The appellant was convicted of indecent physical assault of a girl under the age of four. iii) The mental picture that a person has at the time of identification must be the same as when he or she saw the accused and should not be tainted with opinions of third parties or by other factors. Minor inconsistencies do not usually have the effect of leading to the rejection of the witness’ evidence unless they point to deliberate untruthfulness. Facts must be incompatible with innocence of the accused and incapable of explanation upon any other hypothesis than that of guilt. On whether the statement was admissible as a dying declaration, it was held on the place and the footnote thereto that the deceased was interrupted by the doctor yet he might or might not have added something. The accused was charged with eight breaking thefts but acquitted on seven counts and convicted on the eighth. It is explained under section 54 to mean and include both reputation and dispositions. At the trial, evidence of an officer in command was admitted that ten to fifteen minutes after the murder, he had said to the appellant who was then in custody; “why have you done such a senseless act?” a question to which he replied, “some three or four days he has been abusing me, without doubt, I killed him.” The issue was whether this confession was voluntary. Under section 24 of the Evidence Act, a confession made by the accused person is said to be irrelevant if the making of the confession appears to the court having regard to he state of mind of the accused and to all circumstances have been caused by any violence, force, inducement calculated in court’s opinion to cause an untrue confession to be made, the law therefore requires that all confessions be made voluntarily. 225 of 1967] Acts Nos. Under this provisions, that issue is answered in the affirmative. The appellant were tried with aggravated robbery. A person is acquainted with the handwriting of another person where he or she has seen that person write or when they have received documents purporting to be written by that person in answer to documents written by themselves or have in the ordinary course of business, documents purporting to be written by that person have been habitually submitted to them. They thus held that the judge misdirected himself in dismissing the application that he should have been granted both on the ground of inconvenience and expense and on the ground that the court would not be likely to derive any advantage from the presence of the witness. (2) Nothing in subsection (1) shall render any husband competent or compellable to give evidence for or against his wife, or any wife competent or compellable to give evidence for or against her husband in any criminal proceeding. There is no opportunity to investigate his character and nature and neither is his demeanor subject to observation. %���� Per section 29 of the Evidence Act, notwithstanding sections 23 and 24, when any fact is deposed to as discovered in consequence of information received from a person of any offence, so much of that information, whether it amounts to a confession or not as relates distinctly to the facts thereby discovered may be proved. There was also voice identification by one of them and the complainant also claimed that the robbers had spoken to them and he could register the appellant’s voice. Where a confession, otherwise relevant it does not become irrelevant merely because it was made under a promise of secrecy, or in consequence of a deception practiced on eth accused person for the purpose of obtaining it or when he or she is drunk, or because it was made in answer to a question which he or she need not have answered. Although the aim of the prisons Act Where the confession by one person is proved, found relevant and as an indication of implicating another (co accused) such confession may be considered against both. He appealed against the decision basing that the identification was unsafe. Application 2. Section 13 of the Evidence Act provides that facts showing the existence of any state of mind such as intention, knowledge, good faith, negligence, rashness, ill will or good will towards any particular person or showing the existence of nay state of body or bodily feeling are relevant when the existence of any such state of mind with body or bodily feeling is in issue or relevant. x��Xmo�H���؏�SX���VUuhB�!QBZ��~p HG�ۨ��ofmsذ�c{�ם}���9[�'����dY�X-�ȼ�fY���?����_%�m�����t4$��n��Q!�dv����O�431�B�4�y�v8y�g�Μ��;�}�vƠ�;-͙�W�S��$�RÙ��d��bHH� Facts not otherwise relevant are relevant if they are; a) Inconsistent with any fact in issue or relevant facts. See. Court rejected this statement on grounds that it could not establish the relationship of family descent. According to section 59 of the Evidence Act, oral evidence must in all cases whatever be direct, that is; a) If it refers too a fact that could be seen, must be the evidence of the witness who says he or she saw it. Under the Statute Law (Restatement) Act 2002, where this text is certified by the Attorney General it can be relied on as evidence of the law in question. Court gave the rationale of the changes in the law on who can take a confession as follows; “the law was changed because there were frequent submissions some made without justification that some confessions had been obtained by police officers by intimidation or even force. That voluntarily made comments by the witness is often received in evidence as part of eth act of identification but answers to questions will be of less value and of doubtful admissibility. 