19700730 TZCA Dar es Salaam2

Criminal Appeal lf•• 429 •f' 1970 430 & 431 Original Criminal Case Ne. 170.9 .t 1970 •f the District Ceurt •f Dal' es Salaaln District D'S~laa11 Bef,ere1 A. Karim . Esq., Resident -'a.gistrate. CHARGE: Stealing oentraey te seotien 265 •f the Penal Cede. ISMAIL o. HmA RAMADHANI I:. HEMGA ••••••••••••••••••Appellant• BASSANI SELF RZARAMO versus The Republic •••••••••••••••••••~••••••RESPONDENT• J"tl'DGMENT lWILYR, I• i/i,''l'he three a-ppellants were oenvicted in the District Ceurt •f Dar es Salaam «f stealing a m•t•r vehicle, c•ntrar;y tt aeoti•n 265 •t the Penal Cede and were each .sentenced. t• three 7ears impris•nments F.t-q these oenvictiens they new appeal t• this Oeurt. · The learned Resident Magistrate wrete a lengthy and m•st earetul judgment in which he examined the whele •f the evidence btth f•r the. preteoutien and the defence .and came te the o•nclusi•n that the case was pr•perly pr•ved beytmd all reas•nable d•ubt against the three pe.rs.•ns bef•re him~ On reading the evidence, it would have been $\U'prising had he reached any ether decisi•n• The oar was remeved f:t-•m the ewer's heuse by being pushed by three pers•na, wl1ile a t•urth sat behind the wheel and. guided it. Befere the7 o•uld be detained, 1:he.u and. the car had vanished and a rep•rt was· made te the Pelice Statien! As a result detectives were sent t• Mr•g•r•,- whither .it was thought that the missing oar had been driven~ After reperting t• the l•cal P•lice at Keregor• they preoeeded t• made a search .r the tewn and came upen the threeLwh• are the accused in ·this oaae · with an•ther man whese identity isLkn•wn, in the car, As luck weuld have tt, the st•.len oar suddenly stepped. wt th stme defect, •r f•r laok •£ fuel and the feur pers•ns wh• were therein hurried.17 get eut and t••k te their heeels. T.hey were chased by the c•nstables .and the three men wh• are the appellants were eaughtJ the •ther man escaped and was n•t breught t• justioe• !he tlu.-ee .appellants all admitted that thef were in the aBSB oar when the p•lice :came upe:n them but de11ied that the oar was st•len •r that they st•le it; they all give var1•us steries as te .hew they came t• be in the veb.iole but none of these tales· impressed the learned trial magistrate as being ei the~ true •:f' even likely•.In the main, each •f the explana:tiens •f the three .men were that they had been given a lift .in the vehicle by •ne the ethers. The -learned Resident Magistr,,te f•und as a fact that the oar in questien had been stelen and it would I think have been impessible fer him te have found etherwiso. On the evideno e als• the trial Court f•und that the car was stelen fr•m its ewner at 11.45 P•Jh •n the night in questien; the accused hewover state that they •btaned their lifts f'r•m tha man wh• decamped at 9•30 p.m. •n that same night~ an •bvieuo impessibility fer the ear was net stelen frem its ewner' s place in Dar es Salaam until 2-.t h•urs later. Clearly,, the explanati•ns ef the appellants are untrue en the face •f it. The Pelioe wh• effected the arrests of the men were certain. that the first appellant was the persen driving the stolen vehicle, theugh he himself · denied this as he does· that he ran away and was chased. The learned trial ,l!lagistrate alse cemments en the fact th:.lt these peraens all esoaped and left the oar when the p•lioe arrived; the third appellant atated·that he feared that they were about t• be attacked by a gang •f "teughs", theugh r-.. it was bread daylight in a busy part •f the tewn when the t•lioe called / · Cp9D them t• halt and chased them IQ.th •h•uts .r "Thief, thiet•. /. e tu.ee aooused at the trial and the etitiens •f Appeal are •f n• value whate,ver and the case agains,t each of them wae pr•ved bey•nd all d•ubt whatseever.; 'their appeals are merely impudent and haven• mer:i1l whatever• This C•urt o•nsidera that the.evidence before the ltwer Ceurt leaves, n• reas•nable d•ubt as te the guilt •£ the three accused. and thut their appeals are without substance. Sentences are n•t unreasenable in view of the value of' the pr~ert;r at•len and the . eiroumstancea of the thef1i• After J>eading the reotrd this teurt. ts satisfied that the. app.fis have been l•dged wi.thout any 11\lb:loient ground of complaint and I consequently order that they be forthwith swnmarily .rejected. · ;Dar es Salaam• 30th lulft 1910• JUDGE f