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RULING
RULING ON WHETHER A PRIMA FACIE CASE HAS BEEN MADE BY
THE PROSECUTION
Background:
The Accused Person was charged with the offence of Stealing contrary to
Section. 124(1) of the Criminal and Other Offences of Act 1960, (Act 29) and
the Particulars of the Offence are that in the month of January 2023 at Kwame
Nkrumah Circle in the Greater Accra Circuit and within the jurisdiction of
this court, dishonestly appropriated iPhone 6S valued GH800.00, iPhone 12
pro valued GH6,700.00, iPhone 7 valued GH1,250.00, iPhone 14 pro valued
GH7,000.00, unlocking money worth GH3,000.00 making a total of
GH¢18,750.00.
The brief facts of the matter as incorporated from the Charge Sheet are that
both the Accused person and the complainant are SHS mates. In the month of
January, 2023, Accused person led complainant to buy Four (4) iPhones at a cost of GH¢18,750.00 at Kwame Nkrumah Circle. Complainant after purchase
of the phones detected them to be faulty and as such returned the phones to
accused person for repairs. Accused person on receipt of the phones sold
them out without the consent of the complainant and made use of the
proceeds. Complainant made report to the Police leading to the arrest of the
accused person who was subsequently arraigned before this instant court.
The Plea
On the 8/5/2023, the plea of guilty was entered for the Accused Person and the
Prosecution assumed the burden to prove the guilt of the Accused Person
beyond reasonable doubt. To prove their case, the Prosecution called Two (2)
Witnesses and tendered in the following as evidence;
Exhibit ‚A‛ - Complainant Statement to the Police;
Exhibit ‚B‛- Investigation Caution Statement of the Accused Person;
Exhibit ‚C‛- Charge Statement of the Accused person.
At the close of the case of the Prosecution, the Court has to determine whether
the Prosecution has established a prima facie case against the Accused Person to
require him to open his defence.
Determination
Article 19(2) (c) of the Constitution 1992 provides that ‘a person charged with a
criminal offence shall be presumed innocent until he is proved or has pleaded guilty’.
Apart from strict liability offences, the general rule is that, throughout a
criminal trial, the burden of proving the guilt of the accused person remains on
the Prosecution. (See Asante vs. The Republic (1972) 2 GLR 177). An accused is
generally not required by law to prove anything, he is only to raise reasonable
doubt in the mind of the court as