The Appellant was convicted for murder under section 196 of
the Penal Code [Cap 16 R.E. 2002] after a full trial before the High Court of
Tanzania sitting at Mbeya. He was sentenced to the mandatory death sentence. It
was alleged that the Appellant caused the death of one Alex Aliko on 26th
April, 2012 at Lubara area, Rungwe District within Mbeya Region. The prosecution
led evidence to the effect that the deceased, a secondary school student, was
sharing a rented room with the Appellant, an employed herd boy at Lubara area.
The room they were occupying was within a house owned by a group known as
Fokolale Movement which Getrude Mwalusanya (PW1) was a member of. Prior to the
deceased’s death there was a long-standing conflict between the deceased and
the Appellant over the room.
In defence the Appellant totally denied killing the
deceased and said he was just as shocked as anyone else that his friend whom he
believed had spent the night studying with other scholars, was found dead. He
referred to the conflict he had with the deceased as a fact but dismissed it as
having been minor and which he knew would be resolved in the course of time.
Nevertheless, the trial court went on to convict him of the offence charged
with and sentenced him accordingly, hence the appeal ant hand.