FORMER member of the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDC) Elinasani Ng’eng’e is to be hanged for killing his wife, Rehema Matiku, after stabbing her repeatedly with a knife over a quarrel involving sale of a plot.
This follows a decision by the Court of
Appeal to dismiss the appeal Ng’eng’e, the appellant, had lodged to
fault findings by High Court Judge Iman Aboud on July 27, 2012.
Justices Mbarouk Mbarouk, Augustine
Mwarija and Shaban Lila said, in part: “The charge of murder against the
appellant was proved beyond reasonable doubt by the prosecution. We
therefore find...the appeal generally devoid of merits.
In the event, we dismiss the appeal.” In
support of his appeal, the appellant had advanced several grounds,
arguing that the trial judge erred in law and facts by convicting him
for the offence of murder in absence of a knife which was not tendered
as exhibit in court.
He had alleged that the trial judge
erred for holding that the charge against him was proved beyond
reasonable doubt, and that the judge was wrong in disregarding the
defence of provocation and self defence he had raised.
Furthermore, the appellant has alleged
that the trial judge erred by basing her judgment on post mortem report
which was not admitted to his prejudice, thus occasioning failure of
justice, and that she was wrong in convicting him of the murder charge
while the cause of death was a fight.
In their judgment, however, the justices
allowed only one ground of appeal relating to nonproduction of the
postmortem report. They ruled that the other grounds lacked merits as
there was sufficient evidence to disprove them.
They noted the proceedings were silent
on the matter of fighting as the evidence only show those who were
present at the scene heard only noise of exchange of words concerning
sale of the plot, and the issue of the appellant instructing his wife to
go to live with him in Musoma, but she resisted.
As regard to the absence of the knife,
the justices agreed with the prosecution that there was no doubt that
the deceased was killed by a knife, even if not tendered and they found
it not a fatal omission.
It was the prosecution’s case that the
appellant committed the offence on February 17, 2010 at Ukonga area in
Ilala District, Dar es Salaam. Facts showed that the appellant and
deceased were blessed with five children during their matrimonial life.
One of the children had testified that
on the material day while sleeping at night at around 03.00 hours, he
heard noise from his parents’ bedroom and heard his mother screaming for
help. The child with his sister and young brother, thereafter proceeded
to the room to offer help.
While there, he saw his father stabbing
his mother with a knife. Then he saw the mother trying to escape, but
she was blocked by his father.
According to his evidence, he tried to
help his mother, but he was overpowered by his father, who pulled the
mother inside and continued stabbing her with the knife.
Thereafter, he decided to run to the
police station and reported the matter. When the child arrived in
accompany of the policemen at the scene of crime, they found the mother
at the corridor near her bedroom, while the father had locked himself
inside.
The child had told the court that with
the help of their neighbuors, they managed to get his father out of the
room, and later arrested him and sent him to the police station. They
also took his mother to the hospital, but she was pronounced dead on
arrival there
No comments :
Post a Comment