25-year-old school dropout sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for ‘killing’ uncle

A 25-year-old man, who is a school dropout, has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for manslaughter by Bolgatanga High Court One.

In a newspaper report by the Ghanaian Times on July 24, 2023, the case involving the suspect, now a convict, Solomon Zina had been ongoing for about five years.

Throughout the trial, he was on remand at the Navrongo prisons.

The conviction came following the decision of a seven-member jury, who found Zina guilty of manslaughter in the court presided over by Justice Charles Adjei Wilson.

He had originally been charged with murder, as per section 46 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).

Throughout the lengthy trial, the presiding judge, who is also the Supervising High Court Judge in Bolgatanga, carefully presented the facts, evidence, and legal aspects of both murder and manslaughter.

He instructed the jury to base their verdict solely on the evidence and not to let any biases or prejudices influence their decision.

"Don't treat the accused with prejudice. Do not look at his tribe, religion, work, whatsoever. If you believe the accused killed him (the deceased) intentionally, return a verdict of murder.

“Also, upon deliberations, if you believe the accused did not commit the act intentionally, return a verdict of manslaughter.

"However, if there are doubts, acquit and discharge the accused. And remember that your verdict must be unanimous,” Justice Wilson told the seven-person jury.

After a 10-minute deliberation, the jury unanimously returned a verdict of manslaughter, leading to Zina's conviction and subsequent incarceration.

After putting the facts and matter of law before the jurors, Justice Wilson asked them to retire to the chambers and peruse the facts, before returning their verdict on the offence.

After 10-minute deliberation at the chambers, the jury returned a unanimous verdict of manslaughter against the accused, and he was subsequently convicted and incarcerated accordingly.

Defence counsel of the convict, Mohammed Lawal of Legal Aid, argued that his client was only 20 years old when the offence occurred and should be sentenced under the Juvenile Justice Act, which imposes a maximum of 3-year jail term for young offenders.

However, the presiding judge, Justice Wilson rejected this argument, stating that Zina's demeanor in court indicated that he was an adult at the time of the crime, and the Juvenile Justice Act wouldn't be applicable in this case.

"Per the demeanour, and I mean the physical traits exhibited by the accused in the witness box, it shows that he (accused) is an adult and was more than the 20 years he chose to give to the police in his caution statement."


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