PW9 who testified to the same effect…the record shows that throughout from
committal proceedings, preliminary hearing right up to the trial, the appellants
were made to understand that they were being charged with trafficking 317
268.69 grammes of bhang and not 290 kilogrammes.
64. It is clear from the above that the Applicants’ contention before this Court
was already dealt with by the Court of Appeal. As earlier pointed out, the
Applicants’ counsel abandoned the ground of appeal upon being shown
proof, by the Court of Appeal, that the ground had no merit. In line with its
established jurisprudence, the Court is not mandated to supplant domestic
courts especially in relation to issues revolving around the assessment of
evidence.12 In the present Application, the Applicants have merely restated
the arguments they made before the Court of Appeal without offering the
Court any basis for it to determine whether the Court of Appeal erred in its
assessment or not.
65. In the circumstances, the Court holds that the Applicants have not
established any violation of their right to fair trial by reason of the manner in
which the Court of Appeal dealt with the question of the weight of the
Cannabis Sativa. The Court thus dismisses the Applicants’ allegation on this
point.
B. Alleged violation relating to the possession of the Cannabis Sativa
66. The Applicants contend that the “Court of Appeal erred in law by failing to
consider if truly the appellants were nabbed with the alleged drug …”
According to the Applicants, no evidence was tendered proving that they
had loaded the impounded drugs unto the truck. This, they submit, is “a
blatant error on the face of justice” necessitating their acquittal.
*
12
Oscar Josiah v. United Republic of Tanzania (merits) (28 March 2019) 3 AfCLR 83, § 52.
18