20010810 TZCA Dar es Salaam

.I ,J (CO'~.: !'½~!S!.1£:1~...-J.,.-.• , u:;1\NGA, J.;~.,.And LUC1AKINGIEA1 J,A.) crrn•iJ.NAL Ai:T:,::AL NO. 220 OF 1994 BETWEEN AND TlF~ RCTUBLIC " :: 1 0 G Q l'j .. e O • ,0 0 0 0 Q O 0 Q O O O O .. 0 0 0 R~SFOND~NT (Apprc,al from tl1e •.iecision of the High Court of '.l'anza.nia at Dar es Salaam) dated the 19th day of December, 1994 in H.C. Cri1r,~nal ,Appeal No. 158 of 1993 LUGAK:iNGIRA-1-J ~ : conviction in the District Court u.t· lforogoro on a :;h,::.J.'ge of ar.ned rol>bery. His first ,c1ppeaJ tc th": Higlt Court wa1.; l.)IlCUccessful. g3.11g which, on the r,ight of 06.0~i.92, broke into t,he shop-cum- " ii residJnce of P':/1 at Kingolwira, o.GS<3.u1ted him, ctnci made off with varioi:.s shop itemto. ':'hen, wa 0 ; no evidence of the use of arms b·.lt of 1ati.. t.his ___ _is of no sie:rd fi,::-.0n.c:e -:b J'1..>t.hery cases. 'i:'r.,➔ er:i.dence aga_ii;is1 the appellant and which was beli<:,ved at the b·L.. i. ',/c-s tli=-ee-- fold; +-.rt,.t ~,.e 1.-m.~ ,,- _i_f;1,,;;.J ly idrJnt j_fied at the sc,.me of c1·ime by F\11, HJ2 ~~ M13, all residents in the hour3•1, thaL his phot,:,orap~1 ·wac I later ~ickqd up at tl11c; sc.:!ne, and that he made a sta•~e:.;ent confessing rti~ appellant appeared in per.::;on at the hearing to support his eight~4.int memorcmdum of appea.1.. 'l'aken togeth· -1 ; t':lF. ,-:;1 1·1nds of • ..- .// }-✓ t ,• 2 appeal revolve 2.rou:ic'. th0 thr0r, itemr; of evidence ju.c;l ,<;;tated. Tr1e overall content ion is that the High Court failed to d~.rect itself fully and. correctly on the evidence. 1is Vikwizu, s.-~c1.te Attorney, j appeared for the respondent Eepublic • .She had earlier lodged a preliminary objection contcndin8 that the appeal was grounded on matters cf fact but she came round to concede in the end that the memorandum co,1ld bf, reo,:l to· d:i.scloce some l)oints of la~,. 1 In accordance i,itr, section 6 (7) (a) of the Appellate Jurisdiction ;\ct, 1979, a.s amended, a party to crimi'nal proceedings commenced in a subordinate court may appeal to this ~ourt on a matter of la~ .91}! not on a mo.t.te;ro.f :(act. A finding on a matter I of fact a,s such will, therefore, not be assaiJer1 1Jeforr, this Court, lmt whether the f:i.ndine is pr1rverse havin1s regard to the nature and I totality of th" evidence-, j :', a point of law fit .r,)l· tbe Ce:urL I s consideration. The central quention in this case is ,11lett.,er, r1aving 1 regard to th.e nature ar;d totality of the evidence, fr,e finding that the appellant was among the_ cri:-,,inal ga."lg was legally ter.able. W& have had the opportwiity to examine the record carefl~lly .:i.nd wr. think, with respect, U1e evidence wac both fla1-1ed and wanting. Ve First of all, it ·,·1as not. in dispute that t;..,e ap)x,llant ,,;aR not immediately named. 