19780815 TZHC Dodoma

IN THE HIGH COURT OF TANZANIA AT DODOMA APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL APPEAL No. 285 OJ? 1977 CFo CRIMIN,\L APPEAL No. 286 OF ,1977 (ORIGINAL CRIMINAL CASE Noo 4. OF 1977 OF ~i:HE DISTRICT. COURT OF MP\.'J;\PWA .) JACKSON LAZARO KINYALI o • o • • • • • i.PPELLANTs PAULOS NYENGO · versus THE REPUBLIC o • o •.•.• · 0°000 0 0 RESFONDENT JUDGMENT CHIPETA, J. Th · two a,_;pel Lmts, Paulos _Nyengo_ an•: Jaclcson (s) Lz::.z:\ro Ki_nyo.li were charg.-;d jointly with a t;:hirrl. person, unc~ -Dicks-L;n ,s/o Chang~ni (who h0.s not D.,,1-":euhid) with thE, off enc,-= of rc:)b_..:ry wi_::h viol...:nce c/ss 285 an..! 286 of th,,, pr~nal .. Code., ,Th,iy Wt:!re conv.ict-2,.:.as :c:h;,.rgecl, an·J were each sentenced to St~ven-'y,: ars, impri sonm.-,nt un ',ii:~r _the· Minimum Scntenc::c~s Act,. 197~. _ Th~,y now app'~•;il, an: tlkir. ~r. 1;_.,,_ls h.::iv2_ •b,2,m conscli-.tated_. The.: prusecution 's evi \ence was . that .luring tbs.:! rd.. gbt cf 6th January, 1977, one Gilford _Mwadeha (Pw.1), wh9 _1·1us 2,stcr~ W_i;J.tchman at Irluo Ujamaa villac::ie, was on Juty inside th(.; s . . :,)rSc.:.:- -At about 11.00 p.mo he_ was arouseJ from sleep by gun shots. Wh<..;n J1,:> i-1oke up., he henrd four shots, and a bullet hit the stcre in \'Ihich h · was. H2 then raised an aL1rm,. but no one answer(~d th(i 1L1rm.• Later he heard a window: 1x~ing push,:?d operL i·k. <.1i ~ nut go out until much later when there:wy.S compl-2te sih,nc..;. : _Wi)e.n h•.1 went out, he rang the village bell :111 '. rri.:my villag0rs gathen,d at th<:.: scene.. On checking the shup, it· w,J.s , 1 iscov1,ired that the~ shop hu.l been broken int0 an·i several articl .,s, inclu.:Jing n cash box in which was shso 3, 164/-, clothes, an-! b~,ttcri ,s, missing. A few days later, th!. cash box which h 1,! b ,ecn f ·rci:.d ov:m-, was found in the bush. The matter was th•m reporte.~ tu i,clic~ o On 13/1/77, D,;tc-,ctJve Sergeant Agrico~.::i (Pw.5) visit:2·1 th2 ar.:~a and was given th·-'! cash box ins:i. le which he_ s,J.\'J finr; . ,r imr.>r:,ssions. ,• on informntion receiV(-!cl, PWo_S went to Mlali._ vill::<J-.. wh2re he a:crested the two appellants on suspicion. He tJL;n t. ,..:k the appellants and the cash box to police statil?!l whl:!re h<c! h:m,~Q; ·,:h~ ,::1):~?-~~ts and th-=: cash box to one Insp,·?ctur.Seif (Pw.6). Pw .6 then eXrJmin°!J the Cu.Sh box, .-.m.l on the trc,y •,A::. th~ cash box he found finc:JE~r impressionso He pickeJ thc.!s.y 1,lj_, ::mJ th,:!n took the finger prints of the <ip-p.e1lants an l sent th.:m, t . ,;-.,thcr wi.th the finger impressions, to Identification Ber-~ il.U, D 1S.-:1- am. 2 . The recorJ, hc.Mever, dues nut r,~veul us t(, ,,· ,;1 t:1-: third accuseJ w_.,.s arre~teJ or ·how h,~: was arresteJ, ~tn.'.. n·khing incriminating was foun l on any of themo Subsequently, a finger print expert cert.L:::'.:i_-.....J -::;1,,_t · trk finger imi;ressions fuun·J on the tray uf th•2 cash bux w,.:.:r:~ ·chos:~ of the three accu.sed_ 1.. ersons. In his ,lefence, the first :1ccuswl saicl th ..:t cift~r h2 wns nrrcsb::dt h:2 wns 1;ut in a lan•.lrover where h-~ saw th(: cash-b(;x. H"' sc1t 0n the c;:ish box, an.! on a!-rival .1t th,! police_ static,n, h~ w,:s tol.: tc- carry the c.1sh box from ti:(= L:mdrover up to th, count,:r,. ~..n ·: Has then put in a lock-u1,. Next· mqrning, h~- an~ th-~ secon·'. o.c:cu::'.'-':'.: Wl;}re called outo On arriv..11 at the .c::ounter-th~y wur•.: tol ". to tnke:: some . tin and l)Ut i t in th2 exhibit roomo Then he w,:is t,)l '. t,_; t:1k12 a .. tin of oil b,~hinJ the lock.::..upo Ht) :ii r as hQ w-a~ .or,:eJ:i,jcl. Th-.1 first ,::tccusecl' s stcry, theref,,r·e, was th<:1.t h-~ haw:l,:?