The murder trials of Gregory Afoko and Asabke Alangdi, according to Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Godfred Yeboah Dame, expose serious problems with the jury system.
The A-G claims that it was difficult for the jury to find Asabke Alangdi guilty of conspiracy to commit murder with a unanimous verdict while returning a hung verdict [4-3] in Gregory Afoko's case on the same charge against the person he was alleged to have conspired with.
According to the Attorney-General, actions are being taken to solve this issue with the jury system as part of recommendations to reform numerous sections of Ghana's criminal procedural legislation.
Gregory Afoko and Asabke Alangdi were charged with two counts of murder in violation of Section 46 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), as well as two counts of conspiracy to commit murder in violation of Sections 23(1) and 46 of Act 29. They were arraigned before the High Court in Accra.
The specifics of the murder charge were that the suspects purposefully used illegal force to kill Adams Mahama, a former Upper East Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), in 2015.
The specifics of the murder conspiracy charge showed that the two accused people had decided to work together with the aim of committing murder.
According to Section 19(2) of the Constitution, the accused were tried before a judge and jury, with the jury determining whether or not they were guilty of the crimes for which they were charged.
The jury's decision must be unanimous for the murder offense.
Any jury judgment that is not unanimous in a case that carries the death penalty is null and void and is known as a "hung jury" because it indicates that the jury was unable to decide the matter. Verdict
The jury's decision was announced on Thursday, April 27, 2023, and was as follows:
Accused individuals are found not guilty of the crime of murder by a vote of 4 to 3.
Asabke Alangdi is found guilty of the crime of conspiracy to commit murder by a unanimous vote.
The obligatory death sentence for Asabke Alangdi was then imposed by the Justice of Appeal, who was acting as an extra justice of the High Court in line with Section 285(1) of the Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) Act, 1960 (Act 30).
Gregory Afoko is found not guilty of conspiring to commit murder by a vote of 4 to 3.
The jury's split decision on the charges of murder, for which both defendants were convicted, and conspiracy to commit murder in Gregory Afoko's case requires that the defendants be put on trial again in front of a new jury.
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