NARTEY v. THE REPUBLIC

JUDGMENT OF EDWARD WIREDU J.A.

Edward Wiredu J.A. delivered the judgment of the court. This is an appeal from a conviction of the appellant on 28 July 1980 on a charge of murder of one Amadu Fulani at a farm situate on the Afienya Dawhenya road by Amate-Kisseih J. with a jury at a criminal session of the High Court, Accra.

The facts of this case reveal that the harm which resulted in the death of the late Amadu Fulani was at the instance of the appellant and the main issue of fact of the consideration of the jury was whether the act of the appellant amounted in law to murder or whether the plea of self-defence as put up by the appellant was made out or failing which whether the crime of murder on the available evidence could be reduced to manslaughter by extreme provocation.

[p.790]

The appellant was the only eye-witness to the events resulting in the death of the deceased. No one apart from him knew the circumstances surrounding the killing of the deceased. The case for the prosecution depended solely and entirely on the cautioned statement which the appellant made on 19 December 1978 when he was in custody some three days after the incident. The material part of this statement reads:

"On Sunday, 17 December 1978, at about 3.30 p.m. I went to the garden to water the seedlings I planted from a small stream which passed through my garden. I was watering the seedlings when a certain man whom I suspected to be a Hausa man came with a cutlass and a stick in his hands. He inquired from me as to who gave me the portion of the land on which I cultivated the garden.

I replied him that I did not obtain it from anybody. He repeated his question for two consecutive times but I did not give him any further reply. The man whom I did not know insisted that I should give hit a reply, then became offended and him my right ribs with the stick he was holding. The deceased attempted to hit me the second time with the stick and I seized it from his hand and threw it away.

The deceased attempted to wound me with the cutlass and it cut my right hand when I tried to seize it. I saw that the deceased had become aggressive and I therefore went to pick my own cutlass. That when I raised up my head the deceased struck my forehead with his cutlass and I sustained serious wounds. I started bleeding from the wound and I retaliated by inflicting wounds on him with my cutlass. The deceased fell down as a result of the wounds and I left him and went home to make a report.

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