STATE v. OBENG AND OTHERS

This appeal by the State challenges the circuit court’s acquittal of prison officer Joseph Kwami Obeng and detainees Osei Owusu Afriyie and Emmanuel Humphrey Tetteh Korboe on charges arising from clandestine letters at Ussher Fort Prison, Accra. The prosecution alleged Korboe authored a letter passed through Afriyie to Obeng, who hid it in his puttees intending to take it outside; a second letter from “Yaw” to “B.B.” was also found on Obeng during a search. The trial judge held Afriyie and Korboe were not "prisoners," found count 2 duplicitous, and concluded no attempt was made, also invoking Prison Regulations to sideline section 228 of the Criminal Code. Amissah J.A. held protective custody detainees are "prisoners" under the Prisons Act and that section 228 applies notwithstanding prison discipline, rejected the duplicity ruling, but agreed the facts did not constitute an attempt. With no factual findings below, the Court of Appeal ordered a retrial of count 1 before a different circuit judge and dismissed the appeal on counts 2–4, allowing the appeal only in part.