Zakaria Samweli Kasuga vs Republic (Criminal Appeal 457 of 2021) [2023] TZCA 196 (24 April 2023)

This is a criminal appeal lodged by Zakaria Samweli Kasuga against The Republic, heard in the Court of Appeal of Tanzania at Mtwara. The appellant was charged with the offence of rape, contrary to sections 130 (1) (2) (e) and 131(1) of the Penal Code. The crime was committed on the 26th day of November 2019, against a minor girl aged 16 years, identified as M d/o B, whose name was withheld to protect her identity.

The appellant was initially convicted and sentenced to thirty years imprisonment by the District Court of Lindi District at Lindi. He appealed to the High Court, but his appeal was unsuccessful. Still dissatisfied, he lodged a second appeal to the Court of Appeal.

The main issues raised in the appeal were the alleged contradictions in the evidence adduced by the prosecution witnesses, the arrest of the appellant in the absence of a hamlet leader, and the discrepancy between the summary of facts and the prosecution witnesses' testimonies. The appellant also claimed that the High Court failed to scrutinize the trial court's judgment, which he believed showed that he was convicted and sentenced for an offence committed against a primary school girl, while the prosecution witnesses testified that the victim was a secondary school student. He further argued that the High Court upheld the conviction without considering his defence evidence and that the case was not proved beyond reasonable doubt.

The Court of Appeal, however, dismissed the appeal, finding that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. The court agreed with the prosecution that all the ingredients of statutory rape, namely the age of the victim, penetration, and the person who committed the offence, were sufficiently proved. The court also found that the appellant's defence was considered but was found to be an afterthought, which could not have shaken the prosecution case.