OKINE v. THE REPUBLIC

Archer J.A. delivered the judgment of the court. Throughout the ages the calm and breezy dawn has gained notoriety as the most ideal time for launching successful military invasions and in contemporary times for staging coups d'etat. The dawn has always been used by many Ghanaians for out-dooring and naming their newly born babies amid the fanfare provided by the crows of the cock. Unfortunately, this same dawn has an unenviable reputation as the most opportune time, when some men, bereft of their bearings, have aroused their paramours from their peaceful slumber and have battered them to death. One such tragedy is the prosecution's story in this appeal.

On 10 June 1973, at 4.30 in the morning on the Christian Sabbath when non-hypocritical Christians were reminding themselves of the ten commandments, the appellant, Emmanuel Joe Okine, affectionately called "Brother Joe" by those close to him, knocked at the window of the bedroom of his wife, Georgina Akrong, at Sabon Zongo, Accra. His wife inquired who it was and the appellant answered, "Brother Joe." In her bedroom were two other persons, a female adult and Georgina Akrong's young daughter, who heard the knock and the appellant's reply. There was another woman in the house who also heard the knock on the window by the appellant. Georgina Akrong got out of bed and opened the door for the appellant. As soon as the appellant got access to the room, he refused Georgina the liberty of going out to urinate. He pushed her down and she fell on her back. Thereupon, the appellant took a wooden bar used in barricading the door and started hitting his fallen wife with it. The other two inmates rushed out of the room to the compound of the house and shouted for help. The appellant ran away from the room and immediately afterwards sought the assistance of one of his tenants to take him to the nearest police station where the appellant told the officer on duty that as a result of a quarrel, he had hit his wife with a stick and that the wife was lying in the room and he did not know what had happened.

The post-mortem examination of Georgina's body revealed that there were fractures on the skull and the left ear. The multiple fractures on the skull ran from the occipital region, that is from the back of the head on both sides. The brain and its cavities which normally contain clear fluids were filled with blood and the brain matter itself was severely damaged. All other organs on examination were normal. In the opinion