7. Course. Section 46 states that opinion as to the existence of right or custom may be given by someone who is likely to be knowing of its existence. Section 30 (e) of the Evidence Act provides that when the statement relates to the existence of any relationship by blood, marriage or adoption between persons as to whose relationship by blood marriage or adoption the person making the statement had special means of knowledge and when the statement was made before the question in dispute was raised, then that statement can be admitted in court in evidence. It was held that the voluntariness or otherwise of a confession can only be determined at the trial within a trial. This is provided for under section 14 which states that when there is a question of whether an act was accidental or intentional or done with a particular knowledge or intention, the fact that such an act formed part of a series of similar occurrences in each of which the person doing the act was concerned, is relevant. Court went on further to say that it is true, that in the earlier case, the deceased fell unconscious having begun but not completed the sentence but the principle applies where although there was apparently no unfinished sentence, it is not established that a declarant said all he wished or intended to say before the doctor intervened. The deceased was allegedly shot by the appellant. Sometimes, a statement may not have value of convicting the maker with regard to the alleged offense but may have the value of assisting the police to discover other crimes. Under this provision, facts constituting the same transaction can only be introduced for purposes of explaining the fact in issue. The evidence against co accused means evidence which support the prosecution’s case against co accused in a material respect, or which undermines the defence of co accused, it also means positive evidence which would rationally have to be included in any summary of evidence in which the case which if accepted would warrant conviction of co accused. Majorly, there are three issues to answer in determining the admissibility of a confession; Who can take down a confession? Despite the fact that His Excellency Hon: Benjamini Mkapa (Former President of United Republic of Tanzania) adduced evidence as DW2 for the accused, ... Case laws and reading notes for law students. Court said that they could not base a conviction on a dying declaration unless it was satisfied that the declaration was truthful and satisfactorily corroborated. Facts which are the occasion, cause or effect of the facts in issue, Facts which show motive, preparation, previous or subsequent conduct, Facts which show the state of mind or bodily feeling, Facts which are evidence of similar facts or occurrences, Facts which show the ordinary course of business. Counsel applied that evidence be admitted by way of exception instead of bringing a witness form Switzerland to confirm that he sold the watches to the appellant, court said that it might have been better if the learned magistrate had had evidence before him of the conditions which made section 30 of the Evidence Act applicable. It is a well established rule of prudence that court shall not act when a retracted or repudiated confession has not been corroborated in some material particulars or is not satisfied about its truth. 6 R.E 2019 An Act to declare the law of evidence. University. Court held that it is the duty of every judge ad magistrate to examine with the closest care and attention all the circumstances in which the confession has been obtained by an accused person particularly when that person has been in police custody for a long time before his or her confession. Court decided that a child of tender age could not make a dying declaration. b) There is the ordinary or natural way through which it would have been done. Intention is relevant in criminal and civil cases, for example threats before the actual commission of an offense may reflect an intention. The accused was indicted for kidnapping with intent to murder. Hear say evidence has been defined sometimes as “third party’s assertions” narrated to court by a witness for the purpose of establishing the truth of that which is the assertion. Now let us turn to each of the above aspects in some detail. The appellant was accused of having committed aggravated robbery and was convicted. Expert evidence is not binding on court. Normally, the time at which a particular crime is committed may not be material although there are instances where time is important to establish an element of time. Under section 49, before an opinion is admitted the grounds on which it formed are relevant. 2 0 obj News and Updates 1. Court held that it is established law that when the admissibility of an extra judicial statement is challenged, then the accused must be given a chance to establish by evidence his or her grounds of objection through a trial within a trial. Evidence against co accused is not limited to evidence given with hostile intent, once an accused has given evidence against his co accused a trial judge has no discretion whether or not to allow the former to be cross-examined by the co accused as to his previous convictions although the trial judge must rule as to the relevancy of the proposed cross-examination. It was held that identification parades are as a practice held in cases where the suspect is a stranger to the witness possibly where the witness does not know the name of the accused. 