74. The Respondent State refutes this allegation and avers that the Court of
Appeal considered the identification of the Applicant and held that he was
properly identified. The Respondent State further submits that the victim
named the Applicant at the earliest possible time to her friend, the
Prosecution Witness 2 (PW2) as well as to the police and that this fact
carried significant weight given that PW2 was a reliable witness.
***
75. The Court notes that while the Applicant raises an issue of proper
identification, his allegation is that the manner in which this issue was
examined led to a violation of his rights to non-discrimination, equality
before the law and an equal protection of the law and the right to have his
cause heard. Noting that the alleged violation relates to the right to a fair
trial, the Court will first examine whether the proceedings in the instant case
were conducted in accordance with Article 7(1) of the Charter before
assessing the alleged violations relating to Articles 2 and 3 of the Charter.
76. This Court has previously stated that when visual or voice identification is
used as evidence to convict a person, all circumstances of possible
mistakes should be ruled out and the identity of the suspect should be
established with certitude. Resultantly, the identification should be
corroborated by other circumstantial evidence and must be part of a
coherent and consistent account of the scene of the crime.26
77. In the instant case, the Court notes from the record that the prosecution
relied on four (4) witnesses to prove its case. According to the judgments of
the District Court, High Court and the Court of Appeal,27 the victim, PW1
testified that she was invaded by three (3) people and upon entering the
room, they put on the solar light. The judgments of the three (3) domestic
26
Kenedy Ivan v. United Republic of Tanzania (merits and reparations) (28 March 2019) 3 AfCLR 48, §
64.
27 Republic v. Jackson S/O Godwin, Criminal Case No. 44/2013, supra, pages 25-28; Jackson Godwin
v. The Republic, Criminal Appeal No.45 of 2014, supra, pages 2-3; and Jackson Godwin v. The
Republic, Criminal Appeal No. 278 of 2015, 16 February 2016, pages 3-5.
18