By FAUSTINE KAPAMA-Judiciary
THE Court of Appeal has ordered fresh hearing of
appeal lodged by Salum Njwete, alias Scorpion, who was jailed seven years and
ordered to pay 30m/- compensation to Barber, Said Mrisho, for causing him blind
by chopping off his eyes.
Justices Mwanaisha Kwariko, Rehema Kerefu and Issa
Maige reached into such a decision after nullifying the judgment issued by the
High Court for failure to consider some of grounds of appeal presented by
Scorpion to challenge the findings of the trial court, the Ilala District Court
in Dar es Salaam.
“We nullify the judgment of the High Court and quash
the proceedings thereof as from March 28, 2019 to the date of judgment. We
remit the case file to the High Court before a different Judge to rehear the
appeal basing on the grounds of appeal and decide the same as a whole,” they
declared.
During hearing of the appeal, Scorpion, the appellant,
challenged the legality of the judgment of the High Court in not determining
some of the complaints raised in the grounds of the appeal before it, including
omission by the trial court to consider his defence and use of incredible
evidence.
The justices noted in their judgment delivered
recently in Dar es Salaam about six out of 13 grounds of appeal lodged by the
appellant before the High Court were not considered at all, while some other
four grounds were partly determined.
“The position of the law on failure to consider the
grounds of appeal is settled. It renders the relevant appellate judgment null
and void,” they said.
The justices, thus, found that the High Court denied
the appellant a right to be heard in not considering, in its judgment, some of
the complaints raised in the grounds of appeal. On that account, they found
that the judgment of the High Court was a nullity.
At the District Court of Ilala at Samora, the
appellant was charged with two counts of armed robbery and grievous harm. While
he was acquitted of armed robbery, the appellant was convicted of grievous
harm. He was sentenced to seven years in jail and ordered to pay
30m/-compensation to Mrisho.
On September 6, 2016, Said Mrisho, the victim, having
spent almost the whole day at his hair cutting salon at Tabata Segerea in Dar
es Salaam, hired a motorcycle (bodaboda) in understanding that he would be
dropped at Tabata Relini area wherefrom he would take a bus to his residence.
Unexpectedly, the bodaboda raider took a different
route and as a result, the victim was dropped at Buguruni Shell at around 22:40
hours where he found some petty traders selling chickens.
As he was bargaining for price with one of the petty
traders, the appellant appeared and told him, "brother nina shida naomba
unisaidie" meaning in unofficial translation that, “brother I have a
problem can you please assist me."
When the victim
asked the appellant what kind of assistance did he desire from him and before
collecting the chicken he had just bought, the appellant assaulted him on his
shoulder and at the back.
As that was not enough, the appellant stabbed him with
a knife on the abdomen four times causing him to fall down. At that juncture,
the victim heard the chicken vendor saying; "Scorpion ushauwa huyo,"
meaning in unofficial translation that" Scorpion you have already killed
him”.
Thereafter, the appellant searched the victim and took
300,000/- from his wallet and other 21,000/- from his left side. Furthermore,
the appellant took a silver made bracelet from his hand and a neckless from his
neck.
As the appellant was about to take his two mobile
phones, one of the petty traders told him; "Salumu usichukuwe simu yake
huyo keshakufa ndugu zake watajuaje" literally translated means,
"Salumu do not take his mobile phone otherwise his relatives will not know
what has happened to him.”
The appellant then disrobed the victim’s shirt and
drugged him into the middle of the road and asked one of the drivers to knock
him but the latter refused. Afterwards, the appellant took the victim besides
the road and chopped off his eyes and as a result, he lost his sight and became
unconscious.
With the help of good Samaritans and upon gaining
consciousness, the victim was taken to Buguruni Police Station. At that time,
the victim had through a mobile phone of one of the good Samaritans, informed
his wife of the incident.
At the Police Station, the victim was issued with a
PF3 and taken to Amana Hospital. He was subsequently transferred to Muhimbili
National Hospital where the medical report revealed that the victim completely
lost his two eyes such that he cannot see anymore.
Hakuna maoni:
Chapisha Maoni