Methew Mashoto vs The Republic (Criminal Appeal No. 63 of 1989) [1991] TZHC 2673 (29 August 1991)

IN THE HIGH COURT OF TANZANIA AT DODOMA CRHfiliIAL APPEAL N0.63 OF 1989 FR0111 THE DECISION .QF THE DIS'mICT COURT OF DODOMA AT DODOMA IN CRii'-11:NAL CASE N0.9 OF 1989. METIIBW }'IA.SHOTO •• t •••• ~ •••• ~ ••• : •• ~ •••• APPELiri'JiIT .VERSUS.,, :·- THE REPUBLIC,.·• .... ! • • ! ~ •• ~ •. • ~ • ~ •• ~ • • • .RESPONllENT ,; ' JUD ·GM ENT RUHOMBIKA, J: This is an appeal against the decision of the District Court of I>odor:ia in Criminal Case No t9 o_f 1.,98.9. in which, th~t court convicted the appellant of robbery with violence c/s 286 of the ~enal Code and sentencad 1 him to seven yeru:s·of imprisonnent under the Minimum Seμtences

• \ I ; ( Act,. 1972, · The appellant. was convicted on 10/4/89 d was therefore sentnced urtdr the_jj1{/ provisions of the Minimun Sentences Act, ·19.7 2, before the enactment of Act No .• 10 of 1989, which amended the MiniTII\Ull : Sentences Act• 1972, wd '·thereby enhcing the punishnent oi.to'bbet! to fifteen years' imprisonment and armed· robbery to thirty yenns of I inprisormerit. It was alleged by the prosecution that the appellant L".i;'ogethe · with othe:r:s who escaped the ends,: of just icy robbed the complai.nant f Pw.1J of his Sanyo Radio Cset,te and shillings eighteen thousand in cnsh, They had to h'.ik' the scid.6ot1plainant wit.h a 1 lsi6.; 11 in order to perpetrate the stealing from him •. This was during the night of 5th January, 1.989. The coraplainant·, who mana..3ed a guest house und a bar, explained.at the trial thc.t.during the afores2.id night ha was on his way to his guest house. At a dark nook there emerged three people in front of hira.. .il.11 of a sudden those people attacked hi1i1 by cutting him on the head with a ,;sime 0 and robbed hiE1 of the radio cassette. As there was electricity light, he uar12,ged to apprehend the appellroit who had the 11 siwe". The others r~ o.way. The complainant then shouted out for assistance and people cc.r)e out to assist. \ ••• /2

• :.· - . : ,l ,, r Ji,\ .:.:)':·· •r,,. ; t~< ;~ ~~\ '' 2 Tho evidence on record furth.Jr sh.::iws th:::.t as the cor:iltln2.11t grappled with th-3 al)l)ell::i.nt he uanagecl to over:_)owcr tho n.ppollrmt ' nnd therefore 2,fr.::: :::. :~ .. :. ::;n tlw ground.I) Tho watck:ian/J~!..!.37 is the first pers0n 'who rushed to the scene o He heard shouts and dn.s:10d out to see wlnt was n;:u.s.3, -Io f.;uncl tho con?l:linant lying on to? of the a;oll:mt Yt10 had b0en overoworcd, 11110 w2:clr.J.3.Il clo.i::1__,d to h:we s.:;0n tho O.:Ji-·Ol12J.--it out tho coaplaino..n because there was electricity light th:.it ena'bl..:id hi,.1 to s.:ie clearly,, This witn0ss wo.s nlso injured wi t1 tho a sine" ;:,n l-ris noce. The n.):)olb.nt who hclcl th.;: ' 1 ain:,:; cut L1.1J.o ThG watch.;J.::-,n :x1.11n.gc-: to talc.:: o,w':ly the asino: 1 • This ' 1 sine" wo.s m:iclucec! o.t tl1c tricl £Exhibit P1 7., Fron tho scone of criu_o th-} ap:. cll3.,--it s _thon to.ken to the- policcfotatj :m, Tho other witness who rushGd··to the SCJ10 of cri;'1e is PW2o Whe.n he arrived there he f Junq. the yfatchr.;a11 £P''. 5J. alr0n.dy inju1·0cl9 i The co:J)lo..inant was at thf1t tLw lying on tpp of the a:.;iJclL:mt who was ovGl."j_)OW;)red_. ·rhcrc is: tot· it cvi,:{onc0 of P-J. 4 uho olso r0s:;ondent to tho .z.fili.!lli by the 00::.iplni.rit II9, dti.ahod to s..::e -:md f::iund the co::.1plnin.?.nt alre2.cty injured,, P'.! ~ 5 6 o;rn\ o. siniln.r a.ccount n.s tho . af,)ror..1onti0ncd :i_)r0s-:..::'1 i :-: ·:': :.:·, - ,., : ,:::, . Th~ P.f.3 ;·.1.:,dical rcj_)ort fom["'Erlμb:i.t Pz.} shows-th.t the co::i.::,la.in:int [',.'J1;J..1DUS G,:J3RI::nt_J ouff orocl a cut w;:,und. of ::1.'.)out 5 ens· in l0n{;th on tho sccl :J.t tho contrc~ iUhough thJ ch:i.rge sl10ct in::licatcs tlmt tho cor.:ipl:;.in:mt was a.lso ro)'!Jod of shillings oight0011 th;:,us:md in each, the coD:i_Jla.inc.nt hi;:isolf ["who sl1Julcl know bostJ C::.00s not tell us clc:2'.i:lz l1ow this ,.1cm0s wo.s robbod.. Ic so.y_s noiJ'll:P-...B: no;Jut th0 uonoy in his mm tosti:.1ony at th0 trfo.l. ifo only says: nThoy th,m took the rn.d.io' 1 , it is PW.2 I who s·1id in his evidence th:.:d; tho c,x.1pln.ir.t hn.d t'.:.kon Glullings ::.:.;;ht c n thousc.nd · ·w:... t:,. ....:i.;;. D.l1d a. rc1clio th.:in 10ft, PW 3 talks of tho ra-::io D.nd the ::.1on0y, but h0 only s::.ic1 :: .. .':11,;i-IDU.J to0k ('.. ro./:.io .:mc1 wont t.) tho 6 11-:ist house. Ifo ho..c'l also s-:G1.J r_nn0y ti6.:l in :J. :;>oclc-.:rV 1 • . .. In his clef .:me ::1t t;.10 t:cio.J. ":ho n.:):.;>Gllnnt s:>id: I ro::w:.1bor on 5/1 /89 I ws going to Ma.j0ngo thr.)UGh Bu rond. I t_,0k a book frou :.ry fvllow stucbnt C1.t Bclri · cl I w2-s suddenly c;_:>turJd(sir::) 'uy tho c0:::r;;,lo..in:'l1t wh-:i Ind a :·sL10:;'::- .. ncl. w:-:.,s blo.}d.:ing. He sta.rt.-:ic: t•J b0:1.t : ... , .::: . .n:.. I wn,8 a!i.:uting

3 : PeoplG C2.itl0 there c:nd the first pooplo to cor.10 helped the cor:iplo.inent to b"1o.t ne. When peo]?'.l,,C cc..L1e thoy res cured. me and sent me to the police station. They aileged I robbed a ro.dio csotte. I was lntor s0nt to hospitai. In his petition of appol, the appello.nt mom1ts on attack on · e;pedibUity Tho . · . · of tho prosecution wi tnossGs. Trying to ·show that thoy should not be believed. But tho evidence in totality is credible, cog0nt Md consist8nt. I This court is not impressed by tho ovidcncc about the robbery of the eighteen thousc-nd shillings boccusc tho co1:.1plain.int hiusclf did not give evidence to show how tho.t rnn9;y -T2Z robbed awc;y fror.1 hin. Tha court is prp.?..rcd to bolfovo in the evid,mce thd -the. rc,dio cassette wc.s robbed because the cor,1pla.inc:nt hi;:1.3-2lf together with the other wi tnessos g2.ve evid.anco rd::1ting to that rr'..clio cassette. Although tho other p0oplo who wore in the c.ppello.ntts cc.opany escc:.pcd the ends of justice, the o..ppellc.nt w1S properly convict0d us he is clco..rly a E2.Xtic0ps crininis £suction 22 of the Pvnnl Code is rulevc.ni/, What tho C:.pj_)ollc.nt sc..id in his d.Jfoncu, what is contc:.ined in his petition of n.pfunl, end what he has subutted oro.lly before this court during the hec.ring of the nppenl, n,r,.10W1t to n. }1ild-goose cho.so in tho light of the o.vc.ilable evidence against hiu. In the rosult, this court finds tht the appellant wcB properly convictvd· of having tdcon pD.,rt in rob'Jing tho cori1pluin2.nt of his radio C8,Sctto ruorcsc:.id1 H-::waver, tho court hos discovered thnt the tri:11 court did not pclce o.i1 order for coL1ponsdi:Jn in relr1tion to tho property held to ho.ve bc0n rotted. Tho trial court found tho afpellant guilty of ro 1 ,bery 2.$ chc.rGod, The cho..rge indicn.tGs thd the robbery involved c, ro.clio cc,ss0tto ::-nd shillings .oight00n th0us::nd, Th8roforo, it follows logiually thd the trid ;! • court ought to hve r:io.do en order for the pc,yr'l-:mt of cor:ip(:nso.,tion for the: :prop.;rty robbed. But, c-,s obs0rv0cl <.::rliJr, this court hc-J3 not I boen sdisffod with the od1Lmce r0lc.ting to the robbery _of the 1:.1oney. ' .-./4

4 But the court acceps the accepts the evidence for the robbery of a radio cassette only, Therefore, having found that the appellant was a party to that crime of robbery, and as a result of which a rad.io cassette wes robbed, but that the appellant's companions ran away with it, under the provisions of section 22 (b) of_ the Penal Code,the appellant cannot escape the damning orde;r to pay compensation for the; radio. cassette robbed from the appellant. !rt\ this respect, the record of the lower court is to 'be rem tted to that court under the direction that the appellant be s,unmoned to appear before that court for the purpose of making the order for compensation relating to the radio cassette robbed and which was not·recovered DODOMA 29/8/91 • I nJn~

• ,,l-f -=;: ( R-.-J-.L-.-RD_hJ,.3J1(1,1.) J1f.1:GF: -- Delivered in, chambers this 29th dP-y of Aug, ,st, 1991 , and ih the presence of the an;,r->'J bnt nnd Mr~ 10.f1in0::i - State ki,~or--y £or. the Republic.· ~ 29/8/91 .• JUDGE .... __ _ Court: The appellant is informeo. of this rights of furlhe:r. appeal · to tbo CriU:ct of Appeal DODOMA _ 29/8/91 .I acc0r· ~.· -~ ; .. ' the )revision.; of the law. ~ /1 r: 1i,!J)c__ . ( R.j.L~ ~;~iifa) JU:DGE (