11. Court further stated that it has been court’s mandate to exclude hearsay evidence from the proceedings right from the beginning but in practice parties have a duty to raise objections against certain evidence and where they fail to do so, they may be deemed to have waived their rights. Accordingly, on the authority of decided cases, the statement was inadmissible. When a statement is made by a person as the cause of his or her death or as any of the circumstances of the transaction which resulted into his or her death, in cases in which the cause of death of that person comes into question and the statements are relevant whether the person who made them was or was not at the time when they were made of eth proceeding which the cause of his or her death comes into question. 14 Also, in some senses, most laws pertain to some aspect of the natural or human environment and may be called The witness does not see the accused before they parade. 2013] REFORMING THE LAW OF EVIDENCE IN TANZANIA219 Tanzania Evidence Act of 1967 (“TEA”).1The TEA was initially based on the Indian Evidence Act of 1872 (“IEA”) and has not been comprehensively edited or updated since its enactment in 1967.2The authors of this article are part of a research team from Northwestern University School of Law, led by Professor Ronald J. Allen, which is working with the Program’s committee to review and eventually revise the law of evidence in Tanzania. Generally, matters of opinion are conclusions or inferences drawn by a person in reference to particular instances. No person shall be convicted of an offense under paragraph 1unless of confession made under that paragraph is corroborated by material evidence supporting the confession implicating that person. Language is also important because the confession is taken down verbatim. All that could be introduced under this section was such part of the statement as led to the discovery of something and no more. If the witness desires to have the accused person to walk around, speak, put on a cap pr put it off. this examine the law and practice in tanzania and how court handle the expert opinion evidence The law of evidence encompasses the rules and legal principles that govern the proof of facts in a legal proceeding. A six year old girl was left by her mother with the aplenty and she disappeared. The statement must have been made before the controversy arose. That is, that the author of the statement is not exposed to cross examination in the presence of penal sanctions of an oath. Retraction on the other hand means that although the accused admits making the statement, he now wishes to challenge the truthfulness or the voluntariness for that statement. This evidence was objected to on grounds of hearsay but court held that the mother’s evidence of what her daughter told her was hear say, the child not having been called as a witness there was no basis on which her statement could have been admitted. c) If it refers to a fact that could be perceived, by any other sense or in any other manner, must be the evidence of a witness who says he or she perceived it in that sense or any other manner. This relates to conspiracy where two or more persons agree to commit a crime it becomes a crime at the time of agreement under this section. Both must be charged with the same offence. See. %PDF-1.5 Such presumptions are relevant. d) Facts that fix time and place at which the relevant issue may have happened. No matter how convincing the testimony may be to an intelligent mind, unless unrepresented under fixed rules, it can not be received. The parade is held to enable the witness confirm that the person identified at the parade is the same as the one the witness saw commit the offense. Any fact which shows identity of anything is a relevant fact. That there were therefore co existing circumstances which tend to weaken the evidence as to the cause of death. 4. [1st March, 1971] [s. 1] Act No. Repudiation means that the accused denies having made the statement. LAW OF EVIDENCE NOTES AND CASES IN TANZANIA, Post Comments the law of evidence in Tanzania because the foundation of law of evidence is premised on the accurate, efficient and fair fact finding to legal disputes. 3 0 obj 420 and are made under section 29 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (Cap.423). This Act may be cited as the Evidence Act. ADMISSIBILITY AND RELEVANCE OF EVIDENCE. The opinions upon that point of persons specially skilled in that foreign law, science or art or impressions as to identity of handwriting or finger impressions are relevant facts and such persons are called experts. After O’Brien’s conviction, Jensen returned and later made a statement while saying that he alone was the perpetrator of the crime and died soon. If evidence is relayed to show that he or she was not around at the time of the crime, then that fact contradicts the presumption and is relevant. No. The appellant was charged with and convicted of theft mainly based on circumstantial evidence. 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