conviction and sentence. It further avers that the conviction and sentence
were based on the Respondent State’s Penal Code, Article 285 and 286 for
the offence of burglary and armed robbery. Citing the Courts jurisprudence,4
the Respondent State contends that the Applicant has not demonstrated
specific or compelling circumstances to warrant an order for release by this
Court.
20. The Respondent State, further citing the Courts jurisprudence,5 submits that
this Court has held that it does not have any appellate jurisdiction to reverse
and consider appeals in respect of cases already decided upon by the
domestic or regional courts. Furthermore, the Respondent State submits
that to quash the conviction and sentence would require a re-appraisal of
matters of evidence and procedure already concluded by the Court of
Appeal, which is beyond the jurisdiction of this Court, which has also held
in a number of decisions6 that its mandate is to examine compliance with
international human rights standards.
21. The Respondent State avers that this Court would be deliberating on
matters of evidence such as the doctrine of recent possession and visual
identification, which were already finalised by the Court of Appeal of
Tanzania on page 6 of the Judgment. Moreover, it avers that this Court has
already ruled,7 at paragraph 89 of the Judgment that matters of identification
are best left to domestic courts.
*
22. The Applicant avers that this Court is clothed with jurisdiction to adjudicate
this matter because the violation alleged against the Respondent State
concern rights protected by the African Charter on Human and Peoples’
Rights and the Protocol.
4
Application No. 005/2013, Alex Thomas v. United Republic of Tanzania, § 157.
Application No. 001/2013, Ernest Francis Mtingwi v. Republic of Malawi.
6 Application No. 003/2015, Kennedy Owino and Others v. The United Republic of Tanzania, §§ 37-38.
7 Application No. 005/2013, Alex Thomas v. United Republic of Tanzania, § 89.
5
7