Before the High Court of Tanzania, at Mwanza, the Appellant
pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempted murder contrary to section 211 of
the Penal Code [Cap 16 R.E. 2002]. During the trial the three assessors who sat
with the Judge were allowed to cross examine witnesses. The Appellant was found
guilty, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. Aggrieved, he appealed to
this Court. When the appeal was called on for hearing, the Court raised, suo
motu, issues of law touching on what the Court considered to be serious
procedural irregularities attending the trial court’s proceedings, that is,
whether it was legally permissible for the assessors who aided the trial judge
to cross-examine the witnesses and whether or not non-compliance, by the trial
court, with the provisions of the whole of section 293 (1) and (2) of the
Criminal Procedure Act [Cap 20 R.E. 2002] (the CPA) occasioned a failure of
justice.