By Kusekwa Kusekwa
The Court of Appeal, sitting at Arusha, has confirmed the 30-year jail sentence imposed on bus conductor Said Jumanne, alias Tembo, for raping a 14-year-old girl at Mlimani area, within Monduli District in 2017.
Justices Barke Sehel, Omar Makungu and Eliezer Feleshi ruled against Tembo, the appellant, after dismissing the appeal he lodged to fault the findings and sentence of the District Court of Monduli, which was later upheld by the High Court at Arusha.
“…We do not find any cogent reasons to disturb the concurrent findings of the lower courts, as we are satisfied that the evidence taken as a whole establishes that the prosecution’s case against the appellant was proved beyond reasonable doubt… Accordingly, we find the appeal devoid of merit and hereby dismiss it in its entirety,” the justices declared in a judgement delivered recently.
During the hearing of the appeal, the appellant had contended, among other things, that the prosecution had not proved the case against him beyond reasonable doubt as required in criminal proceedings.
In their judgement, the justices revisited the testimonies of the victim and were satisfied that she clearly explained the whole incident. According to the justices, the victim testified on how the appellant raped her.
They also scanned the evidence of other prosecution witnesses, including a medical doctor, who found that the victim was raped, thus corroborating her testimony that she was sexually assaulted by none other than the appellant.
