Koronel Juma Abdallah vs Republic (Criminal Appeal 316 of 2021) [2023] TZCA 166 (30 March 2023)

The case in question is a criminal appeal involving Koronel Juma Abdallah, the appellant, and The Republic, the respondent. The appellant was convicted of statutory rape involving a three-year-old girl by the District Court of Ruangwa and was sentenced to mandatory life imprisonment. His appeal to the High Court was dismissed due to lack of merit, leading to a second and final appeal to the Court of Appeal of Tanzania.

The main facts of the case revolve around the appellant's alleged sexual assault of the young girl, referred to as KW to protect her identity. The prosecution's case was that the appellant, who lived in the same neighborhood as KW's parents, assaulted her while her mother was away. Upon her return, KW's mother found her daughter in distress and noticed signs of sexual assault. Medical examination confirmed the assault, and the appellant was arrested.

The appellant's appeal was based on several grounds, including improper investigation by the prosecution, failure to call material witnesses, and the conviction being based on the weakness of the defense rather than the strength of the prosecution's case. However, the Court of Appeal found all these grounds to lack merit.

The court dismissed the appeal, upholding the appellant's conviction and sentence. The court's decision was based on the strength of the prosecution's case, the credibility of the witnesses, and the evidence of the assault, including the medical examination results. The court found no merit in the appellant's arguments and dismissed the appeal in its entirety.