113. The Applicant asserts also that the multiple attempts he made to exercise his fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania regarding finalisation of the appeal remained unsuccessful. 114. The Applicant reiterates that between 2011 and 2013, he repeatedly sent letters, complaints and requests to judicial authorities regarding the finalisation of his appeal, but all these attempts were fruitless. 115. The Respondent State, for its part, contends that the Applicant is making the aforesaid allegation for the first time, and that this issue has been resolved by the High Court's judgment of 20 March 2017, quashing the Applicant's conviction and part of the outstanding sentence in Criminal Case No. 194/2004. see 116. The Court reiterates that the right to appeal is a fundamental element of the tight to a fair trial as enshrined under Article 7(1)(a) of the Charter stated above.** Appeal proceedings offer an opportunity for an accused to challenge the findings of the lower court on matters of law and fact and this lies in the very essence of the right to a fair trial. The right to a fair trial also includes the principle that judicial proceedings should be finalised within a reasonable time. 117. In the determination of the right to be tried within a reasonable time, the Court has adopted a case-by-case approach, whereby it takes into consideration several factors, including the nature and complexity of the case, the length of the domestic proceedings and whether the national authorities exercised due diligence in the circumstances of the case, for the finalisation of the matter.® 3 See § 77. 88Beneficiaries of late Norbert Zongo, Abdoulaye Nikiema alias Ablasse, Ernest Zongo, Blaise liboudo and Mouvement Burkinabé des Droits de 'Homme et des Peuples v. Burkina Faso (reparations) (2015) 1 AfCLR 258, § 152; Wilfred Onyango Nganyi and Others v. United Republic of Tanzania (merits) (2016) 1 AfCLR 33