The Court of Appeal has acquitted William Baah, a former Assembly Member for Denkyira Obuasi in the Central Region, who had previously been sentenced to life imprisonment for abetting the murder of Major Maxwell Adam Mahama. Delivering a unanimous judgment on Wednesday, November 20, a three-member panel of the appellate court held that the trial judge, Justice Mariama Owusu—then serving on the Supreme Court with additional duties as a High Court judge—had misdirected the jury, leading to a wrongful conviction.
“The misdirection by the High Court judge was grave,” the panel stated. “Had the jury been properly instructed, they would not have returned a verdict of guilt against the accused.” Specifically, the court held that the court erred when it relied on the cautioned statements of two of the accused persons incriminating the assemblyman.
The court was of the view that the cautioned statement of an accused person, which implicated another accused person, should be made in the presence of the person being implicated, adding that the cautioned statement could only be used against the accused person making the statement and not a co-accused. “The Judge was bound to disregard the incriminating statements when directing the jury,” the court said.
In addition to this, the court held that the statements of two of the accused persons, which the court relied on, were full of inconsistencies and suspicions. The appellant was represented by George Bernard Shaw.
Source: Justice Agbenorsi
