KOFI JOE @ JOE v. REPUBLIC
2015
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
- ADJEI, JA – PRESIDING
- MRS. SOWAH, JA
- MENSAH, JA
Areas of Law
- Criminal Law and Procedure
2015
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The appellant was charged and convicted by the High Court for conspiracy to commit robbery and robbery, crimes which involved the use of offensive weapons and infliction of harm. Despite pleading not guilty, he was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. Dissatisfied, he appealed the sentence, terming it harsh and excessive. The appellate court reviewed statutory provisions, judicial findings, and aggravating factors like premeditation and trauma inflicted on the victim, ultimately affirming the lower court's 20-year sentence as reasonable under the law.
JUDGEMENT
ADJEI, J.A:
The Appellant herein was the 4th Accused person in the Criminal suit that was determined by the High Court, Koforidua.
The first to fifth accused persons before the trial High Court were charged with conspiracy to commit robbery, and robbery. The 1st and the fifth accused persons pleaded guilty with explanation to the charges of Conspiracy to commit robbery and robbery. The second, third and the 4th accused persons; (the appellant herein) pleaded not guilty to all the three counts of conspiracy to commit robbery and robbery. The first and fifth persons in their explanation admitted that they stole a bag from the complainant who had then slept in his car. Their case was that they neither used threat nor weapon even though they took away the bag from the complainant when he was asleep in his car as Nkwakwa Township. The account of the accused person was at variance with that of the prosecution.
The facts as presented by the prosecution were that the complainant by name Sarfo Gyamfi, a businessman and a former player of Kumasi Asante Kotoko, on 1st June, 2004 at about 11.30 pm and accompanied by two other people who were in his pick-up No. GT 10 U set off from Accra. They got to Nkwakwaw at about 1.30 am on 2nd June, 2004. They decided to rest in the pick-up. At about 2 am the first to fifth accused persons and one other person who they could not identify, armed with locally manufactured pistols, cutlasses and clubs attacked Sarfo Gyamfi. They inflicted cutlass wounds on him to over-power his resistance and took away his bag containing thirty-two thousand Euros (€32,000), ten thousand dollars ($10,000), fifteen million cedis (₵15,000.00), a Siemen mobile phone, and personal effects including clothings. The accused persons were subsequently arrested. At the time of the arrest they had used part of the monies and the first accused person had used his proceeds from the robbery to buy a house at Kuse in Accra.
The matter proceeded to trial. In the course of the trial the first accused person died. After the trial the accused persons apart from the six accused were convicted for all the offences. Each of them was sentenced to 20 years IHL on all the Counts and the sentences were to run concurrently.
The appellant dissatisfied with the sentence imposed on him filed an appeal against it to this Court to reduce the sentence that he considered as harsh and excessive.
The determinant factors for plea against sentence are the law on which th