Convicted Mormons freed

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Saturday April 16, 2011.
Two missionaries attached to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints popularly called Mormons who were jailed for defiling a 14 year old girl have been acquitted and discharged by an Accra High Court.

The two, Omale Ojonugwu Uwa aka Elder Omale, 25 of Nigeria and Thatayaone Keeng aka Elder Keeng, 20 from Botswana were given ten and seven years jail terms respectively by an Accra Circuit Court presided over by Mrs. Georgina Mensah Datsa but the High Court presided over by Justice C.A. Wilson said the trial court was wrong in convicting the missionaries.

Counsel for the convicts, Kwabena Addo Attuah appealed against the sentences at the High Court and Justice Wilson set aside the judgement of the trial court and said he will give his reasons for the decision later.

They were arraigned before the Circuit Court charged with four counts of conspiracy and defilement but the trial court did not find them guilty on the third count where the particulars of offence stated that on April 5, 2010, the two missionaries defiled the victim.

Elder Omale was however found guilty on counts one, two and four where the particulars of offense said on March 10, 2010, he agreed or acted together with common purpose to commit crime and on February 2010, defiled the victim.

Elder Keeng on the other hand was found guilty on counts one and two where the particulars of offence he agreed or acted together with common purpose to commit crime and on February 2010, defiled the victim.

Not satisfied with the decision, Mr. Attuah appealed on behalf of the Mormons and succeeded in getting the High Court to quash the conviction.

He argued that the trial judge erred in convicting his clients when the prosecution had failed to establish a case beyond reasonable doubt against them.

“The evidence led by the prosecution was fraught with inconsistencies. For instance, the prosecution could not produce a birth certificate to prove the alleged victim’s age yet the trial judge went ahead to convict my clients.”

He said the prosecution only brought a weighing card in place of a birth certificate and there were three different birth dates on the card adding “it is pertinent to note that apart from the uncorroborated and thus unreliable evidence of the second prosecution witness, none of the testimonies of the other prosecution witnesses connected my clients with the commission of the crime.”

Counsel said “the verdict of the court is unreasonable and unsupported by the evidence on record in view of the serious conflicts and discrepancies contained in the case of the prosecution against the appellants herein.”

“The trial judge occasioned a miscarriage of justice when she misdirected herself in law and breached the rule of natural justice.”

The facts of the case as presented by Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Sarah Ekua Acquah were that on February 1, 2010, Elder Omale after calling the victim under the pretext of sending her on an errand, asked her whether she had ever been kissed, to which she responded in the negative.

She said Elder Omale called the victim to his room and defiled her after which Keeng, who was in the room and witnessed the act, also took his turn.

After satisfying themselves, they warned the victim not to disclose the ordeal to her mistress otherwise she would be sent back to the village.

ASP Acquah said on another occasion, March 10, the complainant asked the victim to fetch some water from a polytank in the compound.

But the victim could not find key to the polytank and went to the accused persons for their key but they denied it was in their possession.

ASP Acquah said that in the process, the accused persons defiled the victim again but a friend of the complainant saw the victim enter the accused persons' room.

The prosecution said the complainant asked the victim what the accused persons invited her for.

ASP Acquah said that the victim said she had been defiled by the accused persons.

The prosecution said the case was reported to the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service.

ASP Acquah said that medical examination indicated that the girl' hymen had been broken.