"Fiat Justitia Ruat Caelum"

Ruling in Babu Seya`s case postponed

Court of Appeal yesterday adjourned the highly anticipated ruling of ‘Babu Seya and his son for a future date yet to be set. 

The two Congolese musicians Nguza Viking, alias Babu Seya and his son, Johnson Nguza, alias Papii Kocha, were  sentenced to life imprisonment for raping minors but their defence advocate, Mabere Marando is requesting the Court of Appeal to set them free because ‘evidences produced in court was erred in law.’ 

Making his submission yesterday at the Court of Appeal before a panel of three judges led by Nathalia Kimaro, Mbarouk Mbarouk and Salum Massati, Marando claimed that some of the prosecution witnesses did observe the provision of the law to receive the evidence of the children and requested the court to throw away the evidence and to set the convicts free.

He claimed that in a statement given by lower court magistrates which convicted the accused, one of the witnesses testified that there was another door in the house of the convicts which can be used by any person without being seen which is not true.

Also, the statement claimed that most of the children were brought by a shopkeeper identified by the single name, Mangi but the prosecution didn’t call him to testify and according to him that is another sign of a liar.

Marando continued to say the witnesses had also mentioned a person named Zize who was also supposedly taking children to the accused house but the prosecution again didn’t call her to testify.

The prosecution side led by Principal State Attorney, Jackson Mdaki claimed that the application filed by the defence has no Locus stand because the section specified is used to open civil matters and not criminal cases. 

Court records show that the applicants and the two freed Babu Seya sons were arraigned at the Kisutu Court in 2003 charged with ten counts of raping minors.

The four were convicted of the offences on June 25, 2004 and sentenced to life imprisonment and each ordered to pay 2m/- compensation to every victim.

They appealed to the High Court, but the appeal was dismissed on January 12, 2005 by Judge Thomas Mihayo, as he then was. Still dissatisfied, the four petitioned the Court of Appeal which delivered its judgment on February 11, 2010, acquitting Nguza Mbangu and Francis Nguza.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Brazil judge suspends construction on Amazon dam

[JURIST] The Brazilian Regional Federal Court for the First Region (TRF1) on Tuesday suspended construction on the Belo Monte Dam in Brazil's Amazon rain forest on grounds that environmental commitments have not been met. The decision is summarized in a statement on the court's website, detailing Judge Antonio Souza Prudente's suspension of the project's environmental license in addition to the suspension of construction. The decision also imposes a fine of R$500,000 for a breach in its terms. Souza Prudente agreed with the argument that the original license did not remain valid after construction violated environmental standards. In its consideration to grant the preliminary injunction, the TRF1 reasoned that the environmental impacts already negatively affected communities because of social tension due to the increased migration to the region and decreased quality of natural resources. Construction on the Belo Monte Dam can only resume once the Norte Energia consortium that is building the dam honors its commitments.

In August 2012 a judge in Brazil ruled that construction on the Belo Monte Dam must stop until local indigenous communities were allowed to voice their opinions on the environmental impact of the dam. The Brazilian government declared that the dam would help make Brazil more self-sufficient in energy. However, many environmental and indigenous rights groups have condemned the project, arguing that the dam will destroy wildlife and displace thousands of residents in the Amazon. In his earlier decision, Souza Prudente ordered that the Brazilian government must consult with native communities before any further construction on the dam proceeds.

Source: http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/10/brazil-judge-suspends-construction-on-amazon-dam.php

Ntagazwa freed in false pretence case

Dar es Salaam. Former Cabinet minister Arcado Ntagazwa yesterday failed to prevent tears after the Kisutu Resident Magistrates’ Court acquited him in a case where he had been accused of obtaining goods by false pretence.

Mr Ntagazwa, a former State minister in the Vice President’s Office (Environment), was charged along with Senator Julius Miselya and his son Webhale Ntagazwa with illegally obtaining 5,000 caps and 5,000 Tee-shirts worth Sh74.95 million the property of Mr Noel Severe.

According to the prosecution, the accused had promised to pay the owner of the goods within a month, but failed to do so.

Ntagazwa, who stood at the defendant’s dock, shed tears when resident magistrate Geni Dudu announced that, together with his co accused, he was free after prosecution failed to prove the charge beyond reasonable doubt.

