MATHEW KWAME SABBAH v. THE REPUBLIC

J U D G M E N T

SOPHIA ADINYIRA (MRS) JSC:

This appeal is against the judgment of the Court of Appeal dated 20 January 2004 which affirmed the conviction and sentence of the appellant for murder. The appellant was tried and convicted together with another person by an Accra High Court upon a verdict of a Jury on 7 August 2001, on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and murder. On appeal, the other person was acquitted and discharged on both counts. The Court of Appeal acquitted the appellant on the conspiracy charge but affirmed the conviction for murder. The appellant accordingly appealed on the sole ground that:

“On the totality of the evidence the trial judge misdirected the jury by non-direction on the defences of provocation and justifiable harm available to the appellant, and the dismissal of the same defences by the Appellate Court occasioned miscarriage of justice to appellant”

The case for the prosecution was that on 21 Jan 1993, the deceased Amegbor Amedorme took John Narteh Amergbor (PW2) to Adornukedzi Island to inspect some palm trees that PW2 wanted to buy to distil akpeteshie. They were accompanied by Andrew Agormedah (PW3). They met the appellant who was fishing. PW3 said he greeted the appellant but he did not respond. On their way back the deceased was in the lead followed by PW2 and then PW3. According to PW2, the appellant emerged from the back of a palm tree and slashed the neck of the deceased with a cutlass and he staggered and fell. The appellant turned on him and he parried the blow and was injured on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th fingers. The appellant tried to slash his stomach and once again he tried to block the cutlass and he had a cut on his right forearm. PW2 and PW3 fled the scene leaving the deceased behind. His evidence was corroborated by PW3.

The case for the appellant was that the land belonged to his family and he was on it to harvest palm fruits to sell to pay his school fees. His family and the deceased’s family have been litigating over the land. When he saw the deceased and two others he asked them their mission and the deceased who was holding a cutlass slashed him on the wrist and left knee. He became furious so he started brandishing the cutlass he was holding and it cut PW2 on his arm and the neck of the deceased. The deceased fell and the others then fled and he decided to make a report to the police. He saw that the head of the deceased was almost off so he cut it off as he did not want anyone to come for it