19771125 TZHC Mwanza1

HT THE HIGH COUiiT OJ? 'I·Ai·fZAIHll .Arr _-rvJANZll :,1 . .,··. APPELLATE JURISDICTIOE - t''... .. IIIGH COURT CRF~UJJ.:L l1PF1'.i;L NO. 12::/77 01uair-i1;1, CHF!Irh,L Ci' ;dr ~JC. 99 OF 1976 OF TH[~ DIST:P.I.CT'., -: . CbUBT or Ul{ER}i',JI' DIS'i'hICT NI' mo.rnmm . . ""i.utaK;y2:w& . ·.~ D ;,.. . t - t 11 Boforc 'J.'i,B·. ----":-=--==--------------------1 ~sq.,____ • __ !•.agJ.s_r°"_'" LWENGWAlJA BIIIIt]Q : : : ;; versus, THE REPUBLIC .... • • • 0 : : .. . ... CHJlRG~: 1st Coua t: Buxglar~, c/s 294(1) of th•~ Penal Code Cap·. 16 of· the Laws. St,,c.iling ()s 265 of the Pcmnl Code' Cap. 16 of the Laws. ·'1'' ,-: Lwcngwana :Biho~no-, ·the .ap·pcllant in this c&GG, was convictGd of tlJ.~, above offcnc0s, by Ulrn1ic~m Distl'ict Court, and scnts,nccd to 3 ye:ars imprisomicnt on let count, and 9 ;nonths i:nprisbn:nrmt on 2nd count, sentence --t6' r;:in concur1 (ntly. 'j:he appclli:mt ,•J2s aggrtcvcd, and h 1nw-:. 1 his appeal to this Court. Thr- apprcllant contends, not unro;,isonabi;:,·:t - · that the case ,·!::i.s no".; provccl bo;yond rcusonablc cloubt, & duty tllat iu on the Ro public. ;:re :naint~ins. in his :ne::no of app:wl, that, idnntific<'.•tion o:f the be:d was, insufficient, and t:rnt; the witn:,sscs conflicted wi·th on:1 another, on his c!xpllmDtibn· J:1cg£,1 ding, th,_, sourc:, ho got the sa:n:: fro:n. 1 The Republic, rcpr:rn::::.-1t(,d b~r the Le. rn,;d Str:,tc f;ttorn:y 1:1r. iiwanyilrn, dcclin's'd to suppo1•t, convictior.., on grounds si11ilar, to.:thosc- :r,ais,,_d: by the appellant.. · -- The facts of thG ,. c1"s:; ar,", thc.t, on 16/10/1976; · Uk:,r<!wc Govurw,•:i11t Rest House, w;;~o found hr9k~n into, and, th,i f'op9uinr:; w.,rc found. 11:l.r:1:::ing:- t.. . ·-· . • .. (1) On<!· spring bc!'d . ( 2) Ono. 11atrc ss _{1) Thia: b~d shHJis (4) One pilm:r and its case. On, 29/10/76, following infornation ~cct:ivcd, the appcllant.s house was scu:rch~1µ,"_rnd, OlW spring b2d cease_?,-"• . 'I'h0. ..:ifJBis-tant' Storcki1·,p:::~., Da;nasi zu.'nbu.l~ P.1·1~2, whos 12 'job,is to ~akc, care of Govcrn'1a11t·fu.h1:i.'.tu:i;1,:! 1 and bedding!?;· wc:.:s tli.c ,ri5ht ;11an to idcr'i'tify tlw Ge.,n<..!, 2s ·aov.-.,rfrn,Jnt . property, fr611 tl1;1 Gove:rni1ont.Rcst·'.Io_us9 •.. _In this :ix0.rci•s", ail :th;.it PW. j said was, as foll6ws:- '' · · ;; ••••• •.• but I did not fail to idc:11tify it . because.,. I was much fa~iliar with it 1 and on .. , sG :ing it, I at onc0 knew th~t it belonged, to the Rest House. 