'l'rd.G was significant sir::ce the ap:pe1lant was well kI',own to th_e three p1'ose,cution 1-1itnenses, his house was just behind Their o·,m, and he 1-:aii-af liome at tl,e tim:s. j•,;any villagers ¢arnc to the scene but the three w~ tnesses ci_(ii,,i+ l:ed that they did., n~t nc.1,1e anyor::e to tJ-wm. Moreover, the po] i.iie e::.,nH:: t(, '· the seen~ tha.t sarne night I accoilding to the appellar,t; anci. they came t;ir teturned to the scene ir. tne evimillg of tl1{~ fo.L..:.o,,ing d:;.y, • 3 according to n12, y~t n:J attempt ,,ms mad A to arrest the appellant, whi.cb. mean.s .. l:ie.. was not nRmed on--t-ho.se occasions. At some urJmown cl.ate he left for Dar ef~ .Sula.am where he was arrested sometime in February. In rn,,.,tten, <'l icir1ntification, it ifJ not: cmough merely to look at factors favouring accurate identificati,on 1 equ~lly important is the credibility of the witness. The conditions for identification might appear ideal but that is no guarantee against untruthful evidence. The ability of the witness to name the offender at the earliest possible moment i.s 1 in our view, a reassuring, though not a decisive, factor. He can find no reason why the three prosecution 1,ritnesses, one of them an army corporal, were unable to name the L appe1lant when the opportunity presented itself. He was just there, right behind their ho,,.s,,, and they could truot the _po:·.1-ce, if not I the villagers, to act on their report. \'.10 thinl: ti.1eir :<lance should have raise§ 0l?-rm but even tlle..l:Ii.gh .Court never addressed the matter. There was, next, intriguing 0.videnee about the 1:<.ppe-llant I s photogr;:i_plt being picked up 0.t the sc<,ne 0f cr:i.me by ?\12. It does not sound a.s ,being in tl:.e natur2-1 ce.use of events that ruwone vould walk around \;ith their photograph after midnight, leave alom~ on a mission t6 commit a crir.1e. It f:;eems that D';J8, -~he appellant's brother, solv_ed the rfo.d}e. He ,;te:tcct that the photor:;raph Has in fact colle~te_d ty L'..,e police .from their i:10,r.e at Mko::-:o .,;a 1·1ilr.ci.. We note that tpe 1-1itness 1,as nc,t croc,s-cxamined on this, but ti.e trial magistrate ~nvited the prosecutor to re-cross-examine hir., ,,;hen he tendered a,1 album to show wl,ere the photo ;;rapl1 wa.s plur.ked. frorn. The c,xer~:u!e was st ill unirr.pressi ve, for the 1: ltness ,,: :.t.::; mc1.