the withdrawal came into effect one (1) year after its deposit, that is, on 22 November 2020.2 II. SUBJECT OF THE APPLICATION A. Facts of the Matter 3. It emerges from the Application that, on 3 December 2000, the Applicants and a third accused came across a woman who was walking home with her two daughters. During the encounter, one of the Applicants raped the woman while his accomplices kept the daughters under watch to prevent them from calling for help. 4. On 31 August 2001, the Applicants were convicted of the offences of gang rape and robbery with violence, and sentenced to life imprisonment in criminal case No. 26 of 2001 by the District Court of Tarime in the Musoma Region. 5. Dissatisfied with the decision of the District Court, the Applicants appealed to the High Court of Tanzania at Mwanza in Criminal Appeal No. 135 of 2001. However, before the appeal was heard, the decision of the lower court was referred to the High Court for confirmation and the High Court substituted the life imprisonment sentence meted by the District Court with a sentence of thirty (30) years imprisonment.3 The Applicants’ appeal before the High Court was subsequently dismissed on 18 February 2002 for want of merit. 6. Aggrieved with the High Court’s judgment, the Applicants appealed to the Court of Appeal of Tanzania at Mwanza in Criminal Appeal No. 69 of 2002. On 3 November 2004, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal in its 2 Andrew Ambrose Cheusi v. United Republic of Tanzania (judgment) (26 June 2020) 4 AfCLR 219, §§ 37-39. 3 United Republic of Tanzania, Criminal Procedure Act 1985, Chapter 20, Section 172. 3