of the European Court, the Applicant argues that a conviction based on
unconvincing evidence violates the presumption of innocence and thereby
the right to trial. Additionally, that this Court has held in the case of
Abubakari v. Tanzania and William v. Tanzania, that a sentence should be
based on strong and credible evidence and a criminal conviction must be
“established with certitude”.
112. The Applicant alleges that he was convicted on the basis of uncorroborated,
unreliable and incomplete evidence, thereby violating his right to
presumption of innocence. He argues that the case against him was
primarily based on the testimony of one eyewitness, who allegedly identified
the Applicant at night with limited visibility and under the stress of traumatic
events. Furthermore, the prosecution failed to corroborate or properly
evaluate the weak and contradictory identification evidence that was relied
upon to identify the Applicant as the victim’s assailant. The Applicant also
claims that there were discrepancies between the testimonies of the
eyewitness and other witnesses as to what the Applicant was wearing,
whether he broke into the house of the deceased or went through the open
door as well as the words that were allegedly spoken. He avers that any
doubts toward the credibility of the eyewitness, should have been resolved
in his favour.
113. Another issue raised by the Applicant in this regard, is that the trial court
admitted into evidence a statement of the co-accused, his brother Evaristo
Lazaro, who was only fifteen years at the time but who later testified that his
statement was obtained through coercion as it was forcefully recorded after
he had been beaten up by the police with a truncheon, and that he
subsequently retracted the same. The Applicant further submits that the
Respondent State did not produce any evidence of the murder weapon or
prove intent on the part of the Applicant to commit the murder. The Applicant
surmises that as such, the Respondent State failed to meet the burden of
proof beyond a reasonable doubt, thereby violating his right to presumption
of innocence.
114. Finally, the Applicant contends that he was arrested, taken away from the
company of his wife and children for 17 years, based on an improper
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