“Prosecution failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt, as a result of which doubts emerged. The court sees the accused as not offenders and is setting them free,” ruled magistrate Dudu.

Elaborating the judgment, magistrate Dudu said that evidence did not show that the accused intended to obtain the properties by false pretences as prosecution said.

Mr Dudu said that according to defense documents produced to the court, including minutes, showed that the Afford Company during the trustees meeting, in which Mr Ntagazwa and the first accused (Miselya) were among the trustees, approved a budget for printing the Tee-shirts and caps.

The magistrate said that, all the events showed that the order sent to Visual Storm Company to print the Tee-shirts and caps was not fraudulent... people sent the order believing that they could pay, he noted.

He further said that, even the nature of the properties were not for business purposes, the Tee-shirts were to be distributed free-of-charge to the society so as to get a message about a campaign against corruption.

“The order did not show the motive of false pretences and it’s my opinion that even non-payment of invitation was truly interrupted by the newspaper which published information that the Tee-shirts belonged to a political party and caused sponsors to withdraw the funding,” said magistrate Dudu.

After the judgment magistrate Dudu advised the victim, Mr Severe to file a civil case so as to get his right.

Source: http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/News/Ntagazwa-freed-in-false-pretence-case/-/1840392/2050954/-/t0wlqez/-/index.html

Michael Jackson doctor Conrad Murray released from jail

Conrad Murray, the former doctor convicted of causing Michael Jackson's death, has been released from jail.

The former cardiologist served less than two years of a four-year sentence after being convicted in November 2011 of involuntary manslaughter.

Jail records confirmed Murray's release and the sheriff's office said he left a Los Angeles jail at 12:01 on Monday.

Jackson died on 25 June 2009 after receiving a lethal dose of the anaesthetic propofol from Murray.

The singer had been out of the public eye for several years but was preparing for a series of comeback performances at the O2 arena in London and Murray was serving as his personal physician.

Murray, 60, had been sentenced to serve four years behind bars, but a change in California law allowed his jail term to be significantly reduced.

Licence revoked

The former doctor's medical licences remain suspended or revoked in the US states where he previously practised medicine.

According to ABC News, Murray's legal team is filing petitions in Texas to have his medical licence reinstated.

"He's pretty confident that he'll be able to practise medicine again somewhere," Murray's legal representative, Valerie Wass told the US broadcaster.

Murray is also appealing against his conviction, although an appeals court has questioned whether it needs to hear the case.

Murray previously maintained clinics in Houston and Las Vegas and complained on several occasions about conditions in jail following his conviction and before his sentencing.

He was allowed to serve his entire sentence in a Los Angeles jail instead of a state prison due to a law which allowed nonviolent offenders to be moved to local prisons to limit overcrowding.

''Dr Murray has not received any special treatment in jail and in fact has many less privileges than most inmates because of his notoriety,'' Ms Wass said earlier this year.

She said he was "very much looking forward to his release and getting on with his life".

According to ABC News, Jackson's mother, Katherine Jackson, said the singer's family hopes Murray "can never practise medicine again and will not violate his hypocratic oath and hurt another patient".

She filed a wrongful death suit against concert promoter AEG Live LLC in 2010, claiming that the company was negligent in hiring Murray to tend to her son.

Earlier this month, the jury ruled in favour of AEG. It determined that Murray was not unfit or incompetent to serve as Jackson's tour doctor.

''That doesn't mean we felt he was ethical,'' jury foreman Gregg Barden said of Murray after the AEG Live verdict.

Murray told police he gave the pop star nightly doses of propofol to help him sleep but lacked the proper medical or monitoring equipment required to administer anaesthesia.

Source: BBChttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24704030

China anti-corruption activists on trial in Jiangxi

China has put three anti-corruption campaigners on trial, in what is being seen as part of a crackdown on activists under President Xi Jinping.

The trial of Liu Ping, Wei Zhongping and Li Sihua, activists associated with the New Citizens' Movement, began in Xinyu, Jiangxi province, on Monday.

They were detained after taking photographs with banners urging officials to disclose their assets.

Mr Xi has called for a crackdown on corruption since taking office.

Ms Liu, Mr Wei and Mr Li were arrested in April.

They were initially detained for subversion, but the charge was later changed to illegal assembly, activists and lawyers say.

