Automated Summary
Key Facts
The appellant, Marwa Kachang'a, was convicted of armed robbery in the District Court of Ilala in 2009 for stealing Tshs 1,350,000 using a gun and axe. After an unsuccessful appeal to the High Court, his second appeal to the Court of Appeal was struck out due to a defective notice of appeal that incorrectly named the presiding judge (Twaribu instead of Twaib).
Issues
The court considered whether the failure to correctly mention the name of the High Court judge (Twaib instead of Twaribu) in the notice of appeal under Rule 68(2) and (7) of the Court of Appeal Rules rendered the appeal incurably defective and thus incompetent.
Holdings
The Court of Appeal of Tanzania held that the notice of appeal was incurably defective due to the incorrect mention of the judge's name (Twaribu instead of Twaib) and the failure to comply with Rule 68(2) and (7) of the Court of Appeal Rules, 2009. This rendered the appeal incompetent, leading to the order to strike it out. The ruling cited precedents including Albanus Aloycee v. The Republic and Nichontinze s/o Rojeli v. The Republic, emphasizing that the name of the judge, date of judgment, and nature of the conviction must be correctly stated in the notice of appeal.
Remedies
The Court of Appeal struck out the appellant's second appeal due to an incurably defective notice of appeal. The defect arose from incorrectly stating the name of the High Court judge (Twaribu instead of Twaib) who presided over the first appeal, rendering the notice non-compliant with Rule 68(7) of the Court of Appeal Rules 2009. This procedural failure made the appeal incompetent under Rule 4(2)(a) of the Rules.
Legal Principles
The court applied procedural rules regarding the formal requirements for notices of appeal. Specifically, it emphasized that a notice of appeal must contain the correct name of the presiding judge, the accurate date of the decision being appealed, and the nature of the conviction/sentence. Non-compliance with Rule 68(2) and (7) of the Court of Appeal Rules renders an appeal incurably defective and incompetent, as demonstrated by precedents like Albanus Aloycee v. The Republic and Nichontinze s/o Rojeli v. The Republic.
Precedent Name
- Nichontinze s/o Rojeli v. The Republic
- Albanus Aloycee and Another v. The Republic
Cited Statute
Court of Appeal Rules, 2009
Judge Name
- N. P. Kimaro
- R. E. S. Mziray
- K. M. Mussa
Passage Text
- "TAKE NOTICE that, the above named appellant appeals to the Court of Appeal of Tanzania against the decision of the Honourable Justice Twaribu given at Dar es Salaam on the 25th day of February, 2013 whereby the appellant was convicted of armed robbery and sentenced to 30 years imprisonment..."
- We respectfully agree with Mr. Maugo...the name of the Judge appearing in the notice of Appeal is Twaribu instead of Twaib, the judge who presided over Criminal Appeal No. 25 of 2012, whose decision is subject to this appeal.