MENSAH v. THE STATE

JUDGMENT OT ADUMUA-BOSSMAN J.S.C.

Adumua-Bossman J.S.C. delivered the judgment of' the court. The appellant was convicted by the High Court at its October 1961 Criminal Session in Accra on four charges, namely: (1) unlawful entry into the [p.27] dwelling-house of Lawrence Yaw Oweredu at Teshie with the intention of committing a crime, namely, stealing therein, contrary to section 152 of the Criminal Code, 1960; (2) stealing from the said dwelling-house £G5 10s. cash the property of the said Lawrence Yaw Oweredu, contrary to section 124 of the said code; (3) use of an offensive weapon, namely, a knife, at the said dwelling-house whereby he intentionally and unlawfully caused harm to Lawrence Yaw Oweredu, contrary to section 70 of the said code; and (4) use of an offensive weapon, namely, a knife, at the said dwelling-house whereby he intentionally and unlawfully caused harm to Lawrence Kofi Damoah, contrary to section 70 of the said code. He was sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labour on each of the charges of unlawful entry and stealing, and seven years I.H.L. on each of the charges of using an offensive weapon, the sentences to run concurrently.

The prosecution's case against him, in a nutshell, was that during the night of the 14th October, 1960, he was recognised when he made entry into the room of one Lawrence Yaw Oweredu and committed the offences charged. The man in question, a soldier attached to the Field Squadron at Teshie Camp but occupying civilian quarters, i.e. a rented room in house No. G.73/23 Teshie, (who will hereafter be referred to simply as Oweredu) gave evidence as the first prosecution witness, and testified that he retired to bed at about 9 p.m. that night leaving unextinguished and burning a hurricane lamp which he was using that evening; that sharing the room with him at the same time was a civilian friend Lawrence Kofi Damoah, a fitter by occupation, from Wassaw-Akropong (Western Region) who arrived the previous day to spend a few days with him; that sometime shortly after midnight (about 12.30 a.m.) he was awakened by the noise of movement in the room, and as he looked round the room he saw a man wearing a mask on his face and dressed in a shirt and a pair of long trousers who was carrying his wireless-set across the room; he thereupon raised an alarm by shouting, "Thief, thief, thief," and almost immediately after saw his friend Damoah get up and rush at the intruder. The latter, however, stabbed Damoah who was