ISAAC BRAIMAH VS THE REPUBLIC

The offence for which Appellant was convicted and sentenced giving rise to this Appeal is as follows:

STATEMENT OF OFFENCE STEALING CONTRARY TO SECTION 124(1) OF THE CRIMINAL OFFENCE ACT 29/60 AS AMENDED BY NLCD 398/69 OF PARA 4. PARTICULARS OF OFFENCE ISAAC BRAIMAH; Aged 42; Auto Mechanic: somewhere 2019 at Sogakope in the Sogakope Circuit and within the Jurisdiction of this Court, did steal a Zetor tractor with the registration number GR4246 Y value 22, 200 US Dollars with Cedi equivalent GH¢133, 200. 00 the property of one William Aveh.

FACTS Per the facts, the Complainant, William Kwabla Aveh, is a retired educationist and a proprietor of Modal College, Sogakope.

The Appellant, Isaac Braimah is an auto mechanic, resident at Sogakope.

According to two different statements given by the Complainant both dated 1st June 2021 at pages 46 and 50 respectively of the record of appeal, the following are the brief facts of the case.

Sometime in September 2007, the Complainant purchased a Zetor tractor with registration number GR 4246 Y valued at about 22, 200 US dollars.

The tractor was purposely bought by the complainant to be used by his uncle Mawu Nekpeta Aveh - now deceased, for his farming work.

After the death of his uncle, Mawu Nekpeta Aveh, the Complainant, went for the said tractor and parked it on the compound of Modal College, Sogakope.

While the tractor was parked on the compound of the school, the Complainant assigned it to the College (Modal College) and strictly under the supervision of the College Registrar known as Mr. Eugene Martinson.

The tractor developed some mechanical fault while parked and the Appellant, a mechanic by profession, who was at the time working with Bakpe, Fievie rice farm was called to work on it.

At the time, National Accreditation Board had also scheduled an inspection of the school and because the tractor was occupying space in the compound, the Appellant was asked to take it home for safe keeping while working on it.

The Appellant was also asked to take home for safe keeping of the trailer and the plough and return same the next day when the National Accreditation Board would have been done with their inspection.

The plough was neither attached to the tractor nor blocking the entry.

Rather, the Registrar Eugene Martinson and his colleagues assisted the Appellant to put the plough in the tractor.

The Appellant however failed to return either the tractor, the trailer or the plough on the scheduled date.

Accus