the provisions of the Charter or of any legal instrument of the African Union.
The Application is therefore in fulfilment of Rule 50(2)(g) of the Rules.
42. As a consequence of the foregoing, the Court finds that this Application is
admissible.
VIII. MERITS
43. The Applicant alleges that his conviction was based on the doctrine of
recent possession of the alleged stolen goods but contends that the owner
of the goods was never identified during the proceedings of the national
courts.
44. Furthermore, according to the Applicant, the boat engine which was
allegedly stolen was never produced in Court as an exhibit to be identified
by the owner Joel Faustin. He therefore argues that the prosecution failed
to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt and therefore his conviction
was a violation of his right to a fair trial.
***
45. Article 7(1) of the Charter provides that “[e]very individual shall have the
right to have his cause heard …”.
46. This Court has in the past noted “… that a fair trial requires that the
imposition of a sentence in a criminal offence, and in particular a heavy
prison sentence, should be based on strong and credible evidence. That is
the purport of the right to the presumption of innocence also enshrined in
Article 7 of the Charter.”14
14
Abubakari v. Tanzania (merits), supra, § 174; Diocles William v. United Republic of Tanzania (merits)
(21 September 2018) 2 AfCLR 426, § 72; Majid Goa alias Vedastus v. United Republic of Tanzania
(merits and reparations) (26 September 2019) 3 AfCLR 498, § 72.
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