19880921 TZHC Arusha2

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF TANZANIA AT ARUSHA CORAM:MUS,TAFA, MA1<AME,J., And KISANGA, JA CRIMINAL APPEAL NO 45 OF 1987 LEONARD EDSON APPELLANT Versus THE REPUBLIC . RESPONDENT (Appeal from the conviction of the High Court of Tanzania at Arusha)(ChUa, J.) dated the 18th day .f March, 1987 in Criminal Sessions Case No. .92 of 183 JUDGMENT OF THE COURT C.J. The appellant was convicted of murder and sentenced to de.th and is appealing to this court. It was common ground that the appellant had stabbed the deased with a knife aumber of times and caused his death. 2 1- - 111 cause of death was haemorrhage due to multiple wounds iif1ictèd on the deceased. The prosecution iersion of the killing was that at cbout midnight on the material day the deceased and PJ.6 hd left the house of a friend and were going home in their village. p.w6 was walking about 10 paces ahead of the deceased. P..J.6 suddenly heard deceased shouting "I am cut" and when P.11.6 looked back he found a person running at the deceased aid. stabbing the deceased on the back. P,W. ra discovered it was the appellant who was doing the stabbing and the appellant iirned P.w.6 io keep !uiet. p.w.6 knew the appellant well. He said that appellant, after the stabbing, ran to his house a:d put on a shirt and ran off to reptrt to the 10 cell leader. .... /2 . - 2 - The appellant's version was that he was asleep that night at his house when he was awakened by the noise of stones being thrown at his dor. He thought bandits had come to attack the house. He got up, armed himself with a knife and came rut He saw two persons and chase and cut one of them, obviously tha deceased. He then gave himself up. After the appellant's arrest, P.W.1. the Police Officer investigating the case Pw.6 both searched the area in front of the appellant's door and they could not .find any stones, nor any marks of damage to the appellant's.,door. The trial judge arid the assessors disbelieved the appellant's version and were satisfied that no stones had been thrown at the aopellant's door as alleged by him. The judge believed that P.1.1. and P.W.6 had failed todisc.er any stones. The assessors and the judge believed the evidence of p.w.6. When the appellant first reported to the 10 cell leader that he had killed before giving himself up to the Police, the appellant did not mention about the alleged attack by bandits. There was evidence given by the appellant himself that the deceased allegedly had defrauded the appellant of Shs.QQ/= The appellant had stated in evidence that he had partaken of liquor on the material day. The trial judge dealt with that issue and correctly, in our view, concluded that there was no evidence to suggest that the appellant was too drunk to have been capable of forming any intent. We have carefuly reviewed the evidence and we are satisfied that the appellant was rightly convicted of murder as charged. . . . . . . . . /3 -3- \Ie dismiss the appeal. DATED atARUSHA this 21st day of September, 1988 A. MUSTAFA Ag.HIEF JUSTICE L. H. MAKANE JUSTICE OF APPEAL R. H0 IKISANGA JtJ3TICE OF APPEAL - /.-. Icert!fy that this is a true copy of the original0 ... .......... J'(. M . 'UTKANGwA) /' //DEPUTY REGISTRAR