the Court reconstructed the record and applied the revised statutory definition of conspiracy under Act 29, finding sufficient evidence—via PW4 and the confession—to establish agreement to act together with a common purpose, and that the elements of robbery were proven beyond reasonable doubt. The Court affirmed the conviction, explained that conspiracy may be proved by inference and that co‑conspirator declarations can bind others, and reduced the forty‑year sentences to twenty‑five years per count due to the absence of a pre‑sentencing hearing and lack of justification for the harsh term. Suurbaareh, J.A., and Mensah, J.A., concurred.