Zhang Xuezhong, one of Ms Liu's lawyers, told Reuters news agency that "serious procedural problems" had been found in the case, and he was "not optimistic" about the trial.

Defence lawyer Pang Kun also told reporters that he had been detained by police on Sunday.

Tight security was in place for the trial, with lines of police blocking roads outside the court.

A number of Western diplomats who had attempted to attend the trial were blocked from entering the courthouse, AP news agency reported.

Since Xi Jinping took over the leadership of the Communist Party a year ago, his government has launched its own anti-corruption drive, the BBC's Damian Grammaticas reports from outside the court in Xinyu.

But Mr Xi has also overseen the broadest crackdown China has seen in recent years, our correspondent adds.

Several activists in the New Citizens' Movement, which calls for more democracy and government transparency, have been detained.

In July, prominent lawyer Xu Zhiyong, one of the founders of the movement, was detained on suspicion of having "gathered crowds to disrupt public order".

Earlier in October, wealthy Chinese businessman Wang Gongquan, who is considered a key supporter of the movement, was also formally arrested on similar charges.

"Liu, Wei, and Li are canaries in the coal mine for how the government intends to treat this influential group of anti-corruption activists," Sophie Richardson, China director of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

"Anything short of acquittal will seriously undermine the credibility of the government's claims to be cracking down on corruption," she added.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-24700026

Egypt court dismisses charges against former VP, ElBaradei

[JURIST] An Egyptian court on Saturday threw out charges against former vice president Mohamed ElBaradei. ElBaradei, who served as vice president in the government set up by the military, stepped down in protest of the violence directed at protesters. It was this abandonment of his post that gave rise to the charges of "betrayal of trust." The violence was in response to sit-ins calling for the reinstatement of Mohammed Morsi. ElBaradei, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005, has also served on the UN nuclear agency and was the co-leader of the secular National Salvation Front (NSF).

Controversy continues to surround the transition following the Egyptian Revolution. Last week an Amnesty International (AI) report showed Egyptian security forces used live ammunition to disperse protesters. Earlier this month an Egyptian court set the trial date for the Morsi for November 4. Along with Morsi, 14 other leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, including Essam el-Erian and Mohammed el-Beltagy, will be tried on the same day. Earlier this month the Muslim Brotherhood filed a lawsuit appealing a court verdict ordering the interim government to seize the group's assets.

Source: http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/10/egypt-court-dismisses-charges-against-former-vp.php

Uamsho lawyers call for disregard of bail appeal

LAWYERS for ten Uamsho members facing criminal charges before the High Court in Zanzibar on Friday asked the Court of Appeal to reject the appeal lodged by Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), opposing a decision on issues surrounding their bail application.

Advocates Salum Toufiq, Abdallah Mohamed, Rajab Abdallah and Suleyman Salum told Justices Edward Rutakangwa, Bernard Luanda and William Mandia that the appeal in question should not be entertained as it was filed in contravention of the provision under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act.

The Act, according to the advocates, does not allow any party to the proceedings to lodge an appeal with a view of challenging any interrogatory order or decision given by the High Court, unless such decision has the effect of determining rights of the parties.

They submitted that the decision given by High Court Judge Abraham Mwampashi on March 11, this year, did not determine the rights of the parties into the case and, thus, was not subjected for appeal.

The advocates, in the alternative, asked the justices on appeal to throw away the appeal because the ruling attached indicated only eight people whereas the Notice of Appeal institution shows the number of the accused persons as ten.

On March 12, this year, the DPP lodged a notice of appeal with intention to challenge the ruling of the High Court judge, overruling his objection on the matter and subsequently lodged memorandum of appeal before the Deputy Registrar of the Court of Appeal at Zanzibar.

Responding to the submissions by the advocates, State Attorneys Fatma Hassan, Abdallah Mgongo and Ali Rajab, for the DPP, requested the justices on appeal to overrule the objections raised because the grounds advanced to support the same lacked merits.

They told the court that the law allowed the DPP to lodge an appeal against judgment, ruling or order of the High Court upon being aggrieved by the findings reached.

According to the state attorneys, the discrepancy pointed out on the number of accused persons was a minor error and was a curable defect.

After hearing the submissions from both parties, the justices said they would deliver their decision on the matter on the date to be announced later.

