19790308 TZHC Dodoma2

IN THT HIG-il C0TtT OF Z IA AT. DODOMA CRTh1I1'AL API.L ITo. 118 OP 1978 (Original Traffic Orimina] Cso No. 26 of 1978 5 of the Distr'ict Court of .Dooria at Dodoma) Before: M.G.0 Kajeri, Ridont Magistrate THON.CS Sb MASS PWE AP31LLANT versus' THE RE2UBLIC RESPOflDENT J U D G N E N P JONTH.•N,J. I may e well, say at th$ ouot 'I;it tbero is little to pursuado me t.'.t any of t'.o foui co1v2.otions against which the a cal h'ts been brou,ht .' --irgo: was wrongly reached. Before the lower couj't TT(. .i3 I SSAIE was convicted of four counts under the Road Traffic ct, namely, of driving a motor vehicle while discj. ualifiod from '.riving, careless driving, refusing to provide b1od E'scnon for laboratory test ann. driving a motor vehicl during restricted hours. Fr each of the offonces he was sentenced to a fine and in each case he paid it. It was common ground tht tb. -- . c ];'at on Pobruary 11, 1976 following his conviction fr a traffic offence was Suspended from driving for a perio rf 3 years. That period ha:l not expired when on Janu - ry 22, 1978 he allegedly drove a motor vehicle thereby vilatin.g the bannin order-and committing the other alleged offences as wsll. Pw.4 and w.5, both traffic police officers, were the key prosoci.tii witnesses. Accorcling to them on the relevar.t day, a Sunay, at about 5,00 p.m. they were on duty patrolling along uu Street in .thotomship of Dodbma. That being a Sunday eveniag they re stoping vehicles for prriits allowing thom to e driven byond tvo' e Of clock that •aternoon. In roaines: for the then impending 1 •elerations to mark the first :".ruaivJrsay of' t'b bir±h' of C .C1., thostroot had boon ,dccorat"d mith ratier low—hanging bulbs nnd to ersbxo that they remain)du i - açedheavy duty vehicles had to be kept off that strt, T}o two .policemei were therefore alsowatching out tot at effe6t 1P For a more effective suporvision 1 ii bosrIs wriien to tit off et had been placed at various points along modi. line on that road? itself 32 foot wide., Pw.4 at tb rolci'nt time appears to have taJen a posi.tion more or los opaositc a minor road opening into Kuu Street while P7,5 s';ood abo't 100 metres away clorn. that street., - K ----.,.-- ----w----- 2 - •P44 testit'ied that he saw a cr irith registration Na.$ TI)., 917 bein: driven fran the side road into Kuu Street and tt 21 thour he ci rl]e tnd1 r, lip io imew to be j .. the: to stop in orer . to ;s' frrhis rit, he, ou1d not stop, InYa 1 , h he 'cve c 'ii n',n'orfy irnocking him Town, ri t J. t "r F i' tr t hpoc '•" down one I of.the'sign boaris. Dorn t 'st.r..ot s. hi colleague' 'also ui'succes-ui1y sin tho 'a :.: '; '.c stop. This witness had aparentiv sn t".t car bnia:. .ivcn i to t.,at- street, • the driver 'fai'1ir., to obey a stop sii by i11 0 4 end - knocking clown a, sign board. Thcrcfteç 'ho whornhe identified •'s the •:...eli.'.nt, prope..i ' ' car on -te roa in'. a zag riner, e is the cr ....... ' -c.' it IiL-i hb 'sir.a11ccl at the a:, ellai. :; •;o stop but be-' aair. :,o:oyod t1a : order. They sooiu to hve ben heip1es: f'a sae time intiJ 4 Pw.j , another ;'1ice icer,c:me ale in a jO1ice-,'car. They followed the aaaall.a. t to his ho'ro t- fi' i-e thd already parked tho car there. TIe was then t-: ":ar.. '•c the police station and thereafter to hospital for exaai - iop as h; iQoked clrimk. He however refuso.l to have b1oo speciaen taen from' 'iim for laboratOry. test. an'eellant' a defence wn.s that' he had not been - involved in the alleged. incident, He 'sail he had beencross±nKuu'- Street on fOot in çhe.cora..any of Dw,1 when Ew,3, also a poli6 officer, ordered him to stop allegtr. tht he was the person who had r knocked down the sign board. He- aitted 15o have refused' to have blood saecinon ta]ien from him. He he -rcv:'r axelained that he had seei nopoit in i ccedini to the re"aet ef the medical officer becm'ee he-had notbean 1.a'i,a,:. Dw. 1 in support of the appellant's a.-coant sai,'. he had th:;' day viaited the appellant and, ' the ën'I ae hail left ,beir.' .e ,' a •.ni cd by the anpol.rt. '-, 1 They had been crc .iiia: t he stret who-' ;-c -.i-,''e]it was stopped • by the aolica on an e.11o''drca ' e had caused an accident. Dw.2 the owner of that car r'd 'the apnell'.mt' s • mployer testified to thu effect th-i hiio elf parke that. car by two o'clock and. ta.' on the swiLch.. 'is account wa'-however. a little con:Thsirr-; for, cross_examir:, -J, .'u; S iT he co!Jal not know if thi car 'aod,-b'een driven oat ftea ' ci arkcd it, is a case de:en.dii:,r whnLl 'a credibility, The two eye witnaeu as were clear they s.w c,l.ant driving that afternoon, They- 'ear to h 'ye. '. aen him at close, quarters and the- are1lant being a PerSOn kr,.'ewu to them it ras not - reasonably pbsible for thea to hairs iiu-tei - en anethc'r person for him. '''' '' ''' 3 - It was however his claim under crosox eeiuetion that he had once quarrellod with Pw.4 over a ar. n. Ho shouJd therefore have given the wita OSS ta 0 A. areir. or refuting such COfl5.tjC;fl end his failure to ail him a question to that end would su•.gost he was not scriouslyaccusing the witness of recrirei tion. Be that iu it ny, thc:.t would have been no reason for Pw.5 also caching to put him in trouble. Mr. Mbezi for the a - peilant has urged, tb..t the two witnesses • contradicted each other in that Pw. 5 said he saw the acpellant' s car zig—zag.;ing on the eoa. 1Ii1O Pw.4 made no such reference in his evidence. Tht, of course, was not a contradiction; it was only a discrepancy. It is itself explicable in two ways, that is, eithor that P.4 having said he saw the appellant knock 'doun agn hoard he saw no need to charge him with another act of carelessness or that the a act of driving in Lzig_zag manrer iwi occurred too far dom the ioad for iim to h:we seen it clearly. I am satisfied. that the learned resident magistrate on the evidence before him was entitled to reject the defence and to convict on all the iHur counts and it made no difference that the car upon being •x.anined subsequently a -)pears to have had no dent. Accordh' - nly, the a:peal is dismissed.. Delivered in open con't this th Y ey of hnrch, 1979.. / p i-i. JUDGE