BAKARI HUSSEIN MAULID

IN THE HIGH COURT OF UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA

DODOMA SUB REGISTRY

AT DODOMA (ORIGINAL JURISDICTION) CRIMINAL SESSIONS CASE NO. 100 OF 2023

THE REPUBLIC

VERSUS

BAKARI HUSSEIN MAULID

JUDGMENT 2nd & 18"1 October, 2024. MASABOJ.:- The accused herein, Bakari Hussein Maulid has been arraigned in this court charged with the offence of murder contrary to sections 196 and 197 of the Penal Code [Cap 16 RE 2022]. The particulars of the offence are that on 7th October 2022 at Kichangani Street within Kondoa District in Dodoma Region, he murdered Kasimu Hamad Mungai. After the completion of committal proceedings, he was arraigned for the first I time in this court on 13th September 2023. On that date, after he had entered a plea of not guilty, his learned counsel, Mr. Samwel Mcharo, notified the court that the accused intended to rely on the defence of insanity and prayed the court to invoke the provisions of section 220(1) of the Criminal Procedure Act [Cap 20 RE 2022] and commit the accused person to Isanga Mental Page 1 of 6 Institution so that he can be medically examined to ascertain the status of his mental health at the commission of the offence. There being no objection from the prosecution, this court invoked its powers and ordered that the accused person be detained at Isanga Mental Institution and a medical examination to ascertain the state of his mental health at the commission of the offence be performed. A report from Isanga Mental Institution filed in this court shows that, in compliance with the court order, the accused person was transmitted and

committed at the Institution. While there, a medical examination was performed on him to ascertain whether at the time he committed the offence he is charged with, he was of unsound mind. The finding thereto was that the accused Bakari Hussein Maulid had features suggestive of a mental disorder, epilepsy that led him to commit the offence he is charged with. Hence, he was insane during the I time he committed the offence. Section 220(3) stipulates what should be done by the court under similar circumstances. It states: Where the court admits a medical report signed by the; medical officer in charge of the mental hospital where thes accused was detained, the accused and the prosecution; shall be entitled to adduce such evidence relevant to the! issue of insanity as they may consider fit. In line with this procedure, upon the receipt of the medical report duly signed by Dr. Enock Eteregho Changarawe, a physiatrist at Isanga Institution, this Page 2 of 6 court invited the prosecution and defence to adduce such evidence relevant to the issue of insanity. The prosecution paraded three witnesses. The first witness, Mwajuma Haji i Huyu, was an eye witness to the offence. He narrated that on the fateful date, she was at her daughter's home. The accused was also there. He was working as barber in a saloon owned by PWl's daughter. At around llhrs I the deceased who was a hawker, went to

charge his phones. After he had I finished, he left. At 13 hours he returned and requested her to put his phones on a charger. She obliged and went inside to put them on the charger. While she was still inside, she heard the deceased calling her. When she went outside, she found the accused person throwing stones at the deceased. The deceased was asking the accused why he was throwing stones at him but the accused did not answer. He went into the saloon, picked a knife and, in a3 blink of eye, he stabbed the deceased with it on the chest. When IPW1 ’ I asked him what he was doing he kept quiet. She reported the incident to the local government leaders and it was later on reported to the police. The deceased died at the scene. PW2, Rajab Idd Kiseka, was then a ten-cell leader for Kichangani Street. The incident was reported to him and he was among the first to arrive at the i I scene. He found the deceased lied on the ground with a stab wound on his chest but he was still breathing. He notified the police and before they arrived, the deceased passed on. The accused was also there. The last witness, PW3 was Said Abdallah Katanga, a medical doctor at Kondoa Hospital. On 9/10/2022 he was assigned to conduct an autopsy of the Page 3 of 6 deceased's body which was at the mortuary. In his examination, he found the deceased with a wound on the chest. It was ll-to-12-centimeter

length and 4 centimeters width. It appeared to have been inflicted by a sharp object. Through his examination he established that, the death occurred due to severe blood loss and hemothorax. The post mortem report prepared by him was admitted and marked as Exhibit Pl. After the prosecution closed its case, this court having examined the evidence on record, held that, a prima facie case has been established against the accused for which he was required to answer. Having been addressed of his rights under section 293(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act, I Cap 20 R.E 2022, the accused through his learned counsel, Ms. Joanitha Fjaul, told the court that he does not intend to defend himself or to call any witness. He chose to rely on the medical report. The law requires that, after the court has received the evidence, it must make a special finding whether in the light of the report submitted and the evidence rendered, the accused person committed the offence when he was insane so as not to be responsible for his action. The requirement is stipulated under section 220(4) and 219(2) of the Criminal Procedure Att, which states that: i ; i 220(4) Where on the evidence on record, it appears to the j court that the accused did the act or made the omission charged but was insane so as not to be responsible for his action at the time when the act was done or omission made, I the court shall

make a special finding in accordance with the Page 4 of 6 provisions of subsection (2) of section 219 and all the provisions of section 219 shall apply to every such case, 219(2) Where on the evidence on record, it appears to the court that the accused did the act or made the Commission charged but was insane so as not to be responsible for his action at the time when the act was done or the omission was made, the court shall make a special finding to the effect that the accused did the act or made the omission charged but by reason of his insanity, is not guilty of the offence. Thus guided, I have carefully considered the medical report and the evidence from PW1, PW2, and PW3 as well as Exhibit Pl. From the testimony of these witnesses and Exhibit Pl, it has been well demonstrated that the accused unlawfully killed the deceased. With regard to the accused's mental state at the time of the commission of I the offence, none of the witnesses above pointed to his mental illness. The sole evidence in this regard is the medical report by Dr. Enock Eteregho Changarawe who examined the accused after he was committed at the Institute for examination as per the order of this court. This reports is । alarming not only on the accused person's mental illness but on the crimes he has so far committed. In page 2 of the report, it is demonstrated that, i the offence of murder he is currently

facing is the second to commit. He committed the first murder ten years ago in 2014 and after a special finding oh his mental health, he was committed at Isanga Forensic Section for i । treatment and remained there until in 2021 when he was discharged and | ; escorted back home. Thus, when he committed the instant offence on 7th Page 5 of 6 October 2023 it was only a year after his discharge from Isanga. In view of the above the report conclusively states that: "Bakari Hussein Maulid had features of a mental disorder, Epilepsy. He has been epileptic for a long time which impaired his cognitive thinking, reasoning and judgment. It is possible he was not taking his medication as he was supposed to. He was therefore INSANE during the time he committed the alleged crime." With this detailed narration, I am fortified that, much as the report is not corroborated, it has credibly demonstrated the accused's mental status at the time he committed the offence. Therefore, I am of the finding that when committing the offence of murder against which he now stands charged, Bakari Hussein Maulid, the accused person herein, was insane and by the reason of his insanity he is not guilty of the offence. Pursuant to the provision of section 219 (3) of the Criminal Procedure Act, I order that he be transferred and kept in a Mental Hospital as a criminal lunatic and that he be dealt with according to the law. DATED and DELIVERED at DODOMA this 18th day of October 2024. J. L. MASABO

JUDGE 18/10/2024 Page 6 of 6