The Court of Appeal of Tanzania

TANZANIA: APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE FOR MAN INVOLVED IN MOB KILLINGS

March 5, 2025:

The Court of Appeal of Tanzania on February 25, 2025 upheld the death sentence of Rhobi Chacha, a resident of the Mara region, for his role in the murder of two people accused of theft.
Chacha, along with a group of almost 50 people, was involved in the crowd’s attack, which led to brutal killings in the village of Nyarwana in the Tarime district.
The incident took place on April 28, 2018, when a furious crowd armed with machetes, arches, arrows and spear captured and fatally attacked two victims.
Despite the efforts of the chairman Makende Village, Joseph Ryoba, to intervene, he was unable to stop the crowd from conducting the attack.
Chacha was then accused of murdering Marwa Ryob and Otago Kinaang’ore. The panel of three judges – Barke Sehel, Lucia Kairo and Amour Khamis – getting into Musoma, issued a judgment on February 25, 2025 in criminal appeal No. 362 of 2021.
After reviewing the arguments of both the prosecutor’s office and the defense, the judges said that there was no dispute, that the victims had died unnatural death. The central question was whether Chacha was responsible.
Judge Sehel stated that as the first appeal the court was entitled to re -assess evidence in accordance with the principle of 36 para. 1 lit. a) the Court of Appeal in Tanzania.
After the review, the judges did not find any advantages in defending the Chacha and maintained the findings of the court of first instance.
The case of the prosecutor’s office consisted of the testimonies of three key witnesses and forensic evidence.
The third witness testified that he saw Chacha among the crowd holding the machete and personally hitting the victims.
The Court found that Chacha was positively identified at the crime scene.
“The evidence of the prosecutor’s office was strong and proved allegations beyond justified doubts,” judge Sehel said. “The appeal has no rules and the judgment is standing.”
The appeal resulted from the judgment by the Musoma resident court on June 2, 2021.
The court granted prolonged jurisdiction to consider the murder case, after the incident in which the crowd took the law into its own hands.
On the day of the attack, the chairman of the village of Nyarwana, John William, apparently called Ryoba, informing him about the situation.
A group of villagers surrounded the unfinished house of Chacha, armed with a traditional weapon.
When the local authorities arrived, they broke into the house and detained two men accused of theft.
However, when they escorted to the village office, Chacha allegedly called the crowd to make them.
The enraged crowd replied, attacking suspicious with stones, machetes and spear.
According to the testimony of a witness, one victim, Marwa, tried to escape to a nearby house, but he was chased and killed on the spot.
The second victim, Otago, was pulled out of his hideout and fatally attacked.
Medical examination confirmed that both men died of severe blood loss and many deep cuts, especially on the head and neck.
Chacha denied the allegations, claiming that he was not there when an attack took place. He stated that at that time he traveled to another village.
However, the court dismissed his defense, noting that he had not provided any evidence to support his claim.
He was positively identified by a key witness, Chacha was sentenced to death by hanging.
During the appeal, Chacha was represented by lawyer David Mahemba, while the prosecutors were led by older prosecutors Charles Kagirwa and Janeth Kisibo.
The dismissal of Chacha argued that the prosecutor’s office had not proved its case beyond justified doubt.
However, the Court of Appeal recognized differently and upheld the preliminary conviction and judgment.