Republic vs Juma Ramadhani and Another (High Court Criminal Appeal No. 9 of 1990) [1991] TZHC 2068 (25 September 1991)

IN THE HIGH COURT OF TANZANIA AT DAR .1:,S SALAAM APFELLATJi; JURISDICTION . HIH COURT CRIMINAL Ji.FF. 9 OF t9'90 IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF MOROGORO CRiliiINAL CASE NOi 298 or 1987 REPUBLIC ERSUS ,·.-·,·•·, •·• • , JUMA RA.M.ADHANI AND ANOTHER JUDGYNT ) ·KYAND0 1 Jc • The appellants JU11A RAl.ItU)J:WI - ~~_. ~~11.,A.LI..X•' -- appeali have been consolidated• Y{e:re ,e-,l,tef-0get.hei- with ·two. other persons by the District Court of MoYogoro, at Morogor of the offence of robbery c/ss 285 and -286 of the Pen·a1 Code and were sentenced to imprisonment for eight {8} years each. The appellants were aggrieve4 and appealed. In their. petitions of appeal they indicated that they did ne>t wish to be present at the hearing of the appeals or engage advocates to represent them. The appeals were therefore heard in hei absence. The Republic was represented by Mr. Senuji, learned.State Attonery. The particulars of the offence in the charge were that on 3g.10.a7 at 22.27 hours the accused, jointlJ and together, .. ' . at Kiiugalo RailwaY Station, in Morogoro District, tole a shot- gun, No. 8335 make Webley, valued at Shs. 3,000/-, and amunition, from Gabriel Mtiand "immediately before the time of stealing assaulted the said Gabriel Mtui with a Sime on his pelvic (sic) in order to obtain the said shotgun." · Gabriel Mtui (PWI), the complainant, was at the time material to the case Station Master of Kidugalo Railway Station in Morogoro .. Region. He testified that he knew all the .accused, as they were all residents of Kidugalo, be-fore 3.0.10.87. He testified as follows on the robbery charged in this Cftse:- "On 30/10/87 at about 10.00 P~•- I was on duty at my Station at Kidugalo.

2 At about 10.27 p.m, I was in ·my office. I had a gun in my office for my own security and fvr my shamba w<,,rks. · It is Wibley_ mak04 I wanted to go out in the Railway Station. I opened the door to go outside the office when I opened the door suddenly the f_irs t accused Junia Ramadhani and the fourth accused grabbed my gun~ The second accused· standing outside my office with a sword (siml ). The third accused Maneno had nothing in his hands. I saw and identified them clearly by the mornlight. The first and fuurth accused held firmly on my gun - while the second accused an:d the third acused were striking my feet. The second accused wanted to cut me twice with his sword but I dogged it.. I struggled very hard with them:• I was over- powered and fell down when the second accused cut me in the back with his sword. I shou-;ed for help but nobody came to help me. At th. were Railway Station there/only two old women wro were asleep· waiting for the :paese}l8er ·train_. 'he accusds then managed to run away with the gun. I rang to the next station which is Ngerengere and illd the Station Master to stop he passenger train as I had been seriously hurt. I infrmed the Ctation Master of Ngerengere on the emergency cal:1... A few minute~ later I was taken by our Engirn-· (Passengers) to Morogoro Government Hospital. I was given the PF3 for treatment. I then ieft for further treatment in Dar es Salaam. I named all the accused persons to the police. The gun has never been found tod~t•• On that day I identi_fied all the accu_sed p,.:::.:ione as I knew them be-f""N• 'In add.1 tio• o•- :tbf1."··-: +~1e 00011 wu!f hrignt.· -I el S'O h1:1.d ample and sufficient time when I struggled with them. I tender my PF3 ~1;hibi t. 11 ,

: • .• ;t s ,_, 3 ,.. KhaA.ija Rashitl Mbambe (PW3'). told th~ _court below in her evidence that she was one of the two women sleeping in the Railway Station Yard as testified bY, the complainant. She confirmed witnessing the robbery of the gun by four youths trom the cimplainant~ . She said she and her colleagUe tried to intervene and help the complainant but tW' were beaten by the robbers. They shouted for help but/the time people started to arrive the robbers had fled and disappeared. She said she was unable to identify any of the robbers as she was a 11 stranger 11 at Kidualo. . ' Reports of the robbery· were mae to Ally Abdallah Malekela (PW4)• They were made on 31.10 •. 87 and the names of the accused were mentioned to him. He (PW4) was Village CCM Chairman for Kidugalo Village.. He summoned other members of the Village leadership and,. having established the &den ti ty a search cf the alleged robber, Thr them was launched. B. 5819 D/Cpl. Hemed (PW2) said he arrested the 4th and 3rd accused on 1.11.07.· On 4._11.87 he received.a police message to the effect that 2nd and !st accused had been arrested in Dar .es Salaam. He went to Dar es Salaam and brought them to Morogoro and all the accused were then charged with robbery.,. First acqused was Juma Ramadhani Mussa (the first appellant herein), the second accused was Selemani Omari Ali, the third . ' was Maneno Hussein Ali (the second appellant) and th~ fourth accused was Haji Mohamed Seleruani •.. In their defences the first appellant,Juma Ramadhan~- stated that he was arrested at Tip Tep Bar at Manzese in Dar es Salaam on 3 .11. 87 on susp_icion of hav.ing been invol vod in the robbery at Kidugalo, _which he denied. The second appellant Maneno Hussein Ally said he was arrested on 31.10.87 at Kidugalo. He also deniec1. robbir.g. the complainant •. The learned trial Magistrate (Kayaga RM) ,ir. an ej_e,1:onte and well reasoned judgment,believed and accepted the eTidence as presented by the prosecution to prove the ·charge •. He then convicted and sentenced the appellants as shown above. The appellants now challenge their .convictions. They have · set. out their grounds of appeal in the Petitions of Appeal they have filed. . ... /4-

4 .. A Mr.: a. . • f th R bl' · htl .af,€Ue-9. b f . i s aenguJl. t1r e epu 1.c rig y . •- --.... e ore me. ?J. support of the convictions, however, the appeals have no merit at all~ As accpted by the trial magistratetthe.robbers (who included the appellants) were known to the cdmplainant before the date of the robbery, He immediately named them and they were arrested. He struggled with them for a considerable length· of time, which time was sufficient for him. -fo recognise them •. I all\ fully in agreement therefore with Mr. Senguji and the trial magistrate that the appellants were fully and correctly identified by the complainant as amongst the fur robbers who robbe~ him of his gun. As already indicated ,therefore, their appeals to; °'his court are devoid of merit and are heraby dismissed. The sentences of eight years' imprisonment were well earned and are hereby confirmed. -· 1 ' I /ltlt//ltr i-7) £.'·! A. A. KYANDO J U D G E ----------------------.. DAR ES SALAAM 25TH SEPTEMBER, 1991. Appellants - absent. Mr. Komba, State Attorney, - for tne Republic. Judgment delivered. (