AfricaPress-Tanzania: A TRADITIONAL healer who claims to have powers to resurrect the dead, will get 12 strokes of the cane in addition to serving 30 years’ imprisonment, for raping a 13-year-old girl.
He had in addition received seven cows and a hen fraudulently, claiming to protect her from being bewitched.
This followed a decision by the Court of Appeal to dismiss the appeal by the healer, Juma Kasema, alias Nhumbu, the appellant, who had lodged an appeal to challenge the verdict of the High Court as well as that of the trial District Court of Shinyanga.
The justices ruled against the appellant, saying that they did not find any convincing reasons to overturn the decisions of the lower courts, having been satisfied that the evidence adduced established that the case against him was proved beyond reasonable doubt.
“Accordingly, we find the appeal devoid of merit and it is hereby dismissed in its entirety,” they declared.
During hearing of the appeal, the appellant had complained, among other things, that there were contradictions in the testimonies of prosecution witnesses to prove rape.
To ascertain the complaint, the justices revisited the testimonies adduced by prosecution witnesses before the trial court, including the victim of rape, who narrated to have been taken to the appellant’s house by her mother for treatment.
This was after the mother was told by the appellant that the girl was about to be taken by witches to Gamboshi, a place claimed to be notorious for witchcraft and she needed to be protected by charms.
The victim testified to have been raped four times by the appellant after being intoxicated with an alcoholic beverage known as Balimi.
They noted that the testimony of the victim was corroborated by other witnesses, including her mother who had testified that when she visited the house, the appellant’s wife complained that her husband had turned the girl into his wife and she was also told by the latter on the appellant sexually assaulting her.
The justices concluded, therefore, that after considering the testimonies of the witnesses and examining all exhibits tendered thereto, they were in agreement with the prosecution that there was no contradictory evidence as regards the testimonies adduced by witnesses on the rape count.
“It is therefore our considered view that there is no justification to fault the trial Judge for the evaluation and analysis made on that evidence,” they said.
It is also on record that the appellant did not cross-examine the victim or other witnesses on such aspect.
According to the justices, it is common knowledge that a party that fails to cross-examine a witness on a certain matter is deemed to have accepted that matter and will be stopped from asking the court to disbelieve what the witness said, as the silence is tantamount to accepting its truth.
“We have no reason to differ with the lower courts’ concurrent findings in respect of the evidence of (witnesses) which were so descriptive and coherent.
It is therefore our settled view that there is no fault in the factual findings of the two courts below on this ground for this Court to interfere,” they said.
Given the status of the evidence of the victim, which was corroborated by other prosecution witnesses, the justices were satisfied that both lower courts adequately evaluated the evidence on record and arrived at a fair and impartial decision, hence there is no justification to interfere with their findings.
The appellant was a popular traditional healer purportedly having the power of resurrecting dead people.
Sometimes in 2007, the mother of the victim of rape lost her son (name withheld) and she went to seek the services of the appellant.
The appellant was ready to render his service and told the mother that her son was not dead but bewitched and taken to Gamboshi.’ The appellant promised to bring her son back.
The appellant went on to tell the mother that even her youngest daughter, the victim, was about to be taken by witches to Gamboshi.
He advised the mother to bring a white hen and a red cow with white mark on its head and pay 1,000/- for the service.
The mother was also advised to bring the victim to stay in his house for treatment and to be protected from being taken to Gamboshi.
The mother complied with all the conditions given by the appellant. Several days later, the appellant told her that the son was located and was at the appellant’s house.
The mother went to the appellant’s house and was shown a room where the resurrected son was kept but could not recognise him as the room was dark and she was not allowed to put on the light, purportedly because the son would flee as he had been in the dark for a long time and had to get used to light gradually.
The next day, the mother was told to give six cows to the appellant to take her son home which she did.
She then went with her two sons and son in-law to the appellant’s house to take the presumably resurrected son.
One of her other sons was told to bathe the alleged presumed. While doing so, however, he became suspicious because he had a deformed toe which was bent and had beads on his waist which was not the case with his late brother.
However, on that day, the appellant did not allow them to take the presumably resurrected son and he instead told them to return after one week.
The other son disclosed his suspicions to her mother and to his brothers, who reported the matter to militiamen and to the police after which the appellant was arrested.
