The Republic v Boateng (BR/KD/DC/B10/14/2025) [2025] GHADC 264 (31 July 2025)

INTHE DISTRICTCOURTHELD ATKWAME DANSOONFRIDAYTHE 31ST DAY OFJULY 2025.BEFOREHER WORSHIP, CYNTHIAADEI ANDY ESQ.(DISTRICT MAGISTRATE) SUITNO.: BR/KD/DC/B10/14/2025 THE REPUBLIC VRS. DESMONDBOATENG J U DGME NT The accused person was charged with Offensive Conduct Conductive to the Breach of thePeace: contraryto section207ofthe Criminal Offences Act, 1960(Act 29). Whenthe chargeswere readand explained to him, he pleaded not guilty. The facts of the case is that the complainant, Chief Inspector Edward Boamah, aged 52, is the station officer of Bassa Police Station, while the accused is a teacher at Bassa Senior High School all in the Sene West District of the Bono East region of Ghana. On the 12th November, 2024, the police were investigating an abduction case involving one suspect Kwasi Nyamekye who was in custody. While at the charge office, the accused 1 came to seek bail for the suspect. But when he saw that the victim of the abduction was seated at the charge office, the accused became angryand started questioning the officer in charge as to why the victim was also not detained in cells. The station officer who came to the charged office explained to the accused person why victims under such circumstances are not detained. According to the prosecution, the accused became offended and without provocation and started verbally abusing the complainant. He was alleged to have said the following: “senseless police officers, stupid people, you don’t evenknow your jobs, maniacs among other offensivebehaviors towards the police”. Since the accused person pleaded not guilty, the prosecution must prove their case against him. The standardofproofis proofbeyond reasonable doubt. Intheprocess ofproving their case, the prosecutioncalled four witnesses. The first prosecution witness was Chief Inspector Edward Boamah. His evidence was that, on the day of the incident, he was in his office when he heard noise emanating from the charged office. He came out to find out what was happening and met the accused person in a heated argument with the officer at the counter, G/SGT Evans Nyarko. He later understood that the accused was insisting that the victim of the abduction case is also locked up. According to PW1, he tried to explain to the accused why his demands could not be met and that was when the accused became offended and without any provocation started using the words complained of on the PW1 and 2 the rest of the officers present. The accused person left the station afterwards, he was laterserved withacriminal summons issued by this courtto appearfor trial. The second prosecution witness (PW2) was Nana Fokuo Sakyi, a farmer staying at Bassa. He said he was present when the accused came to the charged office to seek bail for the suspect in the abduction case. PW2 said he had accompanied his sister, Abena Ntense to lodge a complaint on the abduction case. He also said he heard the accused questioning the police on the rationale for keeping the victim in the charged office instead of being in cells. He heard the policemen trying to explain to the accused why his demands could not be met. He also said he heard the accused uttering those provocative words at the officers including the station master. Furthermore, he also stated that the accused even attempted to assault G/SGT Nyarko Evans in the process. PW2 indicated that the police exhibited a lot of professionalism by restraining themselvestoavoid further escalations. The third prosecution witness was Inspector Nyarko Evans. A police officer also stationed at Bassa. PW3 said he was on duty that day when the accused person arrived at the police station. He then started quarreling with Abena for reporting the abduction case. The noise that the accused was making attracted the station officer from his office tothe chargeoffice. 3 He enquired from the accused person why he had come there and he explained that he was there to seek for bail for the suspect in the abduction case. The accused person then started complaining to PW1 why the victim was not locked in cells like the suspect. PW1 tried to explain things to the accused person but the accused person did not take kindly to the explanations and without provocation started insulting the police officers including himself using those words. According to PW3 none of the police officers present did anything to escalate the situation hence the criminal summons served on himtocome and face the chargesagainst him incourt. The final prosecution witness was No. 52629 G/CPL, Mac Tsekpo. He was the police investigator. He said he was assigned to investigate the case and therefore took statementsfromthe officers andotherpeoplepresent. He didnot tenderexhibits. After the close of prosecution’s case, the accused person was ordered to open his defence after a prima facie determination by the court. The accused person opted to speak onoath. He also called threewitnesses. In his defence, the accused person said the parties in the abduction case are known to him and the issue was before their family to find a solution to end it. On that day of the incident, he received a phone call fromAddai Maxwell(whom he would later call as his third witness) that their aunt Abena Ntensene, had gone to lodge a complaint about the case tothepolice station atBassa. 