felex joseph apolo others vs republic 2018 tzhc 2927 28 june 2018

felex joseph apolo others vs republic 2018 tzhc 2927 28 june 2018

The prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the appellants were properly identified at the scene of crime; visual identification was unreliable, dock identification was not corroborated, and the cautioned and extra judicial statements were either inadmissible or did not incriminate the appellants. The trial magistrate misapprehended the evidence and wrongly convicted the appellants.

Citation
felex joseph apolo others vs republic 2018 tzhc 2927 28 june 2018
Parties
Appellant: Felex Joseph @ Apolo @ Baba Frank; Appellant: Joseph Lungwa @ Jose; Appellant: Halfan Mohamed @ Mbavu; Appellant: Adinani Mrisho; Respondent: The Republic
Court
TZHC
Jurisdiction
Tanzania
Judgment Date
28 June 2018
Procedural Posture
Criminal Appeal / Judgment
Outcome
appeal allowed
Legal Topics
Armed Robbery, Visual Identification, Admissibility of Statements, Confession Evidence, Burden of Proof
Source Language
English
Criminal Law Armed Robbery Visual Identification Admissibility of Statements Confession Evidence Burden of Proof

Case Brief

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Parties

Felex Joseph @ Apolo @ Baba Frank

Appellant

Joseph Lungwa @ Jose

Appellant

Halfan Mohamed @ Mbavu

Appellant

Adinani Mrisho

Appellant

The Republic

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Criminal Appeal / Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the appellants were properly identified at the scene of crime
  2. 2 Whether the cautioned and extra judicial statements were admissible and sufficient for conviction
  3. 3 Whether contradictions in prosecution evidence affected the case

Ratio Decidendi

The prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the appellants were properly identified at the scene of crime; visual identification was unreliable, dock identification was not corroborated, and the cautioned and extra judicial statements were either inadmissible or did not incriminate the appellants. The trial magistrate misapprehended the evidence and wrongly convicted the appellants.

Court Disposition

appeal allowed

Orders

  • Judgment of conviction and sentence quashed
  • Appellants to be released from prison unless held for lawful cause