FROM KUSEKWA KUSEKWA IN MONDULI
The Court of Appeal has ordered a resident of Monduli District, Baraka Makubi, be realesed from prison with immediate effect where he was serving a life sentence after the justices found him not guilty of defiling a three-year-old girl at Mto wa Mbu area in Arusha Region, as was charged about five years ago.
Justices Lugano Mwandambo, Abraham Mwampashi and Lameck Mlacha unanimously said they saw no compelling evidence that the appellant had committed the offence as charged. They thus vacated the judgement of both the High Court and the District Court and set aside the conviction and sentence for life in prison as was originally passed by the trial courts.
“We accordingly, allow the appeal and vacate the judgements of the lower courts and set aside the conviction and sentence imposed on the appellant, who must be set free from prison immediately unless held for some other lawful cause,” the justices declared in a judgement delivered recently.
The justices found that there was no sufficient and credible evidence to prove the offence beyond reasonable doubt. They quashed the child rape conviction for insufficient, misapprehended and uncorroborated evidence.
They concluded that the victim’s evidence was weak and also feared it was the result of coaching given that the victim’s mother had made sexual approaches on the appellant, which he (the appellant) rejected.
Facts show that the mother of the victim, who was three years old and the appellant lived in one house as tenants at Mto wa Mbu area, Monduli District. The appellant used to run a retail shop while the family of the alleged victim used their quarters for residence.
The alleged victim’s mother had told the court that her daughter went home on June 29, 2021 at 16:00 hours complaining that she felt pains in her private parts. The victim’s father, who was at home told her to take her pot and ease herself. The child did so but the pain allegedly persisted.
The father then notified his wife who also called another woman and together they inspected the victim’s private parts. They later said the child had been defiled.
