THE REPUBLIC v. FRANCIS NDABIAH ALIAS AWAH AND ISAAC BLAY- DEALT WITH
2023
DISTRICT COURT
CORAM
- HER WORSHIP AWO AMISSAH FRENCH ESQ
Areas of Law
- Criminal Law and Procedure
- Evidence Law
2023
DISTRICT COURT
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
At the District Magistrate Court in Nkroful, presided over by Her Worship Awo Amissah French, A1 was tried for stealing after A2 had pleaded guilty to dishonestly receiving. The complainant, a trader and A1’s grandmother, discovered her unregistered Royal motorbike (valued at GHS 12,000) missing at about 2:00am on March 15, 2023; the gate remained locked and entrance lights were covered by a bedsheet. Earlier, A1 had arranged with A2 to sell the motorbike far from Ngalekyi to avoid detection; later that day A1 delivered it to A2 at Bonyere. PW4, Isaac Blay, confirmed A1 personally brought the motorbike. Applying sections 11(2)-(3) of the Evidence Act and sections 124(1), 125 and 122(6) of Act 29, the court found the elements of stealing established beyond reasonable doubt, convicted A1, sentenced him to 24 months’ imprisonment IHL, and ordered the motorbike returned to the complainant.
J U D G E M E N T
The Accused persons were charged with two counts of stealing and dishonestly receiving
contrary to sections 124(1) and 146 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).
The brief facts that gave rise to the charges as initially presented to the Court were that
complainant is a trader and grandmother to A1 and that both live in the same house at
Ngalekyi while A2 is a driver and a resident of Tikobo No 1. Sometime in early March,
2023, A1 approached A2 and told him he would bring a stolen motorbike from Ngalekyi to A2 to sell for him and stressed that the motorbike should be sold far away from the
jurisdiction to avoid detection. On the 15th day of March, 2023,at about 2:00am,
complainant woke up and detected that her unregistered Royal Motorbike valued at
Twelve thousand Ghana Cedis had been stolen. Complainant suspected A1 because as at
the time, the fence gate was locked and had not been tampered with. Upon a complaint
lodged with the police A1 was arrested, it came to the fore during initial investigations
that the lights at the entrance had been covered by a bedsheet to create darkness and that
on the same day, at about 4:00pm, A1 sent the motorbike to A2 at Bonyere as earlier on
arranged. A2 was subsequently arrested at Kukuavile, a village in the Jomoro
municipality.
On the 27th day of March, 2023, when A1 and A2 were arraigned before this Court and
the charges preferred against them were read and explained to them in Twi language, A1
pleaded Not Guilty to count one on stealing, while A2 pleaded guilty to count two on
dishonestly receiving stolen property and was hence dealt with. The court then
proceeded to try A1 on count one.
Section 11 (2) of the Evidence Act, 1973 (NRCD 323) states that in a criminal action the
burden of producing evidence, when it is on the prosecution as to any fact which is
essential to guilt, requires the prosecution to produce sufficient evidence so that on all
the evidence a reasonable mind could find the existence of the fact beyond a reasonable
doubt.
Subsection 3 of the same provision says that in a criminal action the burden of producing
evidence, when it is on the accused as to any fact the converse of which is essential to
guilt, requires the accused to produce sufficient evidence so that on all the evidence a
reasonable mind could have a reasonable doubt as to guilt.
Section 124(1) of Act 29 states as follows;
“A person who steals commits a second degree felony.”
Also