Accused remanded for six years

Accra, April 8, GNA - A 24- year old unemployed who pleaded guilty for possessing narcotic drugs and was remanded for sentencing has ended up being dumped into prison custody for the past six years. Mumuni Issufu told an Accra Circuit Court that he was put before the Adjabeng District Magistrate Court in October 2004 and remanded into prison custody for sentencing during its next sitting. That day, Issufu now 30, said never came until he made his appearance before the Circuit Court, chaired by Mr Iddrisu Mahamadu. Issufu, a Burkinabe residing at Maamobi in Accra disclosed this when he pleaded guilty to the same charge on Wednesday and was handed down a 10-year jail term. The sentence is to take effect from October 2004. When the court decided to find out who was to blame for his predicament, Mr Asiamah Sampong, Principal State Attorney said the District court had no jurisdiction to sentence the accused under the court Act.

According to Mr Sampong, accused ought to have been sent to the Regional Tribunal which had the jurisdiction for conviction. He told the Court that the Office of the Attorney General received the docket on January 3, this year, adding that, they did not have the duplicate docket on the accused. He said the Police Investigator would be called to ascertain the authenticity of accused story. It however turned out that the investigator also inherited the docket and the prosecutor whose name was given as Chief Inspector Manu was deceased.

The trial judge described the plight of the convict as unfortunate noting that the explanation of the convict did not afford him a defence. The court said in the interest of justice, the sentence should take retrospective instead of retroactive. It further ordered the destruction of the 48 wrappers of cannabis sativa weighing 65 grammes in the presence of the Court Registrar and Clerks, the prosecution as well as the press. Prosecution said in an effort to rid the city of criminals, the Police on October 14, 2003 embarked on a patrol around the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).

During the swoop, the Police arrested Issufu and two others. When they were searched, 48 wrappers of dried leaves were found and Issufu admitted ownership. The leaves which were sent to the Police Forensic Laboratory for analytical examination tested positive for cannabis weighing 65 grammes.