Africa-Press – Tanzania. High Court, Bukoba District Registry, has sentenced to death by hanging a bandit, Revelian Constantine, for killing with malice aforethought, a businessman dealing in coffee business, Dominic Gorodian, after invading his home and making away with over 1.5m/-.
Judge Lucia Kairo imposed such sentence against Constantine recently after convicting him of murder, an incident which occurred at night at Kagutu village within Karagwe District in Kagera Region.
She ruled that the prosecution proved the case against the convict alone, who was charged with another person.
When sentencing the convict, the judge pointed out that she was aware that the punishment for such capital offence is a subject of criticism by many people, including lawyers, human rights activist groups and religious leaders among others.
The judge was of the opinion that it is high time we change and replace it with an alternative punishment to people who commit murder offence which attract a death sentence.
“However, as far as this case is concerned, my hands are tied by my oath of office to uphold the Constitution and to respect the laws of the country.
From the premises of the conviction entered, I sentence the accused, Revelian Constantine to death which shall be suffered by hanging,” she ruled.
The judge ruled that the prosecution witnesses identified the convict as among bandits who stormed into the deceased house and killed him after robbing some money.
“It is the finding of this court that the conditions were favorable for (the deceased wife) to identify the (convict) at the scene and the court is satisfied that all possibilities of mistaken identity have been eliminated,” she ruled.
During the trial, the wife of the deceased had told the court that on the night of October 7, 2015 around 2:00 midnight, she was asleep together with her husband and their daughter and son.
The house door was hit by a big stone (Fatuma), forcing it open and some bandits holding iron bars, pangas and an axe then invaded their bedroom and demanded for money.
The wife went on that when she told them she didn’t have the money, they hit her on the head with an iron bar, the action which forced her to give them 900,000/- she was given by her late husband to keep.
She testified that the bandits then turned to her husband demanding to be given money, claiming that he had sold some coffee, but the deceased told them that he doesn’t have money because he had paid school fees.
On hearing this, the invaders hit the deceased with iron bars on the eyes, head and back. Noting that he was still adamant to give them the money, the wife is on record accounting that the bandits cut her husband with a panga on the shoulder.
The deceased then directed her where the money was and found about 800,000/-which she gave the bandits. The bandits promised to kill him there.
The witness further testified that the bandits then tied her with a piece of cloth on her eyes and shifted her to another room adjacent to their bedroom and was ordered to lie down with her face down, which she obeyed.
She told the court that she saw the invaders using the solar energy bulbs which were installed in their bedroom and another bulb was near the sitting room.
The witness also testified that the distance between the deceased where he was being hit and herself was about one pace and the distance between the deceased and the invaders when hitting him was about three paces.
According to the witness, in the adjacent room where she was ordered to lie with her face down while her eyes were tied or covered by a cloth, she heard the bandits cutting the deceased with pangas.
Then the bandits called her and ordered her to hold the deceased, she obeyed and the deceased leaned on her chest. The bandits left the house around 4:00am
