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October 25, 2023
CIRCUIT COURT
GHANA
CORAM
The prosecution’s case is that the accused person and one Abu acted together on the night of 15th October 2021 at Ola and succeeded in stealing one Toyota Yaris taxi cab with registration number AS 5480-20. The prosecution called on three witnesses to make its case. The first to give his evidence was the driver of the vehicle. According to his evidence, around 10:30pm on 15th October 2021, two people stopped him and hired his services at Pedu junction. They told him to drive them to Ataabadzie but before heading there, they asked him to take them to Abura where they purchased two bottles of water.
Whilst going towards Ataabadzie, the complainant became suspicious of his passengers and decided to pick up his friend to accompany them on the trip. He claims that, he informed them the accused and his friend that he needed to pick up a friend at Ola. They agreed for his to do so, he then drove to the second prosecution’ witness house at Ola. When they got there, he exited the vehicle and went into the house of his friend. He left the accused person and his friend in the car and while he went inside to speak to his friend. When he came out with his friend both his car and its passengers were gone.
A complaint was lodged by the complainant at the police station of the car theft and police commenced investigations. On 17th of October he went to Komenda junction due to a tip he had received that car thieves usually sent stolen cars there. When he got there, he met the accused person. Accused person spoke to him and even asked for his help in cutting a polythene bag that he was using to adjust his vesper motor bike tank.
On the 29th of October he received news that the accused had been arrested, he proceeded to the police station where an identification parade was conducted. He pointed out to the accused as one of the two people who stole the car at Ola. Sometime later he was informed of a vehicle that had been abandoned vehicle at Elmina. The colour of the car was different from his but it was the same model of car, when the chassis number was compared, it showed that it was his taxi cab that had been stolen and the vehicle was released to him.
The second witness of prosecution testified that he was the friend that the complainant had gone to pick up at Ola. He confirmed that around 9:40pm, the complainant came to his house to pick him up with his taxi so he could accompany him on a. He took time to put his shirt on and when they emerged from the room they disc
AI Generated Summary
Her Honour Mrs Veronique Praba Tetteh tried a car theft charge arising from events in Cape Coast on 15 October 2021. Two men hired the complainants Toyota Yaris taxi (AS 5480-20) from Pedu junction to Abura/Ataabadzie; when the driver briefly went into his friends house at Ola, the taxi was driven away with the keys in the ignition. The complainant later encountered the accused at Komenda junction, participated in an identification parade, and the taxi was recovered abandoned at Elmina with a different color but matching chassis. The accused, who admitted knowing Abu, said he accompanied Abu to deliver the car to Richard in Takoradi and denied knowing it was stolen. Applying caution from Hanson v Republic, the court found the identification parade flawed and the complainants recognition unreliable. The prosecution failed to prove dishonest appropriation or place the accused at Ola during the theft; reasonable doubt required acquittal and discharge.