CaseLaw
Umani Vs. State (1988) CLR 2(n) (SC)
Judgement delivered on February 5th 1988
Brief
Facts
It would appear that the whole incident arose from the turbaning ceremony of the new village head on 15th January, 1983. Two factions appear to have arisen in the village made up of supporters of the old village head and supporters of the new village head. According to the testimony of the 3 principal witnesses for the prosecution, i.e. PW1, PW2, PW3, they saw the 6 accused persons (the 3rd Accused was at large and his name was struck out at the end of the trial) enter the compound of the deceased. While the deceased was sitting in front of his room in the compound these accused persons started beating him with sticks, knife, sword and axe. The beating continued until the decease was unconscious. When the police later arrived the second prosecution witness assisted them in carrying the deceased into a vehicle that conveyed him to a hospital at Jahun where he later died. From the medical report exhibit A, the cause of death was said to be due to severe head injury causing coma. The injuries were explained by the doctor as “big lacerated wound in the left side of the scalp, incised wound below right side of the chin about two centimeters long and penetrating deep into the floor of the mouth. Lacerated wound on the left ear-lobe.”
The prosecution also tendered as exhibit C-C1 a stick, axe and one long knife said to be recovered at the scene of crime. They were said to have been recovered in the house of the deceased. In their defence all the accused persons raised a defence of alibi although as I shall show later in this judgment, the appellant herein raised that defence only during the trial. It is also pertinent to mention that the defence witness 1 testified to the effect that he was present at the turbaning ceremony of the new village head on 15th January, 1983. He claimed that when the new village head’s entourage was coming back they met Abdul Aziz, the deceased and one Kojo holding a stick and an axe respectively. When according to him, P W 2 said anybody entering Garado village should be killed, he removed the turban of the new village head, took him to one of the classrooms in the school and locked him there. By the time he returned from lodging a report at the Jahun Police Station the clash had already taken place. According to him the clash took place at the premises of the primary school.
At the close of evidence and addresses of counsel, the learned trial Judge, Fernandez, J held that the disturbance started some where but ended in the house of the deceased. The learned trial Judge upheld the defence of alibi raised by the 1st, 2nd 5th 6th and 7th Accused persons and discharged them. He rejected the defence of alibi raised by the appellant herein, which defence was not raised in his statement to the Police but only in his testimony in Court. He dubbed it an after thought.
The appellant appealed to the Court of Appeal that on the 26th March 1996 dismissed his appeal.
He thereupon appealed to the Supreme Court.