Appeal Court. 30th May, 1988.
Appeals from Supreme Court
exercising appellate
jurisdiction.
Charge of unlawful assembly
contra. section
346 Cap 29 but
conviction of Riot when not so
charged-Powers of sections 319
and 326 of cap. 10
invoked by Appeal Court.
Held: Findings altered;
sentences maintained.
There is no need to set out the
facts.
A. J. A1'nley
for Crown.
T. Hutton-Mills
for Appellants.
The following joint judgment was
delivered:-
KING-DON, C.J., NIGERIA,
PETRIDES, C.J., GOLD COAST
.AND YATES, J.
In this case fifty-eight persons
were charged in the Court of the
Magistrate held at Krachi " for
that they on the 24th day of
"October, 1937, at Krachikrom
........................
did unlawfully assemble together
with a purpose of committing a
riot " contrary to section 346,
Cap. 29 ". The Magistrate on the
1st November, 1937, convicted
fifty-four out of the
fifty-eight and adjourned the
case of the other four till next
day. The ultimate fate of these
four does not appear in the
record before us, but we are
informed by counsel that they
were acquitted and discharged.
But the whole fifty-eight seem
to have appealed against the
conviction to the Supreme Court
as though they were all
convicted. The Supreme Court
dismissed all the appeals. From
this decision all the
fifty-eight have appealed to
this Court. The t1ppeals of the
four men,
viz.,
Yaw Okunyi, Yaw Donkor, Kwelji
Djatto and Kwadjo Mparah,
against whom there is no record
of a conviction are struck out.
In the case of the other
fifty-four men there is no
substance whatever in their
appeals, but there is an error
in the form of the judgment
which requires to be corrected.
At the opening of his judgment
the learned Magistrate says:-
" With regard to the fifty-eight
accused before the Court, "
excepting Yaw Okunyi, Yaw Donkor,
Kwesi Djatto " and Kwadjo Mprah,
I am satisfied that the charge
.. is proved ".
But when it comes to recording
an actual finding he says
(referring to the remaining
fifty-four only) :_
" In doing so, their action
constituted an act of riot, in "
the commission of which I find
them all guilty, " and order
that each shall pay a fine of £5
or three months imprisonment in
lieu thereof".