11 I ;nust say, thc::t this is thG 11ost Ul1satisf'actory way of idcntifyi11,1 s·~olcn property. How, for instancs I would P. ~'i..2 cliffcrcntiata such e. bed f: o.n an;y othc,r spring b'1d ol' br,ds in l'Jm1sio. This m:-,s the ;nost undip::•11d,.:ul0 uay of idcntifi~ction. It ~ust be said that prtjp0r idrntification, must u:1ow spe:cial n£n1 ks 011 f:,atUJ:'c,s, thc:t diff(•rcntiatc the c2rticlc, ;from other Di,"ilar articles, th0rnby cc:10:ily (!stablishing owric:'rship. In this case, idcr:.'cificdtion left alot to b:: d::airr'd, and tho is· u-.J ,'· whethc.11 th,:i cpringbcd c;.:u:~e:d, was the one stolen f1•o'lJ the Rest House, cannot cc:tsily b(i positively c:nsworod • . . . . . ../2 - 2 WililC1 tlle c'.pi;2llcnt told ·0h:: court, that hG boug-ht tho bed fro:n on(J Georgu, · t}-:,rc u2s r:.o d<f"ort to trace this Gcor~c, it b~ing cl,:.c,r, it wc,.s not -th:: c.priclL-mt's d.ut;y, to provo his guiltl or 1.nnoc:,:nc::i. WhilG tlL appcll'::r:t, poi:iit::;,f out in his dcfcnc2 1 tlwt he bought -the JiC!lC fro:n one GQ.ol'c: 1 th·: p.•osc _,J.tion cvidc,nc-- ~, c: to wh~t the . . ·. app,Jllant 's c·,:id.,· r::g:~rding lliG posscss,ion oi' -Ci":.: bed, is so conflicting, th::ct, ilV('.Yl the wi tncssa 's crcdibili ty, dn;n211ds to · br, atLntion,,d. Lccm::ding to Po~·;.1- - Di:3t:ric_i; p,,.rr:i,onncl 9ffice:r, th2-accuscd said i~ follows:- · · -- i;i:Jh,-.:n the accus,,d w2,s qtl.G stion:.~d-, -a.s to how, he caa-ic b:, the sprin,::; bad, he told 0 the Police, that he had b~ucht it 1 from one bus-i1E s·s :nan in ff.ansio town: ,.,, t I h,1vc forgotten his 110-Y.:. 11 I shall not concJ.c:nn, F.t-i.l for hisforgr.:tfulncss-,.but wh&t 0·i;I1ikc ,,1, is that P.W.2, who ·vr2s also p1 cs,nt givns a different vcirs_\,:-n, 1 al though both cL,i:n -to lwvc hc,,:i:'d fr°o11 the:' s211c 'notith. · P.-7;:2 ..:tclls tho Court r:,s follows:- 11 }Jhe:n the u ccus'.' d wQIJ ask,: d as to how he cf<:-2 by -tl1(1 stol::n spring b,1d 1 l1n told thn Polic(', thd ho bought it from one Indi:::m So.ndru of N,.msio -tC'"lll during the ye y(o ,:r 1\770, bv:t he did not di sclosc the pui ·ct_0: sir1g . _r;r iot:. ~? ·: 1 Still we have P.t-J.3 Ft:bi2i1i Il,"'bo give his ·owl'l -diffc:rhht ~tory thus:- ;th'l1c1;i tL[! D.ccus::::d ij~,s ·intc11 11 ogatJd- by the Policoi1::n · ,rn to how ho. cDnc bs tha s2--ric: ,. · ha only as;:,,,rt::d, tlrnt -it belonged to h"i11~· 11 ·- llnd P.W.4 B. 7143 Paulo ,.Rutayc burw.::,, has hiS 01hi story to °½CI'.{, 1 as follows:- ~- n •• cio-•.••••. 110_. tol4. ma, tlint it i-1ac his· p11 orc'rty /::lld tho.t he ha'd bou,g'ht if from a c·2rt2in 'rndirm of lfnojc:: ·111r~11sport Co:npahy 1 for -v,ho:n, ric wets working in the yeul' 1971.11 If the appellant said onr~ thing, in- cxplaincttio~1 -of his possossio~1 of the spring bud 1 it strikes .11c as odd, that tlw witnG ssr1s sl:1-ould conflict so much. I havo :above shown how i11i)dquat;,, _. the cvidcncc1 ,of idcntifico.tion · was. l--havG ,/bovc s:1.oh~n thr.: _conf11cting tcsti:nony-. ·_The .. totnl c•ffcct - of this, shows· tlrnt· th( appcsllant, hud cause to co:nplu:i.n. I agrci·'. 'i-/Hh :.:I'. the lc2.r1icd Stotc · ;ittor11cy and. the Dppallent, th2t' on this typed < '' cvidancG, · we cE•m'iot sr.,fr,l;)-' build i:·· conviction·. Tho case, wa0 not proved beyond rc.::ison;:,'.Jlc doubt. Daliva1:1cd this 25th d2y of Novsnbcr, 1977.