The respondents in the matter are Farid Hadi Ahmed, Msellem Ali Msellem, Mussa Juma Issa, Azan Khalid Hamdani, Suleiman Juma Suleiman, Khamis Ali Suleiman, Hassan Bakari Suleiman, Ghalib Ahmada Omar, Abdalla Said Ali and Fikirini Majaliwa Fikirini.

It is alleged that on October 25, last year, the respondents were charged with four counts of conspiracy, sabotage, soliciting, inciting and persuading others to commit offences, which were read over and explained to them before the Registrar of the High Court of Zanzibar.

The respondents were not allowed to enter plea to the charges because the Registrar of the High Court had no jurisdiction to entertain the counts as contained in the charge sheet. Thereafter, the respondents requested for bail, but the prosecution vehemently opposed.

In his ruling, the Registrar refused to grant bail the respondents. Having being aggrieved, the latter filed an application for review before the High Court. The DPP opposed by filing a preliminary objection to the hearing of the application.

However, Judge Mwampashi overruled the DPP’s objection and declared the proceedings regarding the bail application before the Registrar and ruling a nullity. The DPP decided to file the appeal in question before the Court of Appeal to challenge the decision by the High Court judge to sit on review column.

Source: http://dailynews.co.tz/index.php/local-news/23902-uamsho-lawyers-call-for-disregard-of-bail-appeal

Kenya's William Ruto loses ICC trial attendance ruling

The International Criminal Court has told Kenya's Deputy President William Ruto he must attend most of his trial on charges of crimes against humanity.

Prosecutors had appealed against an earlier decision which would have let him spend most of his time in Kenya.

While he must appear at most of his trial, the court ruled he can be excused on a "case by case" basis.

Mr Ruto's lawyers argued he was needed in Kenya after the attack by Islamist militants on the Westgate centre.

He denies responsibility for post-election violence in 2007 and 2008. An estimated 1,200 people were killed in the ethnic bloodshed and about 600,000 fled their homes.

His lawyers argued that justice could be met in his absence.

At least 67 people were killed when militants believed to be from the Somali al-Shabab group stormed the shopping centre last month.

Tensions
In their ruling on Friday, judges were critical of the initial decision to give the deputy president a "blanket excusal" before the trial had even commenced.

He will be allowed to apply to miss portions of the case but his absence will only be allowed when it is absolutely necessary.

The BBC's Anna Holligan in The Hague says that the ruling reinforces the power of the ICC to hold the most powerful to account.

However, Friday's ruling could deepen tensions between the court and African leaders who accuse it of unfairly targeting their continent, correspondents say.

Mr Ruto has, so far, attended much of his case.

Friday's judgement could also affect the trial of Kenyan President Uhuru, whose trial on similar charges is scheduled to start next month.

The prosecution is still considering whether to appeal against a decision to allow the president to miss parts of his trial.

Mr Kenyatta argued that attending the trial in The Hague would prevent him from governing the country.

Our correspondent says that Mr Ruto, Mr Kenyatta and journalist Joshua Sang comprise the "Big Three" accused of instigating and co-ordinating the post-election killings in which innocent people including women and children were shot and hacked to death.

But our correspondent says that was six years ago, and today Kenya is on the frontline of the battle against the global threat posed by al-Qaeda and its global affiliates.

Mr Ruto's trial began in September.

The deputy president is the first serving government official to stand trial in an international court.

Many experts in international law believe that his case reflects the apparently incompatible demands of historical restorative justice versus future global security.

Experts believe that the ICC is in an impossible position, fighting against the tide of international pressure to placate the government in Nairobi.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24666472

China court upholds life sentence for Bo Xilai

(Reuters) - A court in eastern China rejected an appeal by ousted senior politician Bo Xilai on Friday and, as expected, upheld his life sentence on charges of bribery, corruption and abuse of power.

It said the evidence against him was clear.

Bo, once a rising star in China's leadership circles who had cultivated a following through his populist, quasi-Maoist policies, was jailed for life in September after a dramatic fall from grace that shook the ruling Communist Party.

His career was stopped short last year by a murder scandal in which his wife, Gu Kailai, was convicted of poisoning a British businessman, Neil Heywood, who had been a family friend.

The high court Jinan in the eastern province of Shandong, where Bo was originally tried, said that it was satisfied the first trial had done justice in the case.

"This court verified the facts and evidence of the court of first instance," Shandong high court spokesman Hou Jianjun told a news conference.

