Criminal Session No

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA IN THE SUB-REGISTRY OF MTWARA AT MTWARA CRIMINAL SESSION NO. 882 OF 2024 THE REPUBLIC VERSUS HADIJA ISSA BONIFACE RULING ON SENTENCE 23! & 24’ July, 2024 MPAZE, J.: On 27th March, 2024 the accused, Hadija Issa Boniface, was arraigned before this court and charged with the offence of Manslaughter of Simon Ngurumo Ngupanguole. When the information was read over and explained to the accused, she unequivocally pleaded guilty. The facts narrated by the State Attorney alleged that on 16th July, 2023 the accused discovered that her sesame crops were being stolen from her farm. Therefore, on 17th June, 2023 she decided to take a machete and go to guard her farm. i At around 04:00 hours, while guarding her farm, she heard someone coughing. She decided to trace the voice to find out who was on her farm. Upon nearing the place where she heard the voice, she saw someone she did not recognize at the time digging and extracting sweet potatoes from her farm. As she approached suddenly, the deceased attacked the accused and snatched the accused's machete, throwing it in her direction. The accused dodged, but the machete injured her thumb. While continuing to fight, the accused managed to disarm the deceased. She then used her machete to assault the deceased, cutting him on his head, arm, and legs, causing him to bleed excessively and fall down. Thereafter, she went to report the incident to Street Chairperson Ashura Mohamed Ngambe, who notified others. Together with the accused, they went to her farm, where they found the victim lying unconscious. The incident was reported to Lindi Police Station. The police officers, accompanied by Dr. Madai Jonathan!, responded by reaching the crime scene. The deceased's body was examined, and the report revealed that the 2 cause of death was hypovolemic shock due to massive hemorrhage from multiple cut wounds. When the accused was arrested, she confessed to the police and before the justice of the peace that she had cut the deceased with a machete on his head and other parts of his body, causing his death. She further stated that the incident occurred in the course of fighting because the deceased had come to steal from her farm. The prosecution tendered the Postmortem Report, Extra-judicial Statement, Certificate of Seizure, and Sketch Map of the Scene, which were all admitted and marked as Exhibits Pl, P2, P3, and P4, respectively. Upon the accused's admission to all the facts read by the prosecution, the court found her guilty and convicted her of the offence of Manslaughter contrary to section 195 and 198 of the Penal Code [CAP. 16 R.E 2022] (the Penal Code). Thereafter, the learned State Attorney, Ms. Miniva, and learned advocate, Ms. Jenifer, submitted the aggravating and mitigating factors. Ms. Miniva submitted that the accused has no previous criminal records but insisted on sentencing in accordance with the law. She argued that the 3 accused caused the death of a young man whose family depended on him, as well as the nation as a whole. According to her, given the circumstances, the accused had the option to flee and leave the victim rather than continue to attack him in the head, a highly vulnerable area, and various parts of the deceased's body. Furthermore, the State Attorney argued that the act committed by the accused resulted in the loss of the victim's right to life, protected under Article 14 of the Constitution. Ms. Miniva concluded by praying for the court to impose a sentence as per sections 195 and 198 of the Penal Code to serve as a lesson to others not to take lives. On the other hand, Ms. Jennifer, advocate, pleaded for leniency in sentencing. She argued that the accused is a first offender with no prior criminal record and has been a law-abiding citizen. She said the accused has shown cooperation from the time of arrest by the police, to the justice of the peace, and even here in court, thereby reducing the court's time. The accused went to report the incident and did not flee after the incident. The advocate added that the accused has now been in custody for one year, during which time she has shown remorse for her actions. The accused 4 has three young children who depend on her, and they are currently living with their elderly grandmother who also depends on the accused. The accused is also an orphan. On top of that, Ms. Jenifer asked the court to consider the manner in which the offence was committed, showing that it was not the intention of the accused to commit the offence. Rather, the deceased, who invaded the accused's farm with the intention to steal, initiated the fight. She said the accused committed the offence in self-defence. In conclusion, Ms. Jennifer requested this court to reduce the sentence of the accused, if possible, to a non-custodial sentence so that she can take care of her family. After considering the aggravating and mitigating factors stated by the parties, this court is now placed to determine the appropriate punishment for the accused. According to section 198 of the Penal Code, the punishment for Manslaughter is life imprisonment. The provision states the maximum sentence with no minimum sentence. 5 Guided by the Tanzania Sentencing Guideline, 2023, which establishes a sentencing range based on the circumstances in which the offence was committed, I find that the manner in which the offence was committed falls under the high level, and this is because the accused used a weapon in committing the offence, cutting the deceased on several parts of his body, including the head, hands, and legs, causing multiple wounds that resulted in his death. -rhus, my starting point at this level will be 14 years. Taking into consideration the mitigating factors, as pleaded by Ms. Jenifer, that the accused was defending herself and her properties which were stolen, the Guidelines indicate that if someone applies excessive force in a claim of right or uses unreasonable force in self defence or property, that person falls under the low level, which prescribes a sentence range of 0 to 4 years. Therefore, I will reduce the sentence by 4 years, leaving 10 years. One may ask why the accused was not placed under the low level instead; there is no need to repeat the reasons explained above. Further considering that the accused is a first offender, has a family that depends on her, and is 55 years old, I reduce the sentence by two years, leaving 8 years. 6 Further I proceed to reduce one year for her cooperation from the time of the incident, her confession, and not fleeing the scene, the sentence is now 7 years. If the accused had not pleaded guilty, I would have sentenced her to 7 years imprisonment. However, due to her guilty plea, one-third of the sentence is reduced, making it 4 years and (7) seven months remaining. I also proceed to deduct the 13 months spent in custody. As a result, therefore, my final determination of the sentence is 3 years and 6 months. Consequently, I hereby sentence Hadija Issa Boniface to serve 3 years and 6 months' imprisonment. It is so ordered. 7