19780428 TZHC Dodoma

IN THL HIGH, C01TRT OF TZAN IA . - .. AT KONDOA . . . ORIGINAL .JUirflICTION ' .. - (DDoiYRrGISTRY) CRIM1L I SSIO±S C'.b 110, 1- 82 OF 1976 • T}f FC2IJBLIC . • versus. •.• p4jiOpJrlILTGU : Murder c/s'.196 f the Penal Code, JUDGMEiT ON:J. OnNovember 1Q., 1974 . ,4 MOFL'ED -SAID of the vil1a'e qf . L001 Kwar'toro division in 'che district of. .i-ondoa was buildng a house at his homcstoed with the help of neiphbours, including P.1 HAWA, her husband IIASSIT KINDI.ho is -the deceased in this case Pv72 AZIZA, HASSIN S.:JIIi, •JJ RASHIDI aid ,RaMDUANI The last three, as will be 'shown later in this judgiient ,.,wero originally charged jointly with the accused RNJDHANI CHURLO It seems that; after work at about four or five o'clock that afternoon they wer •hll entertained by their'host to tha local b.re-r called tudol Which is derived from nillet. In the bourse of drinking that ev•'ning the accused came there and ;he, too was treated to, that stuff. It seems -: the drinking went on fo se.vral' ho"re but by about ten o'clock or so most of the popio wore leävin.. t that time. the deceased.app,o ars to h-ye boon strtiOk dwn not far from the house... He was found lying on the . ground groaning but otherwise speechless and Ie.lploss. He was talkea to. hospital where he appears to have remained unconscious' until he.rdiecl about 10-days later,' The doctor who conducod the autopsy observed two small bruises on the face. Internally, howovr, he found there had been massive bleeding in the skull He Opined, accordingly, that there had been a rupture of blood vessels in the. brain occasioned by the : deceased beib; hit 'by a blunt object on the forehead, ther.ebt.producing a wave ofChock resultiu' in'.the ruptuie .of the blood vessels We eccopt the report as.anaccurato sui.umary, of what the doctor observed and accrdingly, - wo find, the dath was due to subdural haemorrhago,'0 We also. find tht the ruptuPe,. of the 'blood vessels was occasionCd by bloWs: being infiicted, on the for,ehe. • ' '-•' ' . ,• . ' . .' It is the colitention of the 5ro.secution that the fat1". blows were struck by the accused. 2 * It is not suested that \ previously to that day relations between the accused and deceased had been sour. Indeed, to a1l- outward appearances 'they would appear to have been on friond]r, if not intimate, terms being closely related, as:thoy were, by marriage. We are however told by Pw.1 and P'r.2 that, short]r before the decoesed sustained the feusi injuries there had been a quarrel 1.)ctween him and the accused: inside the hotiso ofPw.4 MO}LD. According to the two women, 'tho decoaseç, entered the room where his wife Pw.1 was drinking among .' erwQmen and hold her hand to take her home. Thaccusod happ6rLcdtc be present and he appears to have strangely Oh•ccted to the move -- being taken by the deceased. In the rosuilt , the men held each other and they both fell to he ground twice. That over, Pw.1 wont, outside apparently to go home and the doccasod followed suit. The accused, too, is said to have followed closely hL,hmd them, mc1 ecccding to Pw'.l he eld -Lho deco a's hand. She aprohnd.ed all was not well betreon tbem and proceeded home seemingly in protest. Later that night she was callo back t ,o • the house of NOILJ.[D and at t'ic point she had te2 en ic lye of the accused and her husband sho,.,found the latter lying on the ground. It woilc1 a ear, therefore, the accused TvTlao tic lost porsoi she had soOn in thq company of her husband bo±'o'ohe lost consciousness. . . .. .,., . There is then the evidence of MOFTD himself. He has tostifed he had tna ni'it bn busy packin, es ho had a safari to make on the i'ext day and In the end he had rotiedtobed, leaiiingèome of his guests continuing drinking. He was.hooer later awakened by Pc'r.3., his wi'e on a report that tborc was .a commotion or a fracas outside. He says as ho come out he m.e the accused at the door running. He appears to have suspected him and enquired what it was all about • The accused 'than replied. 