"The reasons for appeal presented by Bo Xilai and the opinions of his counsel did not have factual and legal basis, and were not tenable."

The court "ruled to reject the appeal, and uphold the original judgment", Hou added. "The above ruling is the final judgment."

Bo's appeal against the guilty verdict was unlikely to have been successful. China's courts are controlled by the Communist Party, which had pronounced him guilty long ago.

He likely now has no further recourse to appeal, state media said, as he could only take his case to the Supreme Court in Beijing if he had been sentenced to death.

State television shows pictures of an apparently healthy Bo, with a slight smile on his face, both sitting and standing in court, and also of him being led out of the room by two towering policemen.

Bo will now be sent back to Qincheng jail, just north of Beijing, where fallen members of the elite are incarcerated, and will likely never be seen in public again, although he could be released on medical parole some day.

Hou said that four members of Bo's family had been in court, and that the hearing had been conducted with "normal order".

President Xi Jinping, who took office in March, will have wanted the Bo affair settled because the next few weeks are critical for his government.

At a party plenum next month, Xi will push for more economic reforms and he needs unstinting support from the party's elite 200-member Central Committee.

DOOMED CHALLENGE

The appeal was held behind closed doors and completed less than a month after being lodged, when it could theoretically have take up to two months, or longer.

Zhang Lifan, a political commentator, said the case was never about the crimes Bo had been charged with, which were actually very light considering the serious allegations against him, for example by victims of his zealous crackdown on organized crime.

"The real significance of this is that it shows that the highest authorities are not to be challenged. Any challenge to those authorities is doomed. I think this is very clear-cut," Zhang said.

Bo, 64, who was Communist Party chief of the southwestern metropolis of Chongqing, mounted an unexpectedly fiery defense during his trial, denouncing testimony against him by his wife as the ravings of a mad woman hoping to have her own sentence reduced.

He repeatedly said that he was not guilty of any of the charges, although he admitted making some bad decisions and shaming his country by his handling of former Chongqing police chief, Wang Lijun, who first told Bo that Gu had probably murdered Heywood.

Wang, who fled to the U.S. consulate in the nearby city of Chengdu in February last year after confronting Bo with evidence that Gu was involved in the murder, was also jailed last year for covering up the crime.

The party has presented the Bo case as an example of its resolve to root out deep-seated corruption, a problem so serious Xi has warned it could threaten the party's survival.

(Writing by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Megha Rajagopalan in BEIJING; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan).

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/25/us-china-politics-bo-idUSBRE99O02R20131025

Court orders Cuban company to pay 3bn/- for breach of contract

AN Arbitration Tribunal has ordered a Cuban Company, Labionfam S.A. to pay over 3bn/- to a Chinese Company, Yong Shun Construction Company Limited, for breach of contract involving construction of a Biolarvicides large Plant at Kibaha in Coast Region.

The Tribunal led by retired High Court Judge, Thomas Mihayo, ruled that the termination of the contract in question by the Cuban Company on May 22, last year, was unlawful and invalid, holding that the Labionfam S.A had breached some of terms of the contract in course of execution of the deal.

"The law required proper and solid grounds for termination of construction contracts and that apart, the laid down procedures must be followed. Otherwise, the termination will be invalidated," Judge Mihayo, who adjudicated the dispute as sole arbitrator ruled.

He directed the Cuban firm (Respondent) to pay the Chinese Company (Claimant) a sum of 2,987,116,635/- being loss of profit at 20 per cent rate, 350m/- as general damages and other payments of 304,692,399/- involving demobilization, repatriation costs for Chinese staff and costs of the claim.

Yong Shun Construction Company Limited, through its advocate Joseph Ngiloi, had claimed before the Tribunal that in September 2011, the respondent invited them to submit bids for construction of a Biolarvicides Plant Civil Engineering Works by way of a bidding process.

The list of contractors shortlisted by the respondent and a few of others proposed by the respondent's Consulting Engineer, Inter Consult, included the claimant. The company was subsequently invited by the respondent to submit its tender through a letter dated September 29, 2011.

On November 14, 2011, the respondent invited the claimant for contract negotiations and at the end the latter's bid was accepted at a contract sum of 14,935,583,175/20 and on November 23, 2011, the respondent issued a letter accepting the claimant's bid.

