19770725 TZHC Mwanza3

IN THE HIGH COURT OF 'I'i.li'.:;;"·,NIJ\ J\T fvF,'./Ai!ZA APPELLATE JURISDICTION HIC,H COURT CRIMI!~/\L j:,~'PE;-i:L NOo 71 OF. ·• 1977 --·.··.. (Ot:i'.gin2t1 Cri_1:iim.:il Case No~ 101 of 1'976 of the Distr{ct Court of Kurc1·gwci Distc(ict at_·~a,ragwc before No!L 3id~b0ri, Esqo DoMo) CL2::~EN~E. NZURUHTLiE o:.o o O O o_o O O O 00 O O O O i\PPELL/1.NT ·,vE;?rsy.s . THE REl-;U BLIC 'o O ~ O ·-~- 0 o_~ o_o a o_~;o·o· ;,,l, ~-~ ~ 0.0 . RE,3PONDENT ;.J •. "' _ tlF I:..£1:!~ The appellant \~ci:s· c~nvicts.::d · of th~ offence :,-' 'bf cattle theft tind 0:i1:1_tenced fiV(;! years irnprisonme~t.. The to ' . ·appeai .is o.go.inst that convictiono . , . .. . , • , ' • • ' •• ~ • p ' • .-· ' . : ..., ·i _ _ The ..:evidence y,;_as. re~lly str,'light.for.wnrd 9 ·the· onr_y_· point at c, .i?_SU? b'-.!in~ whethe:i::- !the. complainunt HA$.3~1N I-OD (Pi·i ~ l) 'had identifi.:.~d - beyond rc.:p.scno.ble doubt, th~ two head of cattle found and tak,m by the app,1llant from the .. •boma of one 3IMON G,_,BilGl;!'-mI (PWo2).o. Hass'an Iddi S.Jid that e1ft~r buying"·i1 .her.tq. of'c;:itt.l'e at-,a}'.1 nuction __ o_n __8_, 5., ?6, two of thes.e ,b-9th .bulls 'qo·(.1.ost.; On ti--(0 sam(:j!_ day th~ t~c{bu.1],~ st:r:-iy-ed into Gabagambi's hcrd.nnd were admitt.ed,into the bbma, ,;,.ith ·the r0s_t. o_L,the :cuttle~ 'The hf?,r¢smnn, ·'Ti\Ri-1.SIS ,G,,l·-1!.t-i1'.:'ffI CP\-.J.• _~) re\.port12d th_e presence .of !the ·tVl[p .bu;ll_s to his'._ e,rnployer Gi'lb-'i'g;:imbi i o.nd both men · saw ·that th2 two, -bul-1s bore -frg,,- brand )na'rlq:; 0 . D0s,,i t(:: conti'l')-~OUS. announc:,~~chts ," 'j::he OWher ,of , <-i:0ese bulls did 'no.t come foniard until 28;,5,;'76 wh~0 tr1e ..,o.ppellant c;C¢lled a.t · Gabug;,.,i:tbi' s borria' and_ collected :th_E{twb_. b1,.11ls claiming tq~:m to b0 his a !-\'-.! did ·this over Taras.isl •·s obf0ctions to the eff,~c;:t ·thnt tlw ·appe{lo.nt should only t~k~ _the tvfo bulls. -::ifter he had r°J°portcd to h;i_s c1rnployer~- \iJhen Ta.rasisi" reported' to his - employe,i:- ,,. GabC1go.:-,1bi ord::;~1s;d·: hi111 to fo),1011 the :aJ?pellant. '" but wh~n he. 'finally G.O.U<Jht up twith- h.i:.r:r_, he fou!ld th.qt_ he .. had· alre.:i.dy sLmgh'cered .one. of thcc bu'i1~: .nn.d the other' no ,longer bore the: "S" bro.nd mark which was sme.ered with coi-., dung. _At that point tney toJ.d the appell'.unt riot ttlo do. ,;rnything to· the remaining bull until the matter -was settlcdo --hlthou-gh thts secohd bull _0as not -sluughtered, j. t somehqw disnppGared from the· sceneo ·rt was never seen again •. ·rt· w2.s;Sth1::n thc1t the complainant Ha~san I!;idi Ci.:lled at Gaba.gambi 1 s boma ::i.ncl,. ·.?.nquired .flbout his two lost bulls.-· After dest:_tibil:"lg t'hem, "in -d<3to.:i:l, as. to, .their brand murks, Go.bago.m_bi bec'atne convict~d that t.h~ h"{O•_bull·s t.:iken by the appellrmt_ b-.2longed to the ~o~p~~inant a~d directed him to the nppellnnt. ,-The appellant was arrest~d nnd chargedo It1 his d2fence, the appellant maint2i:1ccl thut the two bulls were his cmd that they bore his own brand 11 CNZ 11 • He even went to the c::-.::L.mt of .naming the 00ople from whom he o.lleg•2dly bought them on 805.760 oooo/2 In o. v2ry ciJ.rcful judgementr the triul mo.gistra.te rcjectt2d th~ appellnnt's cl?ims and accepted the rompl6inant's. He gave dit~il0J reasons with which I have a lo~·ot·syi~~thi~ Th~ Whole conduct of th2 nppollant from -the: tim~ ·he t~ok ·th-2 two l)Ulls to the