THE REPUBLIC v KABULA MHOJA 1986 TLR 248 (HC)

THE REPUBLIC v KABULA MHOJA 1986 TLR 248 (HC)

Court High Court of Tanzania - Tabora

Judge Chipeta J

23rd December, 1987. G

CRIMINAL REVISION 12 OF 1987

Flynote

Criminal Practice and Procedure - Sentencing - Accused first offender and readily

pleaded guilty to the charge - Accused a very sadistic woman - Whether accused

deserves leniency H

-Headnote

The High Court exercising its revisional jurisdiction considered whether or not the

accused, a very sadistic I woman, deserved a lenient sentence. The woman broke

both arms of a child aged four months using her own hands.

1986 TLR p249

CHIPETA J

Held: The conduct of the accused is so reprehensible as to attract a sufficiently

deterrent sentence; for she is A clearly a very sadistic woman.

Case Information

Order accordingly. B

No case referred to.

[zJDz]Judgment

Chipeta, J.: This matter was admitted for revision on it appearing to this court that

the sentence was C manifestly inadequate, and on perusal of the record of the trial

court, this court ordered that the convict, Kabula d/o Mhoja, be called upon to show

cause why the sentence should not be enhanced.

The background of the matter, in brief, is that the accused pleaded guilty to a charge

of causing grievous bodily D harm c/s 225 of the Penal Code. She was convicted on

her own plea of guilty and was sentenced to four (4) years imprisonment.

The facts which the accused admitted were as follows: the accused's husband has a

concubine, and there is an E issue of that concubinage, a child named Masele

Shilungu the victim in this case. On the day of the incident, the accused went to her

husband's concubine and requested her to allow the accused to play with the child.

The accused then took away the child to her house where driven by morbid jealousy,

she broke the child's both arms by using her own hands. The child was then aged

four months. F

In mitigation, the accused said she acted out of jealousy because her husband, with

whom she has no child, was neglecting her because of his affairs with his concubine.

She added that she has two children from her former marriage.

Before this court, the accused pleaded that the sentence should be enhanced and that

she is 25 years old. G

It is certainly true that as a first offender and one who readily pleaded guilty to the

charge, the accused deserved leniency. But the conduct of the accused is so

reprehensible as to attract a sufficiently deterrent sentence, for she is clearly a very

sadistic woman. H

For these reasons, I hereby set aside the sentence imposed on her by the trial court

and substitute therefore a sentence of five (5) years imprisonment.

Order accordingly

1986 TLR p250