ODONKOR v. THE REPUBLIC

Azu Crabbe J. A. delivered the judgment of the court. On 27 July 1967, we dismissed the appellant's appeal against that part of the judgment of the High Court confirming his conviction for unlawfully and intentionally causing harm, but allowed his appeal against that part of the judgment whereby the learned judge of the High Court enhanced the sentence passed on the appellant by the learned trial circuit judge. We now proceed to give our reasons.

The appellant was tried summarily in the Circuit Court, Accra, on a charge of causing harm contrary to section 69 of the Criminal Code, 1960 (Act 29). The facts found by the learned circuit judge are as follows:

"The accused and the complainant are employees of Lennards Shoe Company of Accra. On 5 September 1965, there was a party at the residence of the manager of the company, and the complainant who is employed as a driver drove employees of the company including the accused from the company's yard to the party. At the close of the party the complainant drove the employees back including the second and third prosecution witnesses (two ladies not employed by the company) to the company's yard. The employees desired that they might be taken to their respective homes, but the driver refused to do so. At the company's yard all the employees except the accused alighted and went away. The accused refused to go and asked the driver to drive him home as he was living at Achimota, about six miles away, and as the driver had originally promised to take the employees home. The two ladies (the second and third prosecution witnesses) were at the scene. The second prosecution witness, a cousin to the complainant, intervened while the accused and the complainant were exchanging words by saying that in her school if the students were on excursion [p.692] they were driven to the school for each student to arrange her own transport home, and so he should fetch a taxi and go home. When she said this the accused was offended and warned her to keep out of it. The accused attempted to assault this girl (the second prosecution witness) and so the complainant went to get the girl out of the hands of the accused. After he had succeeded in doing so, the accused rushed on the complainant held him and bit off part of his nose."

After stating the above facts, the learned circuit judge examined fully the evidence of the complainant and the other principal witnesses for the prosecution alongside the plea of self-defence put forward by th