Wakilii

Mwita v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 012-2019)

African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights · [2020] AfCHPR 50 · 2020 Provisional Measures Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for provisional measures pending determination of main application alleging violations of the African Charter
Decision
Provisional measures granted staying execution pending determination of main application on merits

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights granted provisional measures staying execution of the applicant's death sentence pending determination of her main application. The Court held it had prima facie jurisdiction despite Tanzania's withdrawal of its Article 34(6) Declaration, as the withdrawal has no retroactive effect on pending matters and takes effect twelve months after deposit. The Court found extreme gravity and urgency existed given the irreversible nature of the death penalty.

Outcome

Provisional measures granted staying execution pending determination of main application on merits

Facts

Ghati Mwita, a Tanzanian national imprisoned at Butimba Central Prison, Mwanza, was convicted of murder by the High Court of Tanzania on 19 September 2011 and sentenced to death. The Court of Appeal upheld the sentence on 11 March 2013 and dismissed her application for review on 19 March 2015. On 24 April 2019, she filed an application with the African Court alleging violations of Articles 4, 7 and 20 of the African Charter, claiming her conviction was based on insufficient and unreliable evidence. On 29 October 2019, through court-appointed counsel, she requested provisional measures to stay execution pending determination of her application. Tanzania had deposited an instrument withdrawing its Article 34(6) Declaration on 21 November 2019. Tanzania maintained a moratorium on the death penalty since 1994 but the applicant argued nothing prevented recommencement of executions.

Issues

  1. Whether the Court has prima facie jurisdiction to hear the application for provisional measures.
  2. Whether the circumstances warrant the grant of provisional measures to stay execution of the applicant's death sentence pending determination of the main application.

Orders

  • Stay execution of the death sentence handed down against the Applicant, pending the Court's determination of the Application on merits.
  • Respondent State to report to the Court within Sixty (60) days of receipt of this Order, on the measures taken to implement it.

Rules and key headnotes

Human Rights — Provisional Measures — Withdrawal of Article 34(6) Declaration — Effect on Pending Matters
Withdrawal of a Declaration deposited pursuant to Article 34(6) of the Protocol to the African Charter does not have retroactive effect and has no bearing on matters pending prior to the filing of the instrument withdrawing the Declaration. Any withdrawal of the Declaration takes effect twelve months after the instrument of withdrawal is deposited.
Human Rights — Provisional Measures — Prima Facie Jurisdiction
For the purpose of issuing an Order for Provisional Measures, the Court need not establish that it has jurisdiction on the merits of the Application, but must simply satisfy itself that it has prima facie jurisdiction.
Human Rights — Provisional Measures — Death Penalty — Extreme Gravity and Urgency
The implementation of the death penalty, with its irreversible character, constitutes a situation of extreme gravity and urgency that could cause irreparable harm and render nugatory any finding by the Court on the merits, warranting the adoption of provisional measures to stay execution pending determination of the application.

Legislation cited (11)

  • Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 22
  • Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 27(2)
  • Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 34(6)
  • Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 3
  • Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 3(1)
  • Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 5
  • Rules of Court Rule 8(2)
  • Rules of Court Rule 51(1)
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 4
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 7
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 20

Cases cited (5)

  • Ingabire Victoire Umuhoza v Rwanda (2016) 1 AfCLR 562
  • African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights v Libya (Application No. 002/2013)
  • African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights v Kenya (Application No. 006/2012)
  • Komi Koutche v Republic of Benin (Application No. 020/2019)
  • Armand Guehi v United Republic of Tanzania (2016) 1 AfCLR 587

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Mwita v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 012-2019) [2020] AfCHPR 50 (9 April 2020)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.