·el:t asked v:ho r~moved the photograph, which he had ~-'-lre,.:,dy ;;c:to.tt)•.\ P~'ld what Meps he took, as if he had any choice in the motter. Bot:1 • •·.... /4 J r'· I i i:h8rG \i~2 i'l" co,:":::":;n'!, .,,; i !.. ~; ·~:n\)J.ic.:d·. :ir.·1::-: nn t:, 'r;; pr-(3~,c ,.., C :ir.·:r: C•.tGCn I'i .'.;:CC\"·'\{:, . t:-_,, \12) I. l ·:.J"i.8··. ,.. 1,.c' :·'·· i,l!'\r• !.l I1 f' 1 l..L' '',11 :p-;i·ru·· " t'.(., ~ •::.O 1,).'l''C,.::. I ~ '' !l)J° . n0 ., • 1 ""l''01.-0f'rcl1);·1 . Sucl, c,:,:x,r,,nt mir;c:L',,,~- ~'":.:.:ot e,:;,sh~ LLcl.nc::· b:, :J.11,:,s,~;, . ,, I 1 o:o' 2-~ •·· • h<":.1p 1,,:t'Hcd in th•,· :i1;c;-::,.,n'.: c:,.rs2,. t:.:t !'! co-.:rt Drc:,p<::r-ly '.1.ircctinr:; itself should 1~c, CNJ.c:,2rnw: 1.,:,·•y t 1:,0 dil~l~ic:f "s·.•,cB h \tc).,ed 1 ii. the fiJ'tst p~ace. ,,.,;ere t',e 'lir_;h·Bouri; 'Tli:1d<~d -~c, rrr:tres1;; t 1·:c qucst:1.onj,1t l:/ould prcoabl;r ,.na:v,::: (1C•tE)tC·d . ' . . •.:.,:.::. .., on '. 'J 1. , 1.,;r r-1:-;-~)E..?J' 1: . : , 01. ill[, . ,; .. r1r:(..-:~1cr;, ·;10 t. .7:.e:J.!-3l: • l_:10 . d ·c,c,.ot ic at,,;•y ai.c;;, t •· , , • ",·'II·.•·, ,•,, , ,,. _. "r,,m '.' 'l cc·i2 in,:, on a staten,,c:r.t J:i'j_:12..Hy, ::,t'.o,~.:.,1·i~,"'.: n'l.,., C.cJ.lci',""·'·.J r, .. -0.P., '.•,! ~;: ,~_"::· ~o 2-, .,~:o C'~- de:r~0:, L,.r, ··•.v,-'··"·l.,,nt. '"illv lll P•.;l .. Cc Cilotody l:~~ied at Dar es SclJ.:1.an-1 1 tcrr::inr jt Et ;1c,i''J~-·(H;•~·:o-1; I h<:: a·ppellant c1~cnied 1 •.,,,h inc "' ,, t, b ,,c 'c Td , ,. cc 1r; ·: ,:~. :, . : nt j oc of} J· · ;rnnoc uCo.> \; ..::i.:::: i~...-1 11:~c to :..~0iJt;:·F!:!:i.~l: i-~,<-~ .:"i.pJF::~ L-:r~i., • :-::; t·:•/~.1-:,,:::nvc-! !_lr~cH 1.:.:·_;c J.:e •.. I. 1.. :r-01l,:-_::·,t .it cut •.~, th:·: c-.o,,r·:;:• c,.f;I (:J"i.k;:::;-,·.. x.arnjn:-.1.t ·Lc-1:, ':Jh,,;; 1;1,·., ·'.:.rial r;i;;,gir::t:r·e.trc: !',earrl :i ~.s c-,,,nc01,t.c,, :h("·•1cvc,r, he, cieclc.cr,sd :i~ :.: co:,.::es,:-,jc,i: .l1C1 16,:Tti.: ,;,: ";,_ 1,(r•·: .c •· ,,:c c,1!(') :i.r: ::l.', :.~ 1_.i._!_~L•~c!•C: 1 l1.. c>lJ·,1c·••·,,o ·i·i; \-ii'l,S J18VCr ;mt in v,i,iccJ'i(;,•. ";i,,: 01, t.-.:_r:·:!_ , ,,(;:1.: i i1c:!'i~a.l;.•c,·::·ii~GJ:·;)<0•<".in.?; U18 record, l:hoi.'::-;h': i:b: ;,;tJ,.:;-·,;;·,_,~!nt \-;o:-, _;:-.c,rt o:f tho ~~rid0nce. ;\,nd . v1}:i."J.::_: ,~,br:-:('~_t,_;--ir1~3 . \.:3.~:: r·A,:_:t t .J~.:· Jt ,1..: ,., ... c·•·' ~J11 .·. '-·-:•'l, .. , """ Umt it Lould 1,e dfocacded ,, witL.0~·1t h::\rm to t~,e :).r·c,r.--:-::-c1d: i•)r{ ,.;•.:r:0, • I . ';i I 'H: f'r::!.J. tav: bn r.; .,:,,n(i. s&id it !I;, I; '.I 1,/~: b; 1 ~/ t>!:.. ~ 1:r~-::: :.i.::::,; cf tdl~ r~f·:.1_,,r-,· 'I.: .l • \,r,..