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January 24, 2023
CIRCUIT COURT
GHANA
CORAM
JUDGMENT
Accused arraigned before this court charged as follows:
STATEMENT OF OFFENCE
THREAT OF DEATH, CONTRARY TO SECTION 75 OF THE CRIMINAL OFFENCES
ACT, 1960(ACT 29)
PARTICULARS OF OFFENCE2
EBENEZER NYAMEKYE, ELECTRIC WELDER:For that you on 15th July, 2022 at
Canary Road Dunkwa-On-Offin in the Central Circuit and withun the jurisdiction of
this court did unlawfully threaten to kill on Comfort Nsiah.
Section 75 of Criminal Offences Act, 1960(Act 29) states:
“Whoever threatens any other person with death, with intent to put that person in fear of death,
is guilty of a second degree felony.”
Osei-Hwere J(as he then was) expatiated on section 75 of Act 29 in the case of Behome v. The
Republic [1979] GLR 112 @ 123, to wit:
“In the offence of threat of death, the actus reus would consist in the expectation of death which
the offender creates in the mind of the person threatened whilst the mens rea would also consist
in the realization by the offender that his threats would produce that expectation.”
In section 10 of the Evidence Act, 1975(NRCD 323), Burden of Persuasion is defined. Subseciton
1 states:
“For the purposes of this Decree, the burden of persuasion means the obligation of a party to
establish a requisite degree of belief concerning a fact in the mind of the tribunal of fact or the
court.”
Section 10(2) of the Evidence Act adds that:
“The burden of persuasion may require a party to raise a reasonable doubt concerning the
existence or non-existence of a fact or that he establishes the existence or non-existence of a
fact by a preponderance of the probabilities or by proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Section 11 of NRCD 323 defines “Burden of Producing Evidence” and states further as follows:3
(1) For the purposes of this Decree, the burden of producing evidence means the obligation of a
party to introduce sufficient evidence to avoid a ruling against him on the issue.
(2) 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.
(3) 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 r
AI Generated Summary
Ebenezer Nyamekye, an electric welder residing on Canary Road in Dunkwa-On-Offin, was prosecuted in the Central Circuit Court for threat of death under section 75 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), based on allegations by his mother, Comfort Nsiah, following a domestic dispute over money for food. The investigator presented photographs of a knife, stone, and cutlass, and the complainant described being struck in the chest with a stone and threatened with death if she did not obtain money. Nyamekye’s cautioned statement admitted possessing the implements but denied threatening his mother, stating his aim was to deter bystanders. After the prosecution closed its case and the court called for a defence under Act 30, Nyamekye gave an unsworn statement seeking forgiveness. Applying section 75, the Evidence Act (NRCD 323), and authorities such as Behome v The Republic and Woolmington v DPP, His Honour Yaw Poku Achampong found no proof beyond reasonable doubt of a death threat, acquitted and discharged Nyamekye, and observed that assault would have been the more appropriate charge.