arraignment and by Advocate S.L Katabalwa during the trial. The Court observes that there is nothing on the record to demonstrate that the Respondent State impeded counsel from accessing the Applicant and consulting him on the preparation of his defence, or that the Respondent State denied the designated Counsel adequate time and facilities to enable the Applicant to prepare his defence. 108. The Court has held in its previous jurisprudence that allegations relating to counsel not raising or objecting to certain evidentiary issues in relation to his/her clients defence, should not, in these circumstances, be imputed to the Respondent State.47 More importantly, there is nothing on the record to demonstrate that the Applicant informed the domestic courts of the alleged shortcomings in the Counsel’s conduct in relation to his defence. The Applicant was free to raise with the respective courts his discontent about the manner in which he was represented. 109. In view of the above, the Court finds that the Respondent State discharged its obligation to provide the Applicant with effective free legal assistance and therefore, holds that the Respondent State did not violate Article 7(1)(c) of the Charter as read together with Article 14(3)(d) of the ICCPR. ii. Conviction on the basis of insufficient evidence 110. The Applicant asserts that the Respondent State had a clear obligation to identify the critical weaknesses in the prosecution’s evidence against the Applicant and to seek to corroborate the evidence before convicting him. Instead, it convicted him on the basis of questionable testimony regarding his identification and a coerced confession from a child, thus eliminating any presumption of innocence and consequently, violating his right to a fair trial. 111. He submits that Article 7(1)(b) sets out the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty by a competent court or tribunal. Citing the jurisprudence 47 Gozbert Henerico v. United Republic of Tanzania, ACtHPR, Application No. 056/2016, Judgment of 10 January 2022 (merits and reparations), § 113. 30