The Respondents were charged along with another person not a
party to this appeal in the District Court of Manyoni at Manyoni in Criminal
Case No. 60 of 2017, with four offences of conspiracy to commit an offence,
arson, assault causing actual bodily harm and grave sexual abuse. While their
co-accused was only convicted of conspiracy and acquitted on the rest of the
counts, the Respondents were each convicted of the offences on all the four
counts. Furthermore, the first Respondent was convicted of grave sexual abuse
on the fifth count. These convictions, which earned each Respondent concurrent
terms of imprisonment ranging from one year to thirty years, were subsequently
quashed on appeal by the High Court of Tanzania at Dodoma. That outcome
aggrieved the Director of Public Prosecutions who has now lodged the present
appeal against the Respondents’ acquittal.
During the hearing of the appeal the Court queried the
propriety of the trial Magistrate’s ruling on whether there was a prima
facie case against the accused and on the way forward if the Magistrate’s
ruling is found to be prejudicial.