christian sanga vs republic 2017 tzca 353 11 october 2017

christian sanga vs republic 2017 tzca 353 11 october 2017

Charging an accused under a non-existent provision of law is a fatal defect that renders the trial unfair and a nullity, necessitating quashing of proceedings and judgments.

Citation
christian sanga vs republic 2017 tzca 353 11 october 2017
Parties
Appellant: Christian Sanga; Respondent: The Republic
Court
TZCA
Jurisdiction
Tanzania
Judgment Date
11 October 2017
Procedural Posture
Criminal Appeal / Second Appeal (court of Appeal)
Outcome
Appeal allowed; proceedings and judgments quashed; sentence set aside; appellant ordered to be released unless lawfully held for another cause.
Legal Topics
Defective Charge, Fair Trial, Rape, Section Citation Error, Retrial Discretion
Source Language
English

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Parties

Christian Sanga

Appellant

The Republic

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Criminal Appeal / Second Appeal (court of Appeal)

  1. 1 Whether the appellant was charged under a non-existent provision of law
  2. 2 Whether the defective charge resulted in an unfair trial
  3. 3 Whether a retrial should be ordered after nullification of proceedings

Ratio Decidendi

Charging an accused under a non-existent provision of law is a fatal defect that renders the trial unfair and a nullity, necessitating quashing of proceedings and judgments.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed; proceedings and judgments quashed; sentence set aside; appellant ordered to be released unless lawfully held for another cause.

Orders

  • Proceedings and judgments of both courts below quashed
  • Sentence set aside