Venance Nuba and Another versus The Republic; Criminal Appeal No 425 of 2013: Court of Appeal of Tanzania at Tabora (Unreported)
- Criminal Procedure
- Alibi – Defence of Alibi – Failure to give notice – Effect
- Defence –Failure to take into account the defence Case – Effect
- Evidence
- Identification –visual identification – torch light- whether reliable
- Witnesses – failure to name the accused early – Effect
Held:-
(i) Settled law is to the effect that the absence of a notice required under section 194 of the CPA does not mandate the trial court an outright rejection of an alibi.
(ii) The court is not exempt from the requirement to take into account the defence of alibi, where such defence has not been disclosed by an accused person before the prosecution closes its case.
(iii) An accused person’s defence has to be considered, as of necessity, even if, in the end result, the defence would have been rejected. The principle is elementary but, nonetheless, fundamental to the extent that failure to take into account any defence put up by an accused person will vitiate the conviction.
(iv) Identification through the aid of a torch which is held and wielded by the alleged culprits is most unreliable.
(v) Failure or the part of a witness to name a known suspect at the earliest available and appropriate opportunity renders the evidence of the witness highly suspect and unreliable.