Arusha. The Court of Appeal has quashed the death sentence by hanging for seven individuals in three separate cases, including one convicted of murdering his stepmother after a traditional healer told him she caused his stomach pain and erectile dysfunction.
The three judgments were delivered on Monday, August 17, 2026, by a three-judge panel comprising Gabriel Ndika, Benhajj Masoud, and Dr Yose Mlyambina, after identifying that the evidence used in these cases suffered from serious legal flaws.
In the first case, the person set free is Mr Ndodi Said, who lodged Criminal Appeal No. 496/2023 after being sentenced to death for murdering his stepmother, Ms Shingwa Makono, on May 28, 2021, in Lufwisi Village, Sikonge District, Tabora Region.
Following his arrest, Mr Said allegedly confessed to murdering his stepmother after being informed by a traditional healer that she was causing him abdominal pain and a lack of sexual potency, leading him to stab her with a sharp object.
Dissatisfied with the death sentence, he appealed to the Court of Appeal on two grounds.
After hearing both parties, the justices allowed the appeal after establishing that the evidence used to convict him was insufficient to prove the offence beyond reasonable doubt.
Justice Ndika stated that the appellant’s confession statement admitting to the murder ought not to have been relied upon, as it was contested during the trial and handled with procedural flaws.
Furthermore, they explained that the prosecution failed to call key witnesses, including the accused's father, who could have provided crucial evidence regarding the circumstances of the murder.
The court thus set aside the conviction and ordered Mr Said to be released forthwith unless held for another lawful reason.
“This evidence would have significantly reinforced the claim of confession supporting the prosecution's case,” the court noted.
In the second appeal (No. 464/2023), Mr Shalu Luwayi and Mr Barnabas Jonas contested the death sentence passed by the High Court Tabora Registry on May 18, 2023.
Both appellants and a co-accused (who was not party to this appeal) were sentenced to death after being found guilty of murdering two children whose bodies were discovered with slit throats and buried near a room used by one of the accused.
The appellants denied involvement in the killings, but the trial court convicted them by relying heavily on their confession statements.
The appellants challenged the decision on several grounds, including unlawful search and arrest, arguing that the prosecution failed to prove the case against them.
During the hearing, the Republic supported the appeal, informing the court that because the confession statements were contested during trial, a trial-within-a-trial was mandatory to determine whether they were given voluntarily.
The state attorney acknowledged that if those confession statements were expunged, the remaining evidence would be insufficient to sustain a conviction, as the exhibits seized resulted from an illegal search conducted without a search warrant.
After reviewing the proceedings, the justices agreed that a trial-within-a-trial ought to have been conducted once the confessions were challenged.
Because that was not done, the court expunged the statements from the trial record.
Justice Masoud stated that the evidence regarding the search and seized items was unlawful because no search warrant was tendered as an exhibit. Removing that evidence left nothing to link the appellants to the crime.
“The absence of a search warrant means that the search was conducted unlawfully, and thus exhibits five and six obtained during that search are expunged from the record. The remaining evidence from the first witness to the 11th and 13th is insufficient to prove guilt; we set aside the conviction and order that they be set free,” ruled the bench.
In the third appeal (No. 226/2023), the justices set free Mr Dotto Gibe, Ms Saida Maige, and Ms Elizabeth Paul, who challenged their capital sentences after being convicted of murdering Mr Juma Mdundu on October 23, 2021, in Mwamapuli Village, Igunga District, Tabora Region.
The High Court Tabora Registry had convicted them after the prosecution presented evidence alleging they were involved in a plot to murder Mr Mdundu stemming from a long-standing land dispute.
Dissatisfied with that ruling, the appellants argued that the High Court erred in relying on their confession statements, which were neither listed nor read out during the preliminary hearing as required by law.
They contended that due to non-compliance with statutory procedure, the statements should never have been admitted as exhibits.
The justices agreed that the statements relied upon by the High Court were admitted contrary to proper legal procedure.
Justice Ndika stated that the prosecution ought to have given formal notice to the appellants regarding its intention to tender the statements as evidence.
Regarding the out-of-court statement of the first appellant, the court found it was not recorded in accordance with Chief Justice directives, specifically failing to properly inform him that his statement could be used as evidence against him. The court subsequently expunged the statement.
“In the result, we allow the appeal, quash the death sentences against the appellants, and accordingly order that the appellants be released from prison unless held for another reason,” concluded Justice Ndika.
