B. Alleged violation of the right to life
60. The Applicant contends that the Respondent State violated his right to life
as enshrined in Article 4 of the Charter. In support of his contention, the
Applicant alleges that his right was violated because the national courts
convicted him on the basis of suspicions thus resulting in erroneous
decisions by both the High Court and the Court of Appeal. To substantiate
the preceding, the Applicant submits that Henry Mwakajila was not proven
to have died and may as well have simply travelled outside of the
Respondent State’s borders.
*
61. The Respondent State, in response, argues that the elements for the
offence of murder were established beyond reasonable doubt before the
Applicant was convicted. It thus refutes the Applicant’s submission that he
was convicted on the basis of suspicions. It also points out that witnesses
were called during the Applicant’s trial to testify to the fact that since his
disappearance, Henry Mwakajila had never been seen alive again.
***
62. Article 4 of the Charter provides that “[h]uman beings are inviolable. Every
human being shall be entitled to respect for his life and the integrity of his
person. No one may be arbitrarily deprived of this right.”
63. In the instant Application, the Court observes that the Applicant’s grievance
is that his right to life was violated due the conviction and sentence that
were, allegedly, founded on suspicions. A key plank in the Applicant’s
argument is that Henry Mwakajila was not proven to have died and may
very well have simply travelled outside the Respondent State’s borders.
64. The record reveals that both the High Court and the Court of Appeal
addressed their minds to the absence of direct evidence in relation to the
death of Henry Mwakajila. In the judgment of the High Court, for example,
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