19870817 TZCA Dar es Salaam

... ( CORAM& MUSTAFA, J.~A., OMAR. J .A. And 'MAPIGANC', Ag. J .A.) . ·cRIMIM~ APPEM.···~o 9· i981 · > OF: ~. SHOZI.AlllDREW. ... APPELL~T -i J"': ~~ ~ .. :.1,.·. VERSUS ~-•-.:,;_ ,«1··· •• • f. •·r • ~ -- .. ~~ ·• ! "' - . ..: •1·: ,•: • THE-~EPtraLIC. •~ •••.• , • , ~ • RFSPr~D~T ; \' ;_; · · :': · (Appeal from the 0onvi.oti on of t-he C~ ;. •• ~•Htgh:aourt ·of-"'Tanzania at Tabora) • •: . . -. :· :-~ . ·.. ;;' ·(Rubalna, J •) dated the 12th day of -, ·-· -~ '.~uli, ·1985 . in JUDGMJ,l~T OF ,'.t'HE COURT. ----. 2 - by this court. '!'bis court has the opportunity to assess his demeneaUl'. He wa9 nothing but a competent and credible witness"i 'l'h~ appellant's appeal agdffet oc:m✓icl'llioh 1:1.nd. senten.oe to the ~gh Co'lll't was tinsuooeaatu.11 'the ·'ai>t>e11~ w~a gi i,.Jefi · leave tb appeal to thi,i Court out of ti.me by the High dourl which ~ertified the following points of law for our oonsideraU01u 11 1. In .what oiroumatanoes would the evidence of a obild of fend~ years, given· an oath or affi•rma,tion or without suoh oath or affirmation, ftn the basis ·of a conviction in the absence of -orl'Obol'a'tt'lii? 2• Would failure by a oourt to state that it bas warned itself be fatal to its deoision? 11 We will deal with the app6llant's. appeal o~ly on ground 6 ~oh__ alleged that tht3 ,.· Big~ Court judge bad misdirected himself "on the evidenoe ·of' obildri!ll wbiob need

oo:r~ratiett : and whioh was laoking. Suob evid~nce could 11ot be basis of , ' conviction". We refer to section 1~7 of the Evidence Act which deals .., .:in part wi:1:11 ch£1d wi't~'ssses·=} ,.· •; t :. · •,;;. ··1 : · .• ·' ' · · ·'.,:- ':!.~ : •• .• : !~: ", ~ ~· ' . •".l.!' • ;·: I ' ) '. i t'i ," t ~; t '.: · ;· : f~ r-_ t Seo~!'cfo: 127 {2} re~d'.s:· ~-' "· ·:i ... ·"Wner~ is' an,y •oriaiinal' .. ca:use·, or 1matter ·any ·child· 1 ,,::,: ~- ,· ~f .te~~.ez:. y,~~s.-.1.a·. _caj.led. t■ .!:!- w~~rte.s_s:..d.oes riot,,- .. - . in t4e opin~on ,!lf the cour~, _understand the n_ature an· '·) of oatn•,/'h'ier' e\iiiieno-e ·maf~oe :teoeNed·,: :thoUgh ·no~ ii .,,J ~t, ,._.•lfPt~en ~~n.:.o~'tlh,.q:r-.. a~fj,_r~p.,tiqn.;-~f :irt t4,8· oP.;~on .-~ti.,y,, .. of the court, to be recorded in the. proceedings, he - - .;,~ POfl,Bessed o~ suffioient int~~ligenoe _to justify t~~ _ieeept_ion r1 ot.. hi'it evi_'d·enoe· '"ancf 1~ders't~rid' the'. cf-tlty--.of ·sp\~aking;,the ·11ruth'•. i_ •• :· t·~•: •:i' · i ' · ·, · - _.,, ,:.;· ·! ~-~~··.,·r. . -~~~ !·:J ":'·.~:·.t~ .. , t,~ ~. o: ·:. ·· ~. :: • (i) NciM'tb'ti'taii.dlng;; ·-any '·'rtil'e·· ot l"-aV~''·'t:l1'e~o8ntra2'f where evidence received by virtue of sub-section (2) · ii'"giv~n:~on :l?·i.hal'f of '!;he···i#dse·~ut'i;o?f 'anii ,i:s 1 :iiot'';'.; cor:i•o"bo'rat·ed 'oy \i.ny dtber~tnat'eri'a:f "enlieno e in :~P~·PPo.~t .of,~~,