"Thereafter, the claimant was instructed to arrange for performance Guarantee and Advance payment guarantee bonds from a reputable bank and submit the same to the respondent," advocate Ngiloi from Makoa Law Chambers (Advocates) had told the Tribunal.

The construction contract between the parties was signed on December 23, 2011 and the notice of commencement of works was issued on December 21, 2011, directing that the beginning date of the contract would be on January 2, 2012.

In course of execution of the works, regular monthly site meetings were held and were attended by the parties' representatives and the Consultant and his team. During these meetings chaired by the Consultant, progress of works, timeliness, snags and other matters were discussed.

However, on May 22, last year, the respondent terminated the contract, alleging that the claimant had breached the given terms.

However, the claimant contested the termination and on June 18, last year, gave a notice of intention to commence the arbitration in question.

On August 21, last year, CRB Africa Legal, on behalf of Labionfam S.A. concurred to submit the dispute to arbitration and on August 5, this year, the National Construction Council appointed Judge Thomas Mihayo as a sole arbitrator to determine the matter.

Source: http://www.dailynews.co.tz/index.php/local-news/23799-court-orders-cuban-firm-to-pay-3bn-for-breach-of-contract

Kenya asks Security Council to delay ICC trials

[JURIST] In an open letter to the UN Security Council [official website] on Wednesday, Kenya's UN Ambassador Macharia Kamau requested that the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] defer the trials against Kenyan officials [case materials]. Kamau emphasized the country's current security struggles and how the continued trial could prevent Kenya from fully addressing the nation's problems. The Security Council has the power to defer trials under Article 16 of the Rome Statute [text], which established the ICC. Kenya and the African Union claim the trials of President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto [ICC backgrounders] will prevent them from fulfilling their duties in the current escalation of conflict [BBC report]. The two are charged with crimes against humanity for their alleged involvement in inciting the violence following the 2007 election [JURIST news archive], which led to more than 1,100 deaths. Ruto's trial has already begun, and Kenyatta's trial is scheduled to begin in November.

Last week the ICC allowed [JURIST report] Kenya's president to be absent from trial. That week Kenyatta applied for a permanent stay of the proceedings [JURIST report] in his case. Earlier this month the ICC issued an arrest warrant [JURIST report] for a man accused of tampering with prosecution witnesses in the case against Ruto. The ICC issued the warrant against Walter Barasa, whom the ICC accuses of attempting to bribe prosecution witnesses and participating in a scheme by Kenyan government officials to interfere with the prosecution. In September Ruto pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] to the charges. Also last month Kenya's National Assembly voted to withdraw from the ICC.

Source: http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/10/kenya-asks-security-council-to-delay-icc-trials.php

Court sets free 52 Ponda followers

Dar es Salaam. 

The High Court yesterday set free 52 followers of Muslim cleric Sheikh Ponda Issa Ponda, who have been serving a one-year jail term.

They were sentenced by the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in March 21, this year, to three years imprisonment after being convicted with conspiracy, unlawful assembly and rioting.

The punishment ran co-currently, resulting to the accused serving only one year in jail.

However, judge Salvatory Bongole set free the prisoners yesterday after being satisfied that the punishment given to them was not correct, according to the offence they stood charged with.

The decision by the High Court followed an appeal filed by the alleged supporters of the secretary general of the Council of Islamic Organisations.

They asked the Court to quash and set aside both conviction and sentence on the ground that the trial magistrate erred on a number of facts in convicting them on three criminal charges and sentencing them to serve a one-year jail term for each count.

In his judgment, the Judge dismissed the conviction and one-year jail term for the first offence of conspiracy.

According to the judge, because the accused have been convicted with unlawful assembly and rioting - which are substantive counts - the offence of conspiracy collapsed automatically.

“You were given two punishments for one offence,” said the judge.

Concerning the remaining two counts of illegal assembly and rioting, the judge ruled that after going through evidence, he was satisfied that the prosecution evidence proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused committed the offence.

However, the judge agreed with the defense counsel that the Act which convicted them was not followed in meting the punishment.

The judge elaborated that the followers were charged with disobeying a lawful order given by the Police that prohibited them from rioting.

Source: http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/News/Court-sets-free-52-Ponda-followers/-/1840392/2041966/-/66lmsj/-/index.html

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