In the High Court of Tanzania, at Tanga Registry, the
Respondents were arraigned for two counts, namely, conspiracy to commit an
offence and trafficking in narcotic drugs. The two counts were, respectively,
predicated under sections 384 of the Penal Code [Cap 16 R.E. 2002] (first
count) and section 16(1) (b) (i) of the Drugs and Prevention of Illicit Traffic
in Drugs Act [Cap 95 R.E. 2002] (second count). When the information was read
over and explained to the Respondents, they all refuted the prosecution
accusation.
Thereafter, three assessors were chosen to aid the presiding
Judge and, after all the preliminaries were done, the trial commenced. When the
respective cases from either side were closed, the presiding Judge summed up
the case to the assessors who sat with her in aid. In their lengthy
deliberations, the three assessors unanimously returned a verdict of not guilty
in favour of all the Respondents. On her part, the learned trial Judge
concurred and the Respondents were, accordingly, found not guilty and
acquitted.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (the DPP) was aggrieved and
sought to impugn the whole decision of the High Court.