Chacha Mwita & 2 Others versus The Republic; Criminal Appeal No. 302 of 2013: Court of Appeal of Tanzania at Mwanza (Unreported).
- Evidence
- Identification – Visual identification- What factors should be considered?
- Doctrine of recent possession – Applicability of the doctrine.
Held:-
(i) Where a witness is testifying about identifying another person in unfavourable circumstances, he must give clear evidence which leaves no doubt that the identification is correct and reliable and must mention all aids to unmistaken identification like the sources of light and its intensity.
(ii) Where a person is found in possession of a property recently stolen or unlawfully obtained, he is presumed to have committed the offence connected with the person or place wherefrom the property was obtained. For the doctrine to apply as a basis of conviction, it must be proved, first, that the property was found with the suspect, second, that the property is positively proved to be the property of the complainant, third, that the property was recently stolen from the complainant and lastly, that the stolen thing constitutes the subject of the charge against the accused.
(iii) For common trade merchandise such as cash notes, wheat flour e.t.c, in the absence of any special mark on the items or in some rare cases, where the serial numbers of the cash notes were recorded, it may not be possible to achieve a proper and adequate identification of a recently retrieved property in this category, by its owner.