THOMAS BAKER & ANOTHER v. THE REPUBLIC

OFOE, J.A:

The appellants were charged for the offences of conspiracy to commit crime, to wit robbery, contrary to sections 23 and 149 of the criminal code 1960, (Act 29) and Robbery contrary to section 149 of the criminal code.

The date of the robbery is stated as the 3rd of October 2016 at Agblezaa in the Greater Accra Region. They were alleged to have committed these offences against the complainant Halimatu Osman. The robbery was successful in that the complainant lost GHC50,000 Samsung Galaxy valued GHC700 and further cash of GHC1,200

The facts presented by the prosecution are that:

“The complainant in this case Halimatu Osman is a businesswoman and resides at Agblezaa whiles A1 Thomas Baker is a driver to the complainant and A2 Daniel Sackey is a businessman all residing at Teshie and Agblezaa respectively. The complainant had just engaged A1 as her personal driver for only three weeks now. On the 3rd October,2016 about 5.30pm complainant closed from shop with an amount of GH¢50,000.00 on her whiles A1 who was by then at the car park waiting for the complainant, made a phone call to A2 and was overhead by a witness telling A2 that, they are now moving out of the car park and that they should be alert. The complainant and A1 together with the complainant’s daughter Firdaus Farrah who is also a witness in this case moved from the park and was heading towards home. On reaching Agblezaa a few meters from the complainant’s house, four armed men emerged from nowhere on motor bike and A1 rather stopped the car and opened the central locks whiles he stood aloof watching the armed men subject the complainant to severe beatings and robbing her of an amount of GH¢50,000.00, Samsung galaxy x6 phone and phone 816. A young man by name Mohammed Innusah who saw the act rushed to assist the complainant and he was shot by one of the armed robbers. The robbers sped off with the money and the two phones. A report was made to the Manet Police investigation led to the arrest of A1 and A2 having conspired with the armed robbers to rob the complainant. Case is still under investigation”.

At the end of trial they were acquitted of the substantive charge of robbery but convicted for the conspiracy charge and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment with hard labour.

They are aggrieved the trial High Court confirmed the circuit judgment convicting them for conspiracy and therefore have filed this second appeal which we reproduce as follows:

“i. The learned trial Judge erred i