·'. th: Cc,sh box at th2 r•olice station on the instructions of. Pwo6-•. , · ·· .. :·. The secon,: i.3.ccuse,l gave substanti9-lly: :i;:h·:, sc:r,· s·::,.ry-~,--. Like th-, le arn'",1 s·.:ate at.t.:,rney,. I ,;1m ,li§_tind.ly unl/o.sy ·{:Ji th th➔ convictionso To start with,, _the l,~arn2d metJist.r-ctc n ·v.:;r evalµo.ted i.,·••.;1_ evi :ence uf the defence o Iq,_leeJ_, . "t:h~i evu.luut·io,1 l-f the ~~ros~cution I s evi ;ence was itself inaJequab.:!o. It, is _Cll!·w.r ,fr"om his ju,'.gm(mt that he based the convictions on the sule gr~:-1n 1 tho.-l:. th.,. :.:. ~ ·cl'li1ntS' · finger prints un.r those of their, cq-,ccus,,: 1r1_c1:;-, ffuih~-: on· th-:!· tray of the cash-box. :\- Having summariz.ed th,;· ,)vi 1ence, th_<.: 19 aync .l m,,:Jistrntt.:: si mi.'lY ... :,:- .. '·•.· said:- w .. ... :\ ·, .. r. . . ''The cuurf belicv·:s t_he fing_~~r .i.1.t;ints 1.::x ~r-b fin_lih<J s that <l:he li'rige•r' ma"rks fcun .: i~ the cash box tray w.hich W3.$ stul !n 1.."n tir: s;1,:.;;_ wcr8 identical with the fing~r r,rints t,,k:.:.!n f:n;n1 i..:he accused ; e_rsons· af th-! (olice stuti-:-:n ,,n EXhoD1, D2, 2nl D3. I fi!}d·a_ll the 3ccuse-! ~-...?r:~. ns guilty as chargr?d and I convict them .. " · It :h;'l$ re;,eateJly be•~n h ,1J that a. cuurt must C-!V:'_lu:1te the eviJence as ii whule O It is no\ enough to look at th:·: 1_.r'---secution 's . evi.-lence, an,! comphitely disregard th-: .Jefenc~ ,2v:L ~C!i10:, w::. th~ut evaluating ito That is exactly what th,;_ leb.rn,~-:l m,"1.:,is;:rat•:..: did in this cnse 0 AS a result, he denied himself th,.,,_ o_,~ urtunity of discovering the rrerits or demerits of the dcfc:!!1C,J c,1st::!. And that is not alL The m;Jre L1ct, .~hat U1.:: i"in0;.:r i,,rints on the tray of the cash box were those of . th,~ ~ ;,clL:-.,1cs (iic1 not, l:Jer se, -establish 'that they ·were th.~ cul;:ri'ts. Th, 1,o..rnec1 magistrate oU<]ht to ho.Ve gonf, on the cunsi ler the question ,,s tc, Vlh!-.m or how those finger im1;ressilmS were made or coul l r .. ::i;;. l)cl-bly hi"lVc b2en maJe on thP. tray. ,.l!UIIL~ 3 .~ The learned magistrate ought specifically t() h::..v2 ,.~ir,__:ct~J himself to that question, more so b'? c,iuse th,i a, T'Cl Lmts 0av,., M ,,x;_.lcmation as to how their finger i;r ints coul 1 haw:: b-c:i~n m.:,_ '.2 cm ·chc.it tray. As am1_1ly demonstrated by th'=- evi 1ence, th;, c .sh 1)ox w::,s taken to police station together with the aJJlJ'.°"lLmts in t:-1. ,s,m12 vehicle. Much as I r-•s1x.~ ct the scruvul.ousness of most ~,cl ice officers, I am certainly not persuaded that ull of them an! above th., ta,mptation to r,L:1y dirty tricks on sus1,ects in orcter to build u;_. soms:.i semblance of incriminating evidence against suspectso It is, th;r2f0re, unwise and unfair to disregard thl~ a,.; e llants I allega·.:ions without i:,ror.:~r evaluation of th,2m in the light of the rest of th. ,}Vi 1ence on reccrdo In view of th•.c serious misdirection an.1 non-dinictions by the learned magistrate, I would respectfully agree with t:·1 c L:::arned state attorney, who declined to SUJ;port th<;:; a1·;;r2ll::mts' convictions, that it would be dangerous to uphold th:-~ convictionso The, same • 1 are accordingly quashed, and the sentences set asic,c. If not further detained in some other lawful connexion, the:! a ,:,11 wT:~s shall be re le used from custu.ly forthwi tho JUDGE Delivered in 01,,,n court at Dodoma this 15th >y ,f August, 1978 o JUDGE