'varikanyile', a kirangi word denoting danger and the accused, to be, more specific, took the witness a short distance from the house and showed him 'the deceased .jrjjr on the ground. Asked what hod befallen him the accused is said to hva pevaricated greatly. Pdr,at first he said the deceased and his wife had boon involved in a fracas and he had onJy boon mediating. The witness would not however believe him and he told the accused so, whereupon the latter then said HASSN SUIN.j . JUMI RISHIDI and R2 DELI YUUFU, whom T hove mentioned above, had been figJting the deceas,ed aid.his only. ...rOle had been 'that of a mediator.. The impression would seem. clear the. accused in both the versions was preoccupied with a clesire. to exonerate himself, but he had otherwise 1nowfr how the deceased had. been reduced to thtsta'be . - 3 - Now, to refute the allegation levied against the three men by the accused, all the three men at the relevant time hapened to be inside drinking, and when asked by Pw.4 they vèheThentl -protested their innocence. The accused in his defence denied ioarly everything that was silegd he had done that night. He admits he was ptosent at the house of MOHID that niht and he had occasion to intervene between the decosod and his wife. His czplanat ion is that ho- thowht the deceased was being imduly aggressive. He however categorically denies he and the deceased fought. He also denies he followd them outside and their host lator met him at the door. It is his firn contention that he was..Il.:the time in tha room irntil they were all cllod outside by MOHUED. He is, in effect, also denying that he mentioned the three peoplo.dhimHohad boon Ltcdically examined and the report shows inter alia, that ho had sustainpd abrasions on the forehead and on the cheek, and a.1ruise on,tho loft arm. Cross—examined on these injuries he said he had sustained them at his place of work on a building project. Ls rcgar the abras. ioui on the forchad he would however pnly say it may he a doo hit me onthohoad' while he could no.. say how he had .• sustained the injury on the chock. . The three key witnesses, as candidly admitted by -, the accused, bore no grudges dgaiuist him and in my view they cannot be other than disinterested witnesses. They ail.seced'.. truthful and very clear about thb events of that. night, afld we had no.doubt whatvor that, contrary to the denials of thc ............ accused, be and the deceased felled ea&h other to the flooi, that he le -ter followed hi.m ouside, th-t he ws met running by Pw.4, that he s - id sonetbng dngerous hd Iwpponed that in a desparte hid to oxtric'te himself hO ndo frlsc ellogtions against the decectsod' wife and the three people r1nod above. f.s I warned ti assessors, the uvidence is wholly circumstanial and in order to find the accused responsible for the death, we should be bsolutoly clear that the circumstances as a whole lead to an irresistible inference that 11e is the man who caused the death and that the inculpatory facts cannot be explained away other than by guilt on the part the accused. On the facts as a whole we are satisfied the decoasod met his death at the hands of a personi none other than the accused. - 4 - As however vary fairly öoncedod by the prosecution in its. stibmiss.ions, there is 110 evidence to show uhat weapon end force the accused used to inflict the fatalbiows sà as to be clear he intended to cause griovous harm, and this : coupled with the fact that he had consumed some liquor and may well h2vo bcborie iicpah10 of forming the specific intont, we give him the benefit of doubt, that the death was not promeditatod.. Accordingly, we accuit bin of murdor but as his act was 'idontly unlawfui we convict him of manslaughter.. . Delivered in open court this 28th day of April, 19780 • .1/ P.M. Jonathan Judge . . .. . Mr. Banturaki: The accused hs been in remand for the last 3+ years. Accrding to me this is enough punieiaont. Re has a family to fend for. I would accorcUngly pray for leniency in sentencing him. Continucd detention will load to more hard- ship to his family o is IJrst of±ei-idor. Accused: I have nothing to add. Sentcnce The accused on the relevant night a oars .tp have been altogether agrossive and unruly and -the fatal blows wore only the OuJin.at ion of the violent couso he had sot upon. In my view this should be met with a stiff punis±'t.'. I however tnl'o into ccount the long oriod he h's been in 'erand. . . You are horohy sontoncd to 5 years'. imprisonment. Right of appeal oxplainod. .. . . U P. N. JON.T}LJT JUDG-E The 'ssessocs arc tbnked and disch- rgod P • II • J ONAT NAN JUDJ-E.