Case Summary Frank Dominic Mjuni Vs Republic Criminal Appeal No 12 of 2022 2022 TZHC 15786 21 October 2022

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Case Summary Frank Dominic Mjuni Vs Republic Criminal Appeal No 12 of 2022 2022 TZHC 15786 21 October 2022

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Frank Dominic Mjuni vs Republic (Criminal Appeal No.

12 of 2022)
Project code1 TAN
URL https://tanzlii.org/akn/tz/judgment/tzhc/2022/15786/
eng@2022-10-21
Citations [2022] TZHC 15786
Country The United Republic of Tanzania
Date of judgment 21 October 2022
Court High Court
Location Bukoba
Case type2 Criminal Appeal
Result Appeal Dismissed
Flynote3 Criminal law – statutory rape - HIV transmission to a
victim below the age of consent
Legislation and Legislation
International  Sections 130(2)(e) and 131(1) of the Penal Code,
Instruments4 Cap. 16 RE 2002
 Section 21(l)(b)(3) of the HIV and AIDS
(Prevention and Control Act, No. 28 of 2008
 Sections 50 and 51 of the Criminal Procedure
Act/ Cap. 20 RE 2019
 Section 395A of the Criminal Procedure Act Cap.
20 RE 2019
 Section 127(6) of the Evidence Act, Cap, 6 RE
2019

Cases cited as  Shani Chamwela Suleiman v The Republic,

authority5 Criminal Appeal No. 481 of 2021, CAT at Dar es
salaam (unreported)
 Isaya Renatus v Republic, Criminal Appeal No.
542 of 2015, CAT (unreported)
 Ndorosi Kudekei v R, Criminal Appeal No. 318 of
2016
Facts6 The appellant was convicted and sentenced to life
imprisonment after being found guilty of raping and
transmitting HIV to a six-year-old child (the victim).

The appellant worked as a herdsman in the victim’s

family from 2008 to 2013 and lived at the victim’s
family house at the time. After complaining to her

1
Project code is the combination of the three jurisdiction letters (KEN for Kenya, SAF for
South Africa etc) and the unique case identification number for the index. E.g., a project
code could be KEN1, SAF34, ZAM12).
2
Whether Trial, Application or Appeal.
3
Area of law - topic – subtopic.
4
Legislation/ International instrument title and section numbers.
5
List of cases considered to be important precedent (case name and citation).
6
Brief facts about the case (max 150 words).
parents, the victim was taken for a medical
examination and tested positive for HIV. The mother of
the victim found a CTC card showing that the appellant
was HIV positive and was under medication.
Summary7 The court dismissed the four grounds of appeal.

First, the court determined that DNA evidence was not

necessary to prove the rape case, as rape is often
committed in secret. The court also found that an
eyewitness was not required, as the prosecution relied
on the victim's testimony, the appellant's statement,
and other relevant evidence.

Second, the court established that the victim’s age had

been proven through the testimony of the examining
doctor and the trial magistrate. The doctor and the trial
magistrate complied with the law when they recorded
that the victim was 6 years old.

Third, the court concluded that the cautioned

statement was obtained within the legal timeframe, as
it was recorded within 4 hours of the appellant's
restraint or arrest.

Finally, the court dismissed the claim that the victim's

evidence contradicted her mother's testimony
regarding the place and time of the rape. The court
held that there was no contradiction, as the appellant
had raped the victim on multiple occasions.

Decision/ Judgment8 The conviction and sentence against the appellant

were proved beyond reasonable doubt and the appeal
was dismissed.
Basis of the decision9 The court relied on section 127(6) of the Evidence Act,
which allows the court to accept the testimony of a
child of tender years or a victim of a sexual offense as
the only independent evidence after assessing the
credibility of the evidence.

The court found the child’s evidence to be consistent

with the appellant's cautioned statement.

Reported by Rada Stoilova

Date 16 June 2023

7
Summary of the determination of legal questions and/or grounds of appeal (between 150-
250 words).
8
A brief summary of the ruling/judgment of the court (max 100 words).
9
A 1-2 sentence summary of the basis of the decision (i.e., which legal rules were relied on).