timl; he dispos1.;d of them clearly' i\~cti~·a.t.12d ·that hq had a guilty rnir:.d .. Th2 hcrdsmo.n ·told him oat tci 1 tuke tiie two bu"lls until he ho.d reported to his·· employer.; but th<,;. ·appelL}nt would not listen., What_ w2.s th"~- h:urry_for? In fact if he ·hc1di" a c1.E,an rryotive cmd -- claim 'h.0. could .. h,we waited until c;·abag.:i.mbi was informed and th12n taken the two ·nulls-in t,he pr-~sen,ce _9f witnesses. As if this 1,ms not enough, 'he··~~oceeded to disp6se 6f -the two bu~ls,so quickly that by the time Gabagarnbi came' to h~·ar. or the-. taking_,: ·onq d.f tl1t:.!m had been s luughtered and the other .. b,-:,.d its "S" ~arks ·s·meer_;,xl ;c_tid them it too soo·n disappenred. ·Thes<.:! c1ctions ure not thut of· u. tru0 owner., They are the o.c_tion,s of cm imposter.. The only question at this stc1ge is whether the ·app~llants - .;:1cticm amounted to st,J1.lL-1g. Both courts did not address t,hemselves to this question but for my pGrt I_ ~?.f?t think _th~ appellant'~ conduct amounted to ste~ling. He took the · b'76 1'bulls with the perrnis 9 ~on of Gabagambi' s herc1.sm<'.n who wets :.:1t the time special owner· of th-2 two.Jbulls. WhG.t hupp2Lc.:!cl was thu.t hcobta:i,ned the two bulls by fnlsely.pretending to b~ the owner. He knew he was not, he therefore. mode this fnlse prut~nc2 with int~nt to defraud the special ov,fnai:~ ·f'or these rensons, I set aside the.conviction for cnttle theft contr2ry to se'ction 268-<2.nc.l in its pluce, substitute conviction. for obt;;:,.ining goods- by fc1ls0 pretences contrary to s~ctioh 302·of·the· P~nal ·cci~~• . . ,.; . . . L0.stly, the sentence. The n-pp'0Iinnt wc1s sentenced to fi Vt! yenrs irnryrisonment under the Minim{i~ Sentences /\ct., But. th-? offence 0f obtaining goods by L1lse pre:t,~tietJS is only .. :f<i:;heduloec..l . wher-.:! · the .:property obtained· belonss -to the Government or a sp,1cific aut:hqi;.-i ty. ·,-In th8 instant case. the b_ulls obt:iined by the c:ippdl'.l.unt.: b~longs· to f pri vat'-' indi vir1u:{y;, , 'Tli ~.-•offence is. tl1:::r2:fore outside the-.:ambit of the Minimum Scntencus .. .\.cto ' The question is ~1h:eth,2r· -I :shqµld leave: t,he sentence o;f five ye3rs undisturbc::d, .for the .m<:1Xi;um· sentence Un<~er sec~t;ion 302 is seven yearso 'I'hc, .. effect of los_i,ng cattle is. the sa~'-'?··whetrier it be th.ro'-,lgh .c'li·.;:1...:ct '~te&ling ·or. 0.S i~ -this cas1.; dee.cit.- The ;mi;chief is the s~m\.3 ·wi-th 'thu difference that in° thE;:c;:ise: o_f.dircct stealing; th,_~!'(_? is 3lwciys tn-c:. dcmger of viot<cncE:-:: 7,. 1i.1.he!re11;s, 9 _in .r::h::c.:ei t viol enc~:: would not: fi(.; _:,lik,ily. Thfs d5_fferenc·e is :hoi-~ev.er not ·of muc·h cons0qu,~:,cc, . to the· p~rson who has· lost his.-::~o.tt'le, · rir:_d in in"y vi·ew _ther,i shouh! ))e no dif-f12rence in the treutrn2n1;: of -the two offences - Uffl"-'ss therc:i er~ sp,~cial mi tiga·tihg fu:ctors which in this cos.e :i:', _fhicl to.eking., 1he 2pp0llant cold bloodedly rlefrnuded the com~l~in~1~ of·,_·his bw bulls. He should n(j)t (:)Xp1...ict any different,· ,,-s":qe.a.tm:..:l,t sim1ly b-2c;ius.2, he used different m-2thods in obtaining th~rno l·,)r thes0··re:asons I do not· fe,:=l .incli;n\::Cl to interfere .with tbe s·ent0!lc<2 ,)f -five ·years .:irnpos8d by .the tr1.u.l courto · This ,s0~t..:mcc is ·/ccordingly.confirmedo Ddi vered in Cburt at Mwanza this 25th <.lciy of Jy;y_ 1 '.l.977. " MW!.NZA "·-:;25T{-l JUJ:'.J~ 19770 . _·,,., ~-