OBENG GYEBI V. THE REPUBLIC

JUDGMENT 

KULENDI JSC

INTRODUCTION 

Upon a cursory glance, this Appeal appears to be a normal appeal against a sentence by a convict. However, upon closer inspection and a lot of introspection, this matter transforms into one of immense jurisprudential importance with the very essence and nature of justice at the heart of the main issue that this set of facts raises. 

This is an appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal upholding the life sentence handed to the Appellant by the Kumasi High Court on the 18th day of August, 2000 for having committed the offences of Conspiracy and Robbery. At the time of the sentencing of the Appellant, the law governing the sentencing of people convicted of Armed Robbery was the Suppression of Robbery Decree, 1972 (N.R.C.D. 11). The relevance of this point will become increasingly obvious in the course of this opinion. 

The Appellant, who represents himself, argues that the life sentence imposed on him is harsh and excessive given the circumstance…