··:-";, ·J:·02.1r- _,_,, ;_-;_-..,,; iJ .·, :,~.c2·; :i.:),~S ,'ita. 1:, 1:,,m·~ ;,.cu•: ,:;,~,,:,t,: :1~;rc,d to cor.1;r2.dic i: 0 t:,,l cvi<.1.<.;nce of tl:.e i',C<;t.1scd, th,) 1:;7,,c•.tc-:c.-,::1t he>::: f-·) 1~r; 9rl,•tt 1:c.l cl! ,,"1ci0·l2 ,:,, 1:1.c·,· · ,. ,.,,n >•~co~-' l . .c,c ,l•:- :...:.. .1..t.'-, l'll] ,. ,.. ...,.,. I·' , ___ ,;;,::> C ,.·l., ,-1•~ l 'C'J'"':,l. ' ... - , ~"l 1 J ., 1· l.:.'-,..1.•t ' ;,._• '11~ ,, r; r-01· __, 4 1., IlI '~l'; ! ' ·L,_.__,>Jl 0 '''lS . .1.. o In i·hi:; .. .... . ·•,r•,,•:,·,,·,,+,"i'' c:•~$,, !·,,,-. " ... '""""' • ;-1:•••;...,.. r',:01·-1' -~v,·n .. .. ... vc,ri t~1,·, ,·· 1·1 ..... ~1('{:'> tc, 1\e . .: 0·",c+ r.-8.t-:-. 1 whatc-;,)r contr,,,:!ictio;,~, he :1;,,,j ~n :•1inci, :J,::t el,:,;~· ']-:_:~,;~]< ~:;11:.::--to .,. rlc ·:1i·I;;: tL:.. .-:·;-Lc:,'~c, .. ,nt. '3cc.s.usrc' i i· ;,:. 1,:,,,,··: • . 1 "'<' ,,t, I'·• •· , .: C,ic. o,•c. • 5 71 I: ideas about confessions, but app~ently no idea about the established I . I ]" l h .. 1 d prir..,::i.ilas governing tlwj.r reocptrn and ui,e, he l_itex-.a - Y 13acKe I . 1 ._,.~ =""~-'-~~-,.-.,- ~~--' the in1•.1-.;ativo "··. ~ "~- ·-··•··"'· --..··· .• . --~ n-om the ,__._,.~r -and subsequently I .,- - I 111ade use of it although it was not in evidence. It 1 also evidmrt that the statement was doci.;iva il:._ hi:,,r <looi.aion r,,,,,ca.UBlie after -extensive :I r-.,:!:-cn·<>n,,o i:c :i.t. hC> dot>larod: ,; • ~. I am not prepe.red to take any of ,. . I . the defence claims by the -6th ace~'",,.~ /e.r> 'th-<1 .aJ)p~;.141t WA-i/ and 'the !i - I ::7.:~ :::~:t::e:::t~i::o::~"norb:~~:r::::~oi:~al::r:::elaw • I since it did. not. form pa.rt of th~:-evid.ence. Had the -earned-.judge I.' i ~!,. ri:::o~ -::~~1~~•~1 ~;o..t·~fully HYRmi.rioft .t.ho rei-corrl n.nri reaILiecd- th~ ocrrect i I position, he would not have concJh.ed that there was a confession, and tl:at won~.::l. hnvn mad,- tha- proJeout:i.ou cQtJe c.,v,,n. WGlr. I We think these factors Sl.l.flicicntly 00111,.:>~t:rflto tho :i-r..-<>1"o:ity i '.)f "::rn :findi.:.:;:;s bading to the ~1-ti:>ellant I s convict ion. The totality and nature of the evidence make :it unsafe to sustain the conviction. 1, './ We allow the appeal, qu;u;h the ••":r-rl.,t1on :<.1.nd ~n~e- and o.n'Jf""1' th-e a:p:i;,nll.2.:n.'!". 1 r; .J.'<? ~? :::.::: ? from custody} I I . 1: ~hiS' 10th 2001. ·1 II I ! L. M. MAKANE I JiJSTIC~ OFAEP'SAL ' \\. R.H. KISANGA ~-<· .. i --------r---- JUSTICE OF APPEAL il :! K.S.K. LUGAKINGIRA ; JUSTICE OF1APPEAL •••/6 • (~:~ --w:..·· ·_;~--- ·, -.,.,A· . I jl • I i j! ,I 1: . ...L. I' 1' :1 I' I fl Ji' Ii 11 I jl "'" l/ I· jl'