joseph damian savel vs republic 2021 tzca 54 2 march 2021

joseph damian savel vs republic 2021 tzca 54 2 march 2021

The conviction was unsustainable because the testimony of the child victim was improperly admitted without a promise to tell the truth, violating section 127(2) of the Evidence Act, and the remaining evidence was insufficient to prove the offence beyond reasonable doubt.

Citation
joseph damian savel vs republic 2021 tzca 54 2 march 2021
Parties
Appellant: Joseph Damian @ Savel; Respondent: The Republic
Court
TZCA
Jurisdiction
Tanzania
Judgment Date
2 March 2021
Procedural Posture
Criminal Appeal / Second Appeal
Outcome
appeal allowed
Legal Topics
Rape, Evidence of Child Witnesses, Procedure for Voire Dire, Standard of Proof
Source Language
English

Case Brief

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Parties

Joseph Damian @ Savel

Appellant

The Republic

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Criminal Appeal / Second Appeal

  1. 1 Whether the voire dire examination of the child victim complied with section 127(2) of the Evidence Act
  2. 2 Whether the conviction could be sustained without the victim's testimony
  3. 3 Whether the remaining evidence proved the offence beyond reasonable doubt

Ratio Decidendi

The conviction was unsustainable because the testimony of the child victim was improperly admitted without a promise to tell the truth, violating section 127(2) of the Evidence Act, and the remaining evidence was insufficient to prove the offence beyond reasonable doubt.

Court Disposition

appeal allowed

Orders

  • conviction quashed
  • sentence set aside