4 The accused person said he went to the station in the company of Kwadwo Augustine (DW1). At the police station, they met the following persons: Abena Ntensene, Addai Maxwell and Fokuo Sekyi. He said he asked the complainant why she reported the case without first telling him the accused person. The accused person then said when he entered the charge office and saw the victim at the counter. He then asked to see the station master who according to him was told was having his bath. The accused said he suggested to the officer he met at the charged office to put Kakra, (victim) behind bars toojust as they have done to the young man (suspect). It was during the suggestion that PW1 walked in and rather became annoyed and started calling the accused senseless, stupid and too known. The accused said he demanded P.W.1 to retract his utterance but he refused. The accused denied uttering provocative wordsagainst thepolice officers. The first defense witness was Kwadwo Augustine. He is a community police assistant at Bassa. He said he was with the accused person when the accused received the phone call to go to the police station. He also accompanied him to the station. DW1 said he also saw when PW1 rather started raining insults on the accused person for suggesting tohave thevictim locked upas well. The third defense (DW3) witness was Addai Maxwell. He said he was the one who called the accused person on the phone to join them at the police station. The rest of the evidence issimilar tothatofDW2. 5 The final defense witness (DW4) was Nana Kwadwo Akeammene. He lives in Nyankontre. His evidence which is irrelevant to this case was to the effect that when he heard what had happened at the police station between the accused person and the police, he tried tointervene but he wasunsuccessful. Section 207 of Act 29 provides “A person who in a public place or at any public meeting who uses threatening, abusive or insulting words or behavior with intent to provoke a breach of the peaceor by which abreach of the peace islikely to be occasioned, commitsa misdemeanor.” The prosecution must prove the following elements in order to secure conviction of the accused person: 1. Public place or meeting. The conduct must occur in a public space or at a public gathering. 2. Threatening, abusive or insulting words or behavior. The language or actionsused must be considered threatening,abusive orinsulting. 3. Intent or likelihood of breach of peace. The accused must either intend to cause abreachofthe peace ortheir conduct must be likelyto cause one. A public place can be defined as a place where the public have access. In this case, the action being complained of happened at the Bassa police station and specifically, the charged office. This place no doubt qualifies as a public place. I therefore hold that a police station is apublic place. 6 Onthe second requirement, in the case Kungra v The Republic [1984-80]2 GLR 498, the court in discussing the type of speech that may fall within this offence, held “Vigorous and it may be distasteful or unmannerly speech or behavior is permitted so long as it does not go beyond any one of the three limits. It must not be threatening. It must not be abusive. It must notbe insulting.” Speeches generally are not triable as the constitution has guaranteed free speech, however, what this particular law under which the accused person has been charged requiresus thatany speech that crossesthe limits mentioned above is acrime. In the case at hand, the prosecution witnesses said they felt insulted and abused, however, for the sake of orderliness and non-escalation, they chose not to react. The accused persondenied uttering such wordsagainst the police officers. He however, said he questioned themastowhy thevictim was not in cells just like Akwasi Nyamekye. This admission by the accused person is enough to prove a charge of offensive conduct conductive to the breach of the peace if the police felt insulted and abused by the conduct of the accused person. He challenged their competence, they actually stated that they felt insulted by this and the pronouncements made by the accused person. More importantly, having observed the witnesses in open court with respect to their demeanor and credibility, I am of the opinion that those words complained of by the prosecution were said by the accused person. The PW1 and PW3 said they felt insulted 7 and abused by accused conduct. On the basis of this, I hold that the accused's conduct was offensive and that if the police had reacted it would have caused a breach of the peace. I therefore hold that accused person’s conduct had a likelihood of causing the breachofthe peace. On the basis of the above holdings therefore, prosecution has been able to prove their case against the accused beyond reasonable doubt as such, the accused person is found guiltyand is convicted ascharged. Accused personis sentenced asfollows: 1. Eightypenaltyunit orindefault twomonthsimprisonment. 2. He is to sign a bond to be of good behavior for six months, in default one monthimprisonment. …………………………………… H/W CYNTHIA ADEI ANDY ESQ. (DISTRICTMAGISTRATE) 8