Dodoma High Court hears appeal of men sentenced to life for sexual assault
DODOMA: THE appeal against the life imprisonment sentence handed down to four convicts found guilty of gang rape and sodomy of a young girl from Yombo Dovya in Dar es Salaam begun on Tuesday, with the defense expected to present 33 grounds and nine points of contention.
The appellants in the case include former Tanzania People’s Defence Force (TPDF) soldier MT 140105 Clinton Damas, popularly known as Nyundo, Prison Officer C.1693 Praygod Mushi, Nickson Jackson (Machuche), and Amin Lema, also known as Kindamba.
The case is being heard by High Court Judge Amiri Mruma at the Dodoma High Court in an open court session.
The appellants were sentenced to life imprisonment on September 30, 2024, by the Dodoma Resident Magistrate’s Court after being found guilty of gang raping and sodomizing a young girl from Yombo Dovya in Dar es Salaam.
Presenting the defense arguments, advocate Godfrey Wasonga said they have 33 grounds and nine points of contention against the sentence issued to Nyundo and his three co-accused.
He noted that the caution statements were recorded outside the permitted time frame, pointing out that the statement indicates it was taken at 1640 hrs, a non-existent time format.
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“In law, there is no such offense as ‘rape by a group’. The proper term is ‘gang rape’. The charge sheet confused the terms ‘group’ and ‘gang’. The police statement refers to ‘rape by a group’, which is not recognized under the Sexual Offences Special Provisions Act of 1998 (SOSPA),” the lawyer said.
He further claimed that the accused admitted to offenses that are not legally defined.
Another defense lawyer, Meshack Ngamago, said the accused had filed an appeal, citing legal loopholes as the basis for the appeal.
“The defense will present its arguments, including nine specific points. We have so far presented two covering defects in the charge sheet and flaws in the caution statements,” he said.
The case will resume on June 9, this year.
