BY KUSEKWA KUSEKWA
The High Court at Manyara has upheld both the conviction and the 30-year sentence imposed on Ramadhani Idd, alias Mnyampaa, for raping and impregnating a 16-year-old schoolgirl.
Judge Devotha Kamuzora ruled against the appellant after she was satisfied that the trial court had properly evaluated the evidence on record, correctly convicted him and imposed a lawful and appropriate sentence in accordance with the law.
“Consequently, I find the appeal to be devoid of merit and hereby dismiss it in its entirety. The conviction and sentence imposed by the trial court are accordingly upheld,” the judge declared in a judgment delivered recently.
During the hearing of the appeal, the appellant contended that the trial magistrate erred in law and fact by convicting him when the prosecution had not proved the case beyond reasonable doubt, arguing that the trial was tainted with irregularities.
However, the judge dismissed all the grounds of appeal, observing from the evidence tendered in court that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The prosecution had alleged that sometime in December 2018, the appellant had unlawful sexual intercourse with the schoolgirl, as a result of which she conceived. By the time the victim testified in court, she had already given birth to a baby boy.