.\mpli~~ti~'",\l].~ }~·o_o~ed_t., .,111>,e ~urt, :,• ·may, after--warning i ts·elf 'of' t·he·'dan'ger of doing; so;• "' . ·~~. ~.,{.~i-:-r; :-:~ot .. qn ,:t~t ce~dence, ,::t.o.LCOJ;l'l,i-Q:t ..t~.e:,aCP.used. if: .. i.t:~ , 0, . , ,, ,. ~~l),Y s~_~i.sf_~ed tpa_t .~h.~. chi;~1 -~s ~tel;t~n~ e.9.~~?:~ ..- . '' '1· · -r., "'but·'1;he''tr'lith 11'.··' 1· ,l.,l., ... · ... •·••·· ~·- •,c .. ,. -..,:--.J.,. ,~ ~··-- __ ,i<---~1;[~\~~- view, in terms of the above 1,rovisions, the sworn. t•~ony ."of a obild ~f-t~~der years, does not. .nee4 o<;>rr9boraUon. '.}~' •.,~''.i./j;'~- ,, ct · • ··1 1", . . . .~ •· ,... ~' I ...'. ' . ~ .... ·'J~.... , ' I ~-~:> ·~ lo .<~ . ., ,·. i '' ;._' 1 .,,_ : • ..!• .1.·~ ," \ ·: ,; " ·' ,._... ~ ~ ~-ti.r~t ·:;'.···i<··.-.·-·.(r,.: ~. =. t, • r.:..:~ .... 1, ~ ~, ' • . : \ • ·, : :.: ~.f! .. l ~• . .,., -~---- .~'\; ;-'· .•. :-1_ .. ,. ·1"~---~ . ...... .....' ·, : I. ,· · ' ; • J :, .... ·• '-~· .... . ~'-~·._ ~c...._,_.._c..c:..."'.-""',,...,-~ctt~l!,.S' ;f§'-=•£::·~~,::~_?:::-~~.·~--,~.,~-.·"":~:!"'.............. ..~.;... 3 - It can be treated as any other sworn testimony. It is interesting to contrast this new development in our law with that in England regarding child witnesses• In Archbold Criminal Pleading and Practice 40th Bii tion para 1431 ~and-- para: 1432 and para 1433 · deal with corrobora·n.on of children evidence. Briefly if evidenoe is

given .unsworn, corroboration is necessary as a matter of law. Where however the evidence ~ s-~orn ( in whioh case although the evidence need not :t>e I . ) corrQborated a.a a matte.r of law )the jury should be w~ned of I 'the danger of acting on uncorrobol'ated evidence. convict. on such. evidenoe, if bearing the warning in mind 1 thE1Y 'l'hey-.rn~ :J .. j--1~ ,. are none the less 001'Vinoed that the witness is ta1;;1tg. .. ; the truth). '1 1. ,·ln so far as. this appeal is .o0noerned we are satis.fied-~ ! the evidence of P.W.l did not need corrobol'aU-o~ an(!. -th.at it could form the basis of a conviction. In- answer to the question of law posed by the High ~ t , we think that the sworn evidence of a ohild does not need- corroboration and the unsworn evidence of a child is G<JVer!l_ed . t . by ;_the provisions of section 121 ( 3) of the Evidence ,~, Act a.a regards ccrr~boration. . . ',the appe?,l is dismissed .• '.-~..... . ;..~ ' .. -- DA~ED at MWANZA t~~~- l?th day of August, 1987 .. . ,,•,i A. MUSTAFA JUSTICE 9F AFPEAL • ...I certify that this is a true copy of the cri-ginal-.- . ~l(,t (J ~ H. M',OF'ey) Dl!FUTY REXlISTMR• • . • ,.) I iI I ·I • • • • '..' - · , •• - ~-- Lo ·: ,:·,. , ,,'.~ •• • /- ; ~-- -: ~~--_,:_-._~±¼'£';,;;'=-;...-:,,,,~,,,,..~··, ,. _:-:;f::c:'~:o::;:=. ,: _.--~-~c., -22bi)l~ ~ > C .1d