In the High Court of Tanzania, Arusha District Registry
sitting at Babati, the Appellant in this appeal, was charged with the
offence of murder contrary to the provisions of section 196 of the Penal Code
[Cap 16 R.E. 2002] (the Code). The particulars of the offence were to
the effect that on the 18th day of January, 2007, at Landanai -
Lemelebo Village within the District of Simanjiro in the Region of Manyara, the
Appellant murdered one Mosses s/o Massawe @ Mkenya.
To establish the commission of the offence by the Appellant, the
prosecution called six witnesses namely. On his part in defence, the Appellant
relied on his own sworn testimony without calling any other additional witness
to supplement his testimony. The evaluation of the evidence by the learned
trial Judge, who was being assisted by three assessors, was to the effect that
it had been satisfactorily established by circumstantial evidence that the
Appellant was the one who killed the deceased and therefore, guilty of the
charged offence. As a result, the Appellant was sentenced to death by hanging,
which is the subject of this appeal.