THE REPUBLIC vs. FRANCIS IKE UYANWUNE [2012]DLCA8143

Date	2012-10-25
Suit No.	SUIT NO.H2/09/2012
Citation No.	[2012]DLCA8143

MARFUL-SAU JA –PRESIDING

DENNIS ADJEI JA

BENSON J

APPELLANT IN PERSON GEORGE KPODO (PSA) FOR THE REPUBLIC

[2012]DLCA8143
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >THE REPUBLIC<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;
color:#00B0F0"><o:p></o:p>(RESPONDENT)<o:p></o:p><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;
color:#00B0F0">vs.<o:p></o:p>FRANCIS IKE
UYANWUNE<o:p></o:p>(ACCUSED/APPELANT)<o:p></o:p>[COURT OF APPEAL, CAPE COAST]<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">

SUIT
NO.H2/09/2012&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;DATE: 25TH
OCTOBER, 2012<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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APPELLANT
IN PERSON GEORGE KPODO (PSA) FOR THE REPUBLIC<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM:<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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MARFUL-SAU
JA –PRESIDING, DENNIS ADJEI JA, BENSON J<o:p></o:p>

</div>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
text-align:center;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">JUDGMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>DENNIS
ADJEI, J.A.:<o:p></o:p>On
13th March, 2006, the High Court, Sekondi convicted the accused
person/Appellant (who would be referred to in this judgement as the Appellant)
and sentenced him to 25 years IHL with effect from the date of his arrest, that
is 25th July, 2005. The trial High Court Judge made consequential
orders including a restitution order and deportation order after having served
the prison sentence. <o:p></o:p>The
brief facts of the case were that the Appellant herein, a Nigerian, went
to&nbsp; Sekondi- Takoradi and carried himself
to people he came into contact with as an official of the United Nations
Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and was its special envoy to Africa and Asia.
The appellant claimed to have brought one million dollars to Sekondi-Takoradi
to give to beneficiaries as interest free loans. The Appellant embossed the
logo of the United Nations on his Toyota double Carbin pick up. The appellant
made beneficiaries of the said loans to pay ten percent of the loans to be
granted to them as a commitment fee and therefore succeeded in obtaining an
amount of twenty thousand Ghana cedis from them. The beneficiaries of the loans
included individuals and organizations including Ghana Private Road Transport
Union (G.P.R.T.U). The Police after their fullest independent investigation into
the matter concluded that the Appellant was neither an employee of the United
Nations nor its special envoy to Africa and Asia and arraigned before him the
High Court Sekondi.<o:p></o:p>A
charge of fraud by false pretence contrary to section 131 of Act 29/60 was
preferred against the Appellant and was convicted and sentenced to 25 years I.H.L.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The
Appellant aggrieved by both conviction and sentence filed several grounds of
appeal. The Appellant acted in person. The grounds of appeal may be summarised
into three namely:<o:p></o:p>“(1) the trial High court Judge denied him a
hearing and, furthermore the trial was influenced by biases, prejudices and
preconceptions.<o:p></o:p>(2)<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-weight: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;&nbsp;
&nbsp;&nbsp;The judgment was unreasonable having regard
to the evidence on record and<o:p></o:p>