ZEILA SULEMANA VRS THE REPUBLIC

This is an appeal from the decision of the High Court, Tamale, dated 29th June 2016, in a murder case. By that decision the Appellant was convicted and sentenced to death by hanging by the neck. This was after the jury returned a verdict of guilty on the Appellant for the murder of Rawdia Aminu.

The Appellant submits that the decision was erroneous in that the learned trial judge in the summing up to the Jury failed to direct the jury properly on the defence of self-defence raised by the Appellant, and further direct the jury on the danger of reliance on hearsay evidence.

Another ground of appeal urged upon this Court is that the Appellant was 17 years 7 months old at the time of the commission of the offence and therefore a juvenile in accordance with the Juvenile Justice Act, 2003, Act 653. By the provisions of the Act, a juvenile ought to be treated differently from an adult, and the punishment for serious offences, including murder, is three (3) years. The sentencing of the Appellant to death by hanging was, in the circumstances, wrong.

In the determination of this appeal, we shall be guided by Sections 31(1) and 31 (2) of the Courts Act, 1993 (Act 459). The provisions read:

“31(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, an appellate Court on hearing any appeal before it in a criminal case shall allow the appeal if it considers that the verdict or conviction or acquittal ought to be set aside on the ground that it is unreasonable or cannot be supported having regard to the evidence or that the judgment in question ought to be set aside on the ground of a wrong decision of any question of law or fact or that on any ground there was a miscarriage of justice and in any other case shall dismiss the appeal.

(2) The Court shall dismiss the appeal if it considers that no substantial miscarriage of justice has actually occurred or that the point raised in the appeal consists of a technicality or procedural error or a defect in the charge or indictment but that there is evidence to support the offence alleged in the statement of offence in the charge or indictment or any offence of which the accused could have been convicted upon that charge or indictment”.

Now to the facts of the case as presented by the prosecution. The deceased Rawdia Aminu and one Alhassan Abdul Rahman were in a romantic relationship which suffered a breakup in 2014. Subsequently, Alhassan Abdul Rahman engaged in an altercation with the deceased through the phone, a pi