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REPUBLIC v. DISTRICT MAGISTRATE, ASAMANKESE: EX PARTE IDE ZABRAMAH AND OTHERS

January 31, 1972

HIGH COURT

GHANA

CORAM

  • QUASHIE-SAM J

Areas of Law

  • Criminal Law and Procedure
  • Immigration law
  • Administrative Law

AI Generated Summary

Quashie‑Sam J. of the High Court issued certiorari to quash a deportation recommendation and, upon providing reasons, further quashed the convictions and sentences of Ide Zabrama and thirty‑one other non‑citizens tried in District Court II, Asamankese. The record showed a single statement of offence reciting two charges—being in Ghana without valid documents and being in a prohibited area without a permit—without any particulars, followed by guilty pleas and immediate sentencing to four months’ hard labour plus deportation recommendation. The court held that section 12(1)(e) of the Aliens Act does not create a triable offence; deportation under that section is an executive function via ministerial order under section 13, with its effects in section 14. Although section 9A(4) creates a triable offence, section 12(2) permits judicial recommendation of deportation only upon conviction for an offence punishable by imprisonment without an option of fine; because section 9A(4) carries such an option, the magistrate exceeded jurisdiction. These errors and excesses warranted certiorari, leading to the quashing of the deportation recommendation, convictions, and sentences.

JUDGEMENT