19790827 TZHC Dodoma

IN TUB HIGH COURT OP TANZANIA AT PODOMA k- fC_ - 9SO APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAl APPEAL No.181 OP 1978 ia - -- 1O*Pnal Criminal Case NO.148 of 1978 of the District Court of Mpwapwa, Before Sanga,. Esq., D .M.) FRANK S/o MJiTOA . . . . . .. . Appellant. (Original .ccused) versus TUB REPUBLIC . .. . .. . • . . . Respondent (Original Prosecutor) Charge: Unlawful 'jossession of Govermcnt trophy c/s 67(1)(2) of Act 12/74 J U D G B M E NT KISiJA J. - The appellant was convicted of unlawful possession of Government trophy contrary to section 67(1) and (2) (a) of the Wild Life Conservation Act and was sontánccd to 2 years inprisonmont. He has now appealed.. :The tvidohce shows that upon so:ar6hing the premises of the appellant, a bag was found hidden intha grass only 15 paces away from his house. Upon examination the bag' was found to contain, among other things, a document or documents bearing the appellant's name and an elcphnt's tail. Another bag was also found on the promisoo containing warthog meat,. The appellant was accordingly charged.. with unlawful poscossion of the elephant tail and the warthog meat. In his defence the. appellant denied ownership of these items and implied that they. were planted on his premises by the Game Officials who searched those premises0 The tri.l magistrate, however rejected the defence and accordingly convicted the appellant , as charged. There was sufficient evidence to prove that the elephant tail and the warthog moat were found on the appellant's premises. The bag containing the elephant tail was found hidden outside the appellant's house by Rashicli (PJ .2) who did not enter the appellant's house during the search therein. Sin.e that sane bag also contained document or documents bearing the appellant's name, then it follows that it is the appellant himself who hid. -the bag with its contents there because nobody else had access to those documents. iis regards the bag containing meat also, I find no good reason for thinking that it was planted on the appellant's premises by the Jf .- --. - - 2 - Game officials. The G-ejne officials did not know the appellant before this case and therefore it is not apparent why they should seek to implicte him falsely with the offence. Tho Field Assistant (.Pw..i) testified that the moat found on the appellant ',e 1Iomises was war- thog. meat. This was not chllenged, the appellant 's defence bing a flat denial of. possesaion. I find no goodrcason for rejectin'the eidonco of this same official who is trained in th±s field when he sad that the meat was wartlaog mot . In the result I am of the view that the conviction was justified on the evidence; and the sentence imposed is the minimum prescribecl by law. Accordingly the appeal is dismissed in its entitoty. R • H. KISANGA o_- A •.• JUDGE Dodoma. . 27.viii.1979 Appellant absent. Mr. Alirn ik. Senior State Attorney for Republic. /tom. .