Tanzania Case Law

ally hussein vs republic 2020 tzca 1816 8 october 2020

Court

TZCA

The omission of the penalty provision in the charge sheet did not prejudice the appellant and was curable; the evidence of the child victim was expunged for non-compliance with section 127(2) of the Evidence Act, but the remaining evidence from other witnesses proved the offence beyond reasonable doubt; identification was reliable as the appellant was well known to the witnesses; the age of the victim was sufficiently proved by her mother; and the Resident Magistrate had jurisdiction to try the case.

Source excerpt

• Rape
• Child sexual offences
• Defective charge sheet
• Jurisdiction of magistrates
• Evidence of child witness
• Identification evidence

Read case analysis

20190415 TZHC Mbeya

Court

TZHC

The appellant's plea of guilty was unequivocal, he understood the charge and admitted the facts constituting the offence of rape of a child under 18, and the conviction and sentence were proper in law.

Source excerpt

• Rape
• Plea of guilty
• Appeal on conviction and sentence
• Child sexual offences

Read case analysis

ezekiel hotay vs republic 2018 tzca 428 2 october 2018

Court

TZCA

The failure to recall prosecution witnesses for cross-examination after the charge was substituted contravened section 234 of the Criminal Procedure Act, rendering the evidence of those witnesses without evidential value and vitiating the trial.

Source excerpt

• Unnatural offence
• Procedural irregularity
• Retrial
• Child sexual offences

Read case analysis

20180718 TZHC Dodoma

Court

TZHC

The High Court upheld a 30-year sentence for an unnatural offence, finding the child witness evidence was properly received and corroborated.

• Unnatural offence
• Child sexual offences
• Evidence of child witnesses
• Corroboration
• Voire dire examination
• Criminal-law

Read case analysis

ruth alex vs republic 2016 tzca 634 29 july 2016

Court

TZCA

The Court of Appeal of Tanzania upheld a rape conviction, holding that the appellant’s guilty plea was unequivocal and properly accepted by the trial court.

• Rape
• Plea of guilty
• Appeal on conviction
• Child sexual offences
• Criminal-law
• Guilty-plea

Read case analysis

sita so pawa vs republic 2013 tzca 432 8 april 2013

Court

TZCA

The Court of Appeal upheld the guilty plea for rape of a child but set aside a life sentence, holding that corporal punishment was the proper sentence for this first offender.

• Rape
• Sentencing
• Plea of guilty
• Child sexual offences
• Guilty-plea
• Criminal-sentencing

Read case analysis

20110705 TZCA Mbeya

Court

TZCA

The Court of Appeal upheld Ayoub Moses’s conviction for raping a two-year-old child, finding strong circumstantial and medical evidence, and corrected the sentence to match the Penal Code.

• Rape
• Child sexual offences
• Sentencing
• Corroboration of evidence
• Criminal-law
• Child-sexual-offences

Read case analysis

moses moses vs republic 2011 tzca 30 6 june 2011

Court

TZCA

The circumstantial evidence, including medical reports and testimonies of witnesses, established beyond reasonable doubt that the appellant raped the victim. The sentence must comply with statutory requirements, including corporal punishment and compensation.

Source excerpt

• Rape
• Child sexual offences
• Sentencing
• Corroboration of evidence

Read case analysis