NTUMY FRANCIS @CJ AND KWABENA BOAKYE @ A1 v. THE REPUBLIC

This appeal arises from a Jasikan District Court conviction of Ntumy Francis @ C.J. for conspiracy, entered on a plea of “guilty with explanation,” after his co‑accused, Kwabena Boakye, pleaded not guilty. The prosecution’s facts showed that complainant Joseph Yevuga, a cocoa buyer at the Worawora Cocoa shed, found the office’s padlocks and hinges damaged, the door ajar, documents ransacked, and the safe tampered, though nothing was stolen. When invited to explain, the appellant stated, “the implements were found in my room, in my grandmother’s house.” The High Court, per Ayitey Armah‑Tetteh J., held that the explanation was equivocal and did not amount to an unequivocal admission of guilt. Under Act 30 and Gundaa v Republic, a court must enter a plea of not guilty where the explanation is inconsistent with guilt. The court also reaffirmed that conspiracy under section 23(1) of Act 29 requires agreement between two or more persons; one cannot conspire alone. The Evidence Act’s rebuttable presumption of ownership cannot justify conviction without trial. The appeal was allowed; the conviction and 24‑month sentence were set aside.