iv. Allegation that the grounds of appeal were not properly analysed
107. The Applicant faults the Court of Appeal of the Respondent State for failing
to analyse his twelve (12) different grounds of appeal during the appeal
proceedings. He claims that the Court of Appeal’s approach in boiling these
twelve (12) grounds down to only one (1) ground violated his right to have
his cause heard, protected under Article 7(1) of the Charter, and that it also
violated Article 3(2) of the Charter.
*
108. The Respondent State disputes the allegation of the Applicant that he was
denied his right to fair hearing because of combining the grounds of appeal.
The Respondent State submits that combining the grounds of appeal when
considering a judgment or consolidating proceedings on matters involving
common questions of facts or law is not a new practice in the Respondent
State or in other jurisdictions.
109. The Respondent State further states that the Court of Appeal took care to
properly analyse all grounds of appeal raised by the Applicant in relation to
all the particular issues and facts of the case.
110. It is for these reasons, that the Respondent State submits that the allegation
lacks merit and should be dismissed.
***
111. From the record, the Court notes that the Court of Appeal of the Respondent
State considered the twelve (12) grounds of appeal, but concluded that they
essentially boiled down to one ground, namely “that the case for the
prosecution against the appellant was not proved beyond reasonable
doubt”. The Court of Appeal then proceeded to exhaustively consider
whether on the basis of the evidence on record the two courts below were
justified in finding beyond reasonable doubt that the offence of armed
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