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Werema and Another v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 024-2015)

African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights · [2018] AfCHPR 21 · 2018 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights challenging domestic criminal convictions for armed robbery on grounds of human rights violations under the African Charter
Decision
Application dismissed; applicants remain convicted and serving thirty-year prison sentences in Butimba Central Prison

Observed later treatment

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Holding

The African Court held that Tanzania did not violate the applicants' rights under the African Charter. The Court found it had jurisdiction despite Tanzania's objection and declared the application admissible. On the merits, the Court held that inconsistencies in prosecution witness testimony, while noted, did not reveal manifest error requiring international intervention, and deferred to domestic courts' evidential findings. The applicants failed to prove mistaken identity with sufficient weight, as the supporting letter from Tanzania's human rights commission was based only on preliminary investigation. The Court rejected claims of procedural isolation and discrimination, finding no evidence the applicants were treated differently from others in similar situations.

Outcome

Application dismissed; applicants remain convicted and serving thirty-year prison sentences in Butimba Central Prison

Facts

On 25 February 2001, a gang broke into the house of Mr. Maiko Matiko Nyisurya in Tanzania armed with machetes and a gun. When confronted, they inflicted eleven machete cuts on Mr. Maiko and stole clothing and 75,000 TZS. On 30 November 2001, the applicants were convicted of armed robbery by the District Court of Tarime based on testimony from six prosecution witnesses, including the victim and his wife, and sentenced to thirty years' imprisonment and twelve strokes of the cane. The High Court and Court of Appeal upheld the conviction. The applicants' request for review by the Court of Appeal was dismissed on 19 March 2015 as filed out of time. The applicants then filed an application with the African Court alleging their conviction was based on contradictory evidence and mistaken identity, supported by a letter from Tanzania's Commission for Human Rights indicating a preliminary investigation found others had committed the crime and paid compensation to the victim.

Issues

  1. Whether the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights has material jurisdiction to examine allegations that domestic court proceedings violated the African Charter.
  2. Whether the applicants exhausted local remedies before bringing their application to the Court.
  3. Whether the application was filed within a reasonable time after exhaustion of local remedies.
  4. Whether the applicants' conviction based on visual identification evidence violated their right to a fair trial under Article 7(1) of the African Charter.
  5. Whether the applicants' conviction was based on mistaken identity.
  6. Whether the applicants were isolated during the domestic proceedings in violation of their right to fair trial.
  7. Whether the applicants' conviction and the Court of Appeal's dismissal of their review application violated their right to equality before the law and equal protection under Article 3 of the African Charter.

Orders

  • Objection to jurisdiction dismissed.
  • Court declared it has jurisdiction.
  • Objection to admissibility dismissed.
  • Application declared admissible.
  • Respondent State has not violated Article 7 of the African Charter (right to fair trial).
  • Respondent State has not violated Article 3 of the African Charter (equality before the law).
  • All requests for relief sought by the Applicants not granted.
  • Each party to bear its own costs.

Rules and key headnotes

African Court Jurisdiction — Material Jurisdiction — Power to Review Domestic Court Evidentiary Findings
The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights has material jurisdiction to examine whether domestic court proceedings comply with international human rights standards, including the manner in which evidence was evaluated, without sitting as an appellate court, where the application alleges violations of rights protected by the African Charter.
Admissibility — Exhaustion of Local Remedies — Extraordinary Remedies
Review proceedings before the Court of Appeal of Tanzania constitute an extraordinary remedy rather than an ordinary judicial remedy, and applicants are not required to exhaust such extraordinary remedies before seizing the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights.
Admissibility — Reasonable Time — Calculation Where Individual Complaints Mechanism Not Yet Deposited
Where a state has not yet deposited the declaration under Article 34(6) of the Protocol allowing individuals to file cases, the reasonable time for filing an application to the African Court begins to run from the date of deposit of that declaration, not from the date local remedies were exhausted, and time spent pursuing available domestic procedures during this period does not count against the applicant.
Visual Identification Evidence — Standard of Proof — International Review
A fair trial requires that conviction based on visual identification evidence must rule out all circumstances of possible mistake and establish the suspect's identity with certainty through coherent and consistent testimony, but the African Court will defer to domestic courts' evaluation of evidence unless manifest error or miscarriage of justice is demonstrated.
Right to Be Heard — Post-Appellate Review — New Evidence
The right to have one's cause heard under Article 7(1) of the African Charter does not cease after completion of appellate proceedings and requires a mechanism to review findings where there are cogent reasons to believe trial or appellate court findings are no longer valid, particularly where new evidence would potentially lead to reversal or substantially different findings.
New Evidence — Weight — Preliminary Investigation
Evidence from a preliminary investigation by a national human rights commission, as opposed to a full investigation, cannot be relied upon to conclude that a substantially different outcome would have resulted in domestic proceedings had such evidence been available at trial.
Equality Before the Law — Burden of Proof — Discrimination
To establish a violation of the right to equality before the law and equal protection under Article 3 of the African Charter, it is incumbent on the party alleging discriminatory treatment to provide proof that they were subjected to unjustified differential treatment in comparison to other persons in a similar situation; general statements that a right has been violated are insufficient.

Legislation cited (10)

  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 2
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 3
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 7
  • 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 27
  • Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 34
  • Constitution of United Republic of Tanzania 1977 Article 107A
  • Constitution of United Republic of Tanzania Article 12
  • Constitution of United Republic of Tanzania Article 13
  • Penal Code of Tanzania Sections 285 and 286

Cases cited (12)

  • Alex Thomas v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 005/2013)
  • Peter Joseph Chacha v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 003/2014)
  • Ernest Francis Mtingwi v The Republic of Malawi (Application No. 001/2013)
  • Mohamed Abubakari v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 007/2013)
  • Norbert Zongo and Others v Burkina Faso (Application No. 013/2011)
  • Lohé Issa Konaté v Burkina Faso (Application