000 92,2
findings of the Commission communicated by a letter to the Applicants were said
to have been made following a preliminary investigation rather than after a full
investigation into the matter. ln these circumstances, the Court is thus not in a
position to conclude that there would have been a substantially different outcome
in the decisions of the domestic courts, had this letter been available during the
trial and appellate proceedings.
74.|n view of the above, the Court therefore finds that the allegation according to which
the Applicants' culpability was based on mistaken identity is not founded and
therefore the Respondent State has not violated Article 7(1) of the Charter.
I
iii) Allegation that the Applicants were isolated during the domestic
proceedings
75.The Applicants contend that they were isolated during the procedures when the
decision of the domestic courts were rendered and this violated their fundamental
rights.
76.The Respondent State denies the allegation and argues that the Applicants were
present during their trial from the time the armed robbery charge was read out to
them on 7 May 2001 in which they pleaded not guilty, up to the conclusion of the
trial on 16 November 2001. The Respondent State also avers that the Applicants
o
were also present when their appeal was heard at the High Court on 12 August
2002. The Respondent State further indicates that the Applicants were, except at
the Court of Appeal, represented by a lawyer and at the Court of Appeal, they were
not provided with legal counsel because they did not apply for it, as required under
Rule 31 of the Tanzania Court of Appeal Rules, 2009.
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23
Y