19710814 TZCA Dar es Salaam2

I Lft 11L(Et UVU= U ligh øort Criminal Appeal Nc. 23 of 1971 Oxiginal Criminal Caee 76 of 1971 of the Mntxet Court of Dar ee Salasm Diatrict at Dar e a Salaa before A. . lakanga w EMUiXe, Dintriot Magistrate BASEIDI DAKAflI PME APPLLA (iiina1 Accused) vernue IPUBL1C •* BDSPONDENT (Original Pro ec utor) Chargoi Uttering felse doownent .contraa7 to oection 342 of the Penal Code, Cap.

16. MWAflSTO, A0.J1 he appellant was eonvloted of an offence contrazr to section 342 of the Penal Code, his offence being that ho on the 6th •dar of April, 1971, within the city of Dar as Salasm, in the Coaet Region, did knowingly and fraudulently utter a falee tocwnen.t, to wit, a false driiing licence, to one A. S. Sumbo# a Revenue Officer, purporting that the said driving licence was genuine whereas he knew it to be fa3se. He wee convicted ipon his c'in plea of guilty and ae sentenced to twelve monthe' imprisonment. No appealed against the severity of aentenan orly Thin appeal s hoard on 13th Auguat, 1911 and after hearing submissions by counsel for the appellant and the State Attorney on behalf of the RopubUo I directed the ivaodiato release of the appellant from goal I now give the reasons. The counsel for the appellant who 1 in zW view, did not dispute the correctness of the appellant's 'conviction, criticized the trial magistrate on his failure when passing sentence, to take into consideration all 4the mitigating factors in the cane s which, as counsel contended, if he did take into account his conclusions on sentence might well have been different, Counsel most appropriately obserreft that the trial ragistrate appears to have felt impelled W. the heinousness of the offence' in imposing a sentence whieh ,mall jn all the circumstances, manifestly sevare.* Zn this I

entire1 agreo It seems to me that the District Magistrate completely ignored to take into account when sentencing the appellant two important factors which to my mind weigh heavily in appellant's favauri These factors 'sri that the appellant was a first offender and that he had pleaded guilty to the offence' thereby saving ;the prosecution the trouble and expense of proving itS: 0500 and avoiding 'the possibility of the appøllt securing an unmerited acquittal through a technicality. Though neither of these factors consid.red alone would entitlod an accused. person to leniency, there is nothing which precludes the Court from showing leniency whore the accused has clearly reponted his wrongdoing and the circiistances taken an a whole call for the exercise of aorc This I bel eve is the appropriate 4udiciaI approach even when the kind of offence the magistrate is dealing with may be one that is to be nverely discouraged as the present offence ie Goimnol for the appellant was also critical of certain obsez'vationa mane by the migiokrate in the courae of paasin aentonce, tn particular where be said that most asoidenta in Dar es Salaein were done by inexperienced thivera who inatead of paaeing the req4aite proficiency, driving teats went and bought forged lioencet This observation, though quite understandabla was clearlyregrettable and tuiue'tifted by the evi4enc before hin, more so

as the magistrate had not taken the trouble to find out whether the appellant fell in 'the. class of persons who ocording to hiu were responsible fqr the rising incidence in traffic acotdente in the mstropoliO A.a a matter of faot it has now tanapired that the appellant is a. proficient driver, having been esployed for the last three years by the reputable Dar as Salaazi Travel Agenoy fi= of Reareloy#841 Another matter which may have influenced the magistrate in imposing a stiff sentence upon the appellant may have been the !aet that the appellant when requested by the Police had :efueed to r'eveal the source of the forged document, Appreciably appellant may have had reasons for doing so, the fear' of betraaZ probably being one of them, but whatever were 14e reasons for his refusal I can hardly think that these reasons are either bonourabie or ruteble, t4eedloas 'to have to remind the appellant arid w.ople like him that it is the duty of every citizen to give every possible assietance to the police in waging the war against orie. Anybody who does not do so is to say the least irresponsible and an unworthy oit2.zon of this Republic. He is in no better position than the criminal against whom be refuses to tul, The appolUnt, has now genuinely *etted his conduat and realised what a Zol be had been In refuL3inE to a3SIL3* Vae fOrOSS of law auc ordar, He has accordin.y given an

undertalcing to give the polto every possible 1elp in tracing the authors of 'this evil trade in forgerioa I iad takea note oZ thin change in attitude yesterday, and, having rmsard to all the stzbsjssions of oonsei in vdiich I fully concurred, 1 did not feel it right that the appellant should continue to lancaieh in goa2 A ter'm of tour months' ttanment which he had already served had in ay view adequately punished him an4 perchance brought home to him the seriousness of this offenee vl On consideration, I reached the conclusion that the tera of iw&.vc months UaWisonz aat was unduly excessive and thus reduced the sentence to such tern as would have amounted to the jediate release of the appellant, which in effect means the appellant has suffered a terfl of four months' impriaonment Before I dispose of this matter, I should like to ctjrroot the notions that both learned counsel appoarod to bold with regard to the heinousness of the present offence, I do not think there need be any doubts or misapprehensions on the matter, as the kind of offence committed by the appellant not only lowers the standard of, driving in the city, thereby jno'eaaing the insecurity of overy road user, but it also adversely afføcta one of our impor tant sources of revenue. The more people who . have never bothered 'to pass a driving test are allowed to drive on 'the roads = the strength *f these torod

dviving 'icencea..p, the more insecure eveiy oiazen of the ne'tropolia will feel No, I could not view this offence other than as a serious one, and it is high time that the tendency that is fast developtng of trafln mtrtn offence as paltry ones needs reveredng The eooner this is done, the safer everyone of us will feel in using the roads of this metropolis whether as drivers or, as pedestrians Slzd ~ (Y, Mw L Makaaendo)

AOTIM JUM Bar, as Salawa, l4/$fli