19910419 TZHC Dar es Salaam2

'..ll-1-..... : ~UJ:~'..t.· . . °'~.v . THE HIGH COilliT OF --------· :OM<. J, T --- ... ~.,.:. ----~~-~.!...V ES SJ:.Ll.1AM -:,::::J--Jo~ •::. . .. . .! •.. OP..IGIIJJ~L JURIS:.)IC'i'IOH C:1l'.l1IN1\L GE:JSIOIJG CJ:.SE NOcJJ/89 'I'b.e ~opub.tic:. 1 o IG:}.Ji. MOHAi'1E:O ICIJOGOO 2 e1 SJ1!.,EVii:.NI Hl,SGJ~!JI 3.o Ht,NISI MIH'I'J:.NGJ.. ADD.ALLAH Tic. thr.oc_ nccuscd pc.rsons.viz: Is::u:1 Mohamed Kijocoo (1st. actms.cd) f S.c1cmnr..i I·fass.c.ni (2ncl ace.used) p nnd I·fo.misi Mintnne·l Abdallah (.Jr.cl accus.cd) a:t!O..- ind.~· ··;:)d with tho. of:f'.anco:: ' of' murcfa:,:-. c/ s .. 196 of the Penal Code Cai: r 16 o They plc.acloo not cruiliiy to tho cha.rec. Tho pros.ocu·.ion Wfi!S conducted by the· Stcto. Ji.ttorney Mr., I~yuld., whi1o thJ three accused pcrs..ons... were c!cf::mdod by counsel 16:-o Mk:obn fr.cr.1 the Tanzania Le.ca~ Corporction. J~t·, was c.omr.10n around nt the tri·1l that tho dcce.o.s.ocl Moridadi Juma Mbucho is dead apc1 that he met a v:t..olent'.;c1onth on 22/9/1905 at: a.round Je:00 ma. at·:, Ycr.:bo-,Dovyo. ar.co. 1 Tanc1ika. Division in the C.i ty .of' Dnr. c.s Sn.ic:.c.i 1. The deceased was a.tabbc(l to death by n csrou1) of band:!. :;;3 during the nieht.• · The Ja.Q.~ t-mor.tcm ~tlJ:10..:t}~S}.L,;:2.._QQ.F...i w' 1 i ch is o:::ra of the matters.. not in dispute.. in the lfor.1oranc.um =>r.r: t1a; r.evcnls that~ de....;;th Wt\S due- to hacr.1orrhncric; shock rcsulti:nc from otub wounds. S.o it. is. ( concedc!d by both pn1 tics·· that the dc-c:onscd had been murdered. 1 The issue.. in this cnsc-, is as to whuthcr the throe. nccus.od. « - per.son.s we.re amonc tho e;nnc that nt.;.o.ckoci and lti.lled the . d·o.coas:od. Tho o.vidcncc implico. tine; tho ·f,L~co. accus.ocl per.sons is. sh.ort nnd simple,o The. prosecution called only two wi-tnosscs. to build up its. c:as·co Tho key witnc.sr,_ was Hr. Ally Ismail Sulemoni Chilunda {Pif 0·2) ,:;ho hnd a 1Jco1:1pnnic.cl tho dccens:od tl:intc :fateful nighte They hncl boon atto·:dinc n loco.l 11 ngomcitt dance at th0 other side of' 'l'c.nc1ikc. nnc1 c:t.JeOO nr.10 the bcc;an r.c.turnine homo..fl The cleccasod ho.cl so cured a· eirJ. c:a.i.lo.d Mis.IS. Christina .. 2 ... .. · ~~d/o J:ohl?, _at the •nGoma I with whom ho. would have spent n nighit toae:thcr.. On the way home, the thr.ce companions had to pass. 1 throuc:h a vnlley which is surroundod by .thick bush and some < cmss.evo shambns .• Just ns they wore paasine; through the vcllo.y, the thro.o... '- . companions woro ambushed oy n croup of about fivo bandits:., Ono of tho bondits. snatched the 'ld1.ancra t o:f' Miss Christina ··ct/o John and bccran to bccc\t hcf. 1:.t tho same tine tho doccasec.1 a:a~. l?W.2 wore. boo.ten nnc. attacked with knives by tho other bnndits. Ther.c was ercat· cor.1mot:i.on in tho midst of darknos-s.. During the, attack it is s.aid the. Bandits. cor.iplaino.cl thnt tho. da.coas.Q.d had snatched the girl Christina <l/0 John who wa$ a crir1-fri0l)a_ of c:,no of tho bandits:. While the attack was coinCT Qp, tho ~tnos:s:: PW. 2 manncroc.l s omohow to slip o-Z'f: from the crip of· ono.. of the.. -bo.nclits and ran away home to toll the story., Ha. lo.ft.the.. tlocoasod behind boinG killed. Dur:Lncr the at to clc it is s a.id, tho s nid P1'1. 2 manaeod to identify the throe acouso<l pex-son omonG th0 fivo. bandits. He _a.toted th,-.! t he knew· 2ncl nnc~ Jrd accused before, as. they c.ome from the aome or.ca o-£ Yor;1bo-:Jonya nnd so he snicl it was not:- difficult to identify them. ,~s regards the 1st accus..od ho.. s.nid 1 he s.nw· hi:1 :for the \fir.st, time nt tho. 'nr;omn' dono.c. who.re. ho. was;- in the corapony of -f?ho 2nd .nnd Jrd n ccus.ocl o How.aver. PW. 2 monacc..d in e.ourt to c.all by name tho 1st nnd 2nc: nccused only, whilo. he wronaly c.allod ,3rd accused as I.fohnmc;<l s/o Issa whila. his:. correct nnmo is .. Hamisi I:.1intnncn Abdollnh. The witnc.as: P1'1.2 conceded in court .thnt tho conditions ot the scene of the. crime. wcra. not :fnv.ournblo, os it wns. dork, nrid the place WO$ s:ur.r.ouncle.d by thi.ckcts ond cnssnvo pl.:mts. Mor.00.,.rcr it is snid .that. thi~ was_ Ci surprise attack which they c.lid ::-:i.ot onticipatc. llhnt is: moro is that PW,2 conceclec: he was 1:;omcy,-rhnt drunk as they had boon drinkina sino..c tho afternoon of the previous dny. T.hc other prosecution witness. wsis D/CpJ.o Jos.cph (Fiv.1) Whose evidence was.to tho c:ff"ect that he hcd drawn the s:katch plan (Exhibit A) of the scene of' the crirac~ Ho o.lso pickc.cl up tho c.lend body :from the scene of' the crime and sent it to Muhirnbili Mocliool Centro f'or o. post-:cortem cxarai.nation. 1~11 three accused persons anve defences. o:f alibi. Tho 1st accused· in his ovidenco on oath ~osti:f'iod that on tha material day and nicht ho never went out but remained at home throucl:i o·ut. Ho wns emphatic thnt he never attended the alloc;cc~ 'na-or.ia' dance.. J-. sin:i.lar story was civon by 3rd accused in hia sworn evidoncc. Ho said thc.t ho never went out that do.y nor. ... during the night. - 3 - '.r S-0 ho. snid it was lies that ho attended tho -1 ngoma I danco. As- f'or tho 2nd accused, in his s.worn cvidcno9 1 ·, conoodod that he attoncloc: tho 'ncoma I danco where ho was. s.ol_lincr I • ,.,, .somo ton. He scid that ho lof't f'or home at about 5~00 am. buit that he did not take the route which pass.cs through th.e VE:\lloy where tho·decoasod mot his c.1cnth. He snic.l that hq took a dif'foront route altogether. Durincr the sur.1r.1inc up to tho assessors I inter nlin quoted tho obsorvntion of Nyalal_i C.J,, in the lcad;i.ng case of' Luso.ban,xa a.Lo Sixantcrni Vrs;, R,.,: li2n2Z T ,,L.Ro 275 C oA ~ which st.at.o..fU "It is a rule of pr.notice, not of' lnw, that. corroboration is requir..o.cl of' the ovid<inco. of· a single witness of idontif'ication of' tho ~ccuscd made under unf uvoura bie . c oncli t:\ ons § but the rule. doos not proaJ.uclo a conviction on tho ow.dono0- o:f a sine le ·wi tnoss if' th0 court is :fully satisfied that tho witnosD is tellinc- tr:.c truth,• I did so because in t:i:1is cnsc 'j;hcr.e is a single witric.s:s... in name:. of. l'W' .2 who purported to l1ave identified the culpr:i.ts. at tho.. s.c.cne. of th0 crir:10. Therefore the above observ"Jtion is quite pGrtinont. lis t::1.is cose ulso concerned n natter of' visual indifico.tion at the sce::..1.e of' the crime, I dr.uw: the att:mtion of' tho ns.sessors. to the . .obsorvation of' the 1ato Mwc:.ko.sencic J ..,11,, :in th~ c.ns.e 0£ 1foziri sLo Amani Vrs, R,: LT9G2] T.L_.jh-,___.,L5.0 C.c,1-.,, whero. he s.o.ic1: "Evidence of visunl idcnti:r~.o:ntion is of' the weakest k.incl and most unro.1.io.blo ., No court should net on evidence of' -visual idontif'icntion unless nll posoibilitios cf mistaken identity nrc olimino.tod nn.cl the cotTt is fully s,ctisficd that the evidence before i -1; is c.bsolutcly watertieJ:it_. • Counsel .f'or the ilcpublic. I-ir. ICyuki woo ·:-he view thut tho ov:i.denco f'or tho prosecution was 1mterticht and : ,ro.yecl for n c.onvic.:tion 0£ murder.. Howovc·r the clcf'once counsc.l Mr. 1'1kobo. did not. shnra i thnt viCWi Doth assess01."S boucht the iclen tlrnt hac1 been, sole: to thG.r.1 by the learned Stnte Ji.ttornoy nnd were) of the unanimous view that the cviclonce of' iuontif'icution by PWo2 was watcrticht. They were of' the view that PW.2 could not have mistnken in his iclonti:ficntion of the nccusod 9 tuo of whom he knew bc:f'oro tho. inaiefont • And so tb,.e e;c11.tl.or.10.n one! lndy nssessor o.dvis..c.d r.10 to enter o conviction for r.1Urdcre ._, - 4 - ........ On my part, nfter close ~crutiny of tho evidence on· X'Ocord, :C rccrct to stnto thnt I don't share the conclusion r.coohod by tho two assessors. I ,-riJ..l civc my r.oasons as I am onjoinod to do by law.. Fi'rst and :foremost, both assessors made no montion or 0laboration as to how I?W.2 could □nke. n correct identi:fiontion whon it wo.s clark ctnc1 the witness was in a state o:f panic a:f't'.or a surprise ambush. Moreover the said witness aclmittod that at tho mnteriol time hio 1::ind wos somewhat blurred :f"rom a drlnlclna sproc which spread for a considcrabl.c lona time. Secondly both assessors .stated that Pi:T.2 was a truthful witness. But it :i.a. trite knowl~dc;c thnt .:: truthful wi tncss could be mistak.cn in his identification. Cases of r.tlstakcn identities by truthful witncssos arc lecrion. J,s :Mwaknsendo J. A~ ric;htly observed, o:vidoncc of visual ic.lon·:;i:rication is of' the weakest kind anc1 most unr.cablc. 1-nu.lo it is conc:cdcd in thi.s o.as.e that I?W.2 kno..w 2ncl and 3.rd a.ccusec~ bofor0 tho incident yet thnt, docs not o.;l.iminnto the probability of r.1istnkon'idontity when you consiclor.· the fact thct tho factors for correct identification wcro. absent. How could 1'1'1.2 rc£-.J..J..y ic.kint:li:f'y tho cu~prits in darkness..:? Is ho. a cat? Ancl when quos.tionod by do:f'oncc counsel as to who o.mone tho accused hAd oncrncod him at the scene of the crimot he.replied that it weis dark: and so ho could not tel:.,, Nor could he toll who o.moncr the accusccl had oncacod or u:rN,tled with the deceased or Christine ct/o John. Thorcforc that being the case, tho bold statornont by the said PW.2 that he identified the throe. uccus-e.cl· parsons is just n f'icrmont of his o,m :fertile irnacrination. This ~s n cns:c whereby u sin::;lo Hitness purports.. to hnve idontif'icd t,hc culprits.unc1or un:fnvourablc conditions.• n'lat·. being tho case, porf orc:0 corroborn tion is ro·quircd c:J a matter 0£ prudence. No corroboration WD.s.f'ort."1. cominG in this caso. Counsel for. tho Republic mc:.clo a timid subr.1ission to tho o:f':foct that corroboration coul<.1 be founc.1 in tho fact thc::t 2nd nccus.ed ' o.clmittod to have had been at tho 'neor.1n 1 clanc.o. That :enc.tor. cloos not add anythina to tho prosecu.tion c.aso ns hundro.da 0£ people at-tended tho 'neornn' do.nee. ils: s..tnt<Kl co.rlicr, no corroboration was cf'orthcor.1inc in this oasc.• It is f'or above reasons tha.t, w:i.th rospoot had to clif'f'or from the conlusion r.ca.chcc.1 by the cent.lemon and lady nas.cssor. This is not n case in which u court can convict. on tho stroncth ·of' tho evidence of' a single witness. The c.vidcnco on re.cord is -:fnr. from wo.tortight as f<J.r us quos.tion of idonti:f'ication of tho culprits is concornccl. The pros.couti.on hav~ failed to prove their case beyond nny reasonable doubt, nnd thcroforo the three accuso/d persons a.re hereby ao.quitt.c.d. Order accorclincly-. J • L• MUALUSJ.NY/~ JU-DGE 19/4/1991 Cour.t: Richt of' Appeal cxplnincd to tho Rcpub1ic. And th0- , assossor:s arc thanked n~d dischnrco.ct, J. L. :MWJ,LUSJ.I-JYA JUDGE. 19/4/1991 Certisi'iod thn t this is n true copy of' th.c o~..i.gino.l.,. ' \ i