19860620 TZHC Mtwara

IN THt HIGH COURT OF TANZANIA ,: ·~ MTWARA HIGH L'.:·:rnT CRL-.::.'.. APPEAL N0.61 o::- _;i:; Or5 ']i:1al Criminal Case No.96 8f b,H c..:- L;;e Distr!ct Court of Songea District at Songea Befor~ BoMo ~ua~da, Esq~, Res. Magistrate LAZARO ALF~X l'· •. ,l r.-.~: ••••••• ~ ••• •• •• APPELLANT Versus THE REPUBLIC RESt-uND;:;NT JUDGHENT RUBAMA, J. LAZARO s/o ALEX MAUKI was convicted of ~utt•@ theft c/o·265 and 268(1) and (3) of the Penal COQe arid sentenced t" six years imprisonment. He has appealed against tl"le conviction and sentence. The evidence that was found credible V'J ~he t,:ial court was th,ct the appt:llant was seen un-cy:Lng goat, that: were not his. He was later seen by the owner of the said goats that had been left grazing,· in possession ·of one. When the appellant he:lrd tr. .1t an alarm was be:,ng ;aised seeking the assistance of' neighbours for his arrest as a thief of the goat he had in his possession, he abandoped the goat and ran away. He Wc!S, with the assi,s·~anc ~ of those that had responded to the. raised alarm, a;resteci. In accepting th-:'! prosecution story• th.. tria:i.. cour~ had rejected the defenee story that he (ap~cllant) ha4 · not stolen the goat but had been in the process Qf bu)'i~g it from the complainant. ,. The analysis of the evidence was good and the conclusions arrived at sound. The evidence against the appellant was overwhelming, · The td "l court coul.d not fail, on t:1c evidence, to convict the app~:.1.<--"lt, I !\;h~- dismiss the appeal against conviction. - 2 - The appellant was a first offender ang Y~W19• The stolen goat was recovere~. Granted that the'offence was prevalent, six yeal."s sentence was on the high side. I accordingly set aside the sentenc:e of six YE!afi and in its place substitute the minimum sentence ,lnder the law i.8. five years. The sentenc"" i.:; effective f,:om the date Z..he .::.;;pellant started serving the sent1a:r.ce Qf s~x years that tad been imposed by the trial c0urt. In totality there:;.'ure, the appeal :1-::ainst convJ.ct,1.on is dismissed but that against sentenee partially sue,eeds: the sentence havinc; bi:\:!n reduced flfm sj.x rears ,Q five years. Yahya Rijl.,~ma Jijdge I 2016.aQ Coram; RUBAMA, J. ~. Sangawe 1 state Attg.ney for the RepublS,e Appellant absent. Judgment delivered. ' \'--~' .~ . ._.,__,. __, ., ·.,',' '~. . . . ~. . . . >. . .::,,_,!!-_, Yahy a R~b·ama J,udge 2~.6.e6 ,