Republic vs Ezekiel Goodstafu (Criminal Session Case No. 54 of 1999) [2000] TZHC 55 (11 July 2000)

11/7/2000 m T'rlE HIGH CD1JR'r O:E' TANZANIA A'.l 1 DAR E..S SALAAM CRIMINAL SES BI OH CA,SE NO o 51+ OF 199~ RL"'PUBLIC EZEI(rnL GOODSTAFU •••••• ACCUSED Coram - Ao R. l\janento,J Mr. Mtwine S/A for the Republic Charles Sengalawe for the Respondent Accused Present The information read over a'l'ld explained to the accused person in his •·.m language (swahili) and he is required to plead thereto:- It is - - - Bntered as a plea of - - - to the charge • • ,: ~ ... :JLJft:.!.~~"~tt The charge filed is that of murder, but under the circumstances, i"• .ve are of the opinion that we substitute it to that of manslaughter. t?.+J2.. That accused stands charged of manslaughter c/s 195 of the Penal Code. The facts remnin as they are. Order: C'narge substituted to that of manslaughter c/s. 195 of the Penal Codeo The charge is read to the accused in a langtk'\ge understood by him .:md said in Kiswa.hili: It is true P.G. Entered. Ff!9~~~~ The accused stands chm-ged of manslaughter c/s. 195 of the Pen,al Code. That on 30/10/98 at the grounds of Full Gospel Chuch, was preventing the \ -"19-I'en from playing at the play grounds .. That he chased the said children ·oh several times. The children continued to come there and play. He got hold deccosed dccced of the · ·•: .. ··. whom he kicked several times on his body.the ·· · . collapsed and the accused went and stayed in the churcho ~ • The deceased.s body was ~onducted autospasyo T'ne postmortem report revealed tht1.t the deceased suffered head injuries which led to his death., Here is the postmortem report which I produce as exhibit· and it is marked exl1. PI without objection,' the sketch plan of the cite exho P2 and the confession of the accused to a jus-:ice of the peace, i-,hich is marked exho P3. They are all not disputedo That is all., '?}1.13!3-'t.:. I agree with the fo.cts. He fell on the roado .£().E1-:t1. .The accused who is chnrged of mo.nslaughter c/s 195 of the Penal Code and has pleaded g.1il ty to the charge :· bas ogre eel to the facts of the ca.se as o • .:a o/2-

2 elaborated by the. learned state attorneyo He only added thr.-,t the deceased fell on the tarmack roada He is·accordingly found guilty.and tt0nvicted of manslaughter c/s 195 of the Penal Codec A. R. NANEN'ID 7 J 11/7/2000 • §.!..t•tJttr:?.;.V:: No previous records. He is a first offendero SeogD.lo.j-J... (Mitigation): Your lordship, while sentencing the accused, I pray that the following be·considered:- ) ( 1) The accused is an honest person who is :lP.yal to the State and the court. He confessed before the justice of the peaceo (2) The circumstances of the commission of the offenceo The children were three times prohibited and chased from the church groundso The accused got hot tempered and kicked the deceased - noty boys. ]wen the beating thTee kicks shm1s that he did not intend to cause , where serious ,injuries. No injuries at tll in the stomo.ck the witnesses said the deceased v1as kickedo The deceased fell on the tarmack road and he sustained head injurieso (3) The accused has stayed in R/custody for at least 1¼ yrs. If investigation was speeded, he would have been before this court longtimeo So the :per..i.1:d of stay in the R/cwstody be considered as if he was serving (l+) The accused is married with children (2) They need his attentione I therefore pray that the sentence be considered on those lines. f,pTIPEg,: The accused bas been fotmd guilty and e-:mvicted of manslaughter c/s. 19':i of the Penal Code. .He is a first offender.,, He Wafl a watchman of the i .lurch that the deceased was one of the noty boys who resisted three times not to play il'l: the church ground.. '1 1 he kicking of the deceased were not directly the cause of the death, so that had h(?,- not fallen on the tarmack road 1 no injurie:s .-..;c:m.lli have happened to him.,, Together with other factors stated by the learned defence counsel the accused ia sentenced to three (3) years ~nprisonment. 11/7/20000