OSEI EMMANUEL @ EMMA v. THE REPUBLIC
2018
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
- HENRY A. KWOFIE
- VICTOR OFOE J.A.
- IRENE CHARITY LARBI (MRS)
Areas of Law
- Criminal Law and Procedure
- Evidence Law
2018
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
This criminal appeal from the High Court, Accra, concerns the conviction and sentence of an appellant for conspiracy to commit robbery and robbery. The prosecution’s case, accepted by the trial court, was that complainant Derrick Hope Gidzi, a computer software engineer living at SSNIT Flats, Dome, and his fiancé Patience Owusu were attacked at about 1:00 a.m. on 23 September 2012 by four men, including the appellant, who dragged them from their Toyota Hilux, took their electronic devices and drove off with the vehicle. Police used tracking to locate suspects at the Neoplan/VIP bus station; A1 and the appellant were arrested and Patience’s iPad was found on the appellant. PW1 and PW2 identified the appellant during the attack and at the station; subsequent arrests led to recovery of the vehicle in Togo. On appeal by rehearing, the Court of Appeal held the evidence proved the offences beyond reasonable doubt, dismissed grounds 1–3, but reduced the 25-year sentence to 20 years, considering statutory minimums and the appellant’s youth.
JUDGMENT
HENRY KWOFIE J.A.
The appellant and 2 other persons were charged with conspiracy to commit robbery contrary to section 23 (1) of Act 29 and 149 of Act 29 as amended by Act 646. The appellant and one other person were also charged with robbery contrary to section 149 of Act 29 as amended by Act 646. They were arraigned before the High Court Accra. All the accused persons including the appellant pleaded not guilty to the charge. The trial High Court heard the matter to its conclusion, convicted the appellant on both counts and on the 5th of December 2013 sentenced him to a term of 25 years I. H. L. on each counts, the sentences were to run concurrently. It is against his conviction and sentence that the appellant filed the instant appeal. The facts of the case as presented by the prosecution at the trial High Court was that the complainant, a computer software engineer is resident at the SSNIT Flats Dome.
On the 23rd of September, 2012 at about 1:00am, the complainant together with one Patience Owusu were in the complainant’s Toyota Hilux vehicle with registration number GW 4787 Y returning to Dome from a programme at the Banquet Hall of Parliament House. The complainant who was then driving the vehicle, upon reaching the main gate to his house, alighted from the vehicle to open the gate as it was locked.
A1 and A2 together with two other suspects now at large all armed with pistols and cutlasses suddenly alighted from a saloon car which they had used to trail the complainant to his house, threatened the complainant with their weapons and robbed him and his fiancé of his Toyota Hilux vehicle with registration number GW 4787 Y, one i-pad, two i-phones, one blackberry phone, the complainant’s credit cards and cash in the sum of GHC400.
The police acting upon intelligence traced A1 and A2 to Neoplan Station at Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Accra. They were consequently arrested on board a Kumasi bound vehicle. A search conducted on them revealed the i-pad that was stolen during the robbery. Upon interrogation, A1 and A2 admitted the offence and led the police to the house of A3 who admitted receiving the complainant’s stolen vehicle which he had quickly driven together with A4 to Togo to sell. A1 and A2 further told the police that prior to the robbery they had met A3 at his residence at Sowutuom Agenda where A3 tasked them to go and rob a Toyota Hilux Vehicle and that A3 provided the details of the Toyota Hilux Vehicle with which they trailed the complai