TANZANIA: TRIO SENTENCED TO DEATH IN MURDER CASE

September 30, 2021:

Three people have been sentenced to death after they were found guilty of killing four people, Daily News reported on 29 September 2021.
Mr Aliyu Dauda, alias Hassan, Rashid Athumani and Ngesela Joseph killed four people including two lovers by slashing their throats.
The Court of Appeal ruled against the appeal under which the three killers, the appellants, had lodged to fault the High Court's decision over killings of Vedasto John and his paramour Anastella Paschal, Emmanuel Joseph and Evodius Aloyce.
"We are of the view that the case against the appellants was proved to the hilt. Their convictions were therefore apposite and we find no legal reason to differ with the verdict of the trial court," Justices Jacobs Mwambegele, Rehema Kerefu and Penterine Kente declared.
During hearing of the appeal, the counsel for the appellants had submitted, among others, that the High Court convicted his clients while the prosecution's case relying on circumstantial evidence was not proved.
There was also a complaint on the trial judge's failure to sum up the case properly to assessors.
In their determinations of the appeal in question, the justices agreed with the prosecution that the appellants were not convicted on circumstantial evidence only, as they were convicted on other evidence as well such as confessions in the cautioned statements.
The other evidence taken into consideration, according to them, was "the confessions in the DVD on how (the appellants) executed the murders, expert evidence on DNA which implicated the appellant as well as their lies which corroborated the prosecution case." They held also that the trial Judge summed up to assessors on the ingredients of the offence of murder, circumstantial evidence, electronic evidence, confessions in the cautioned statements, the doctrine of recent possession and lies of the appellants to boost the prosecution case.
"We think the trial Judge left no stone unturned as to render the summing up to assessors deficient of any important point," the justices said.
The appellants were alleged to have killed the deceased John and his paramour Anastella on 1 November 2015. On the night of that date, at about 22:00 hours, the two were on a drinking spree at Kilembo Internet Bar at Kashenge village, Katoma Ward within Bukoba District in Kagera Region.
The dead bodies of Emmanuel Joseph and Evodius Aloyce were found at another area in the same village.