Said Bakari versus The Republic; Criminal Appeal No. 422of 2013: Court of Appeal of Tanzania at Tanga (Unreported).
- Criminal Procedure
- Cautioned statement – the statement made after expiry of time – Effect.
- Evidence
- Circumstantial evidence – when it can be acted upon?
- Suspicion – whether it can be acted upon.
Held:-
(i) The basic period available for interviewing an accused person under section 50(1)(a) of the CPA, namely four hours, commencing at the time when he was placed under restraint by the police in respect with the offence he is suspected to have committed. If the time is to be extended it must be done properly.
(ii) The law is well settled that non – compliance with the provisions of section 50 and 51 of the CPA that provide for cautioned statements is a fundamental irregularity that goes to the root of the matter and, therefore, renders the illegally obtained evidence inadmissible and one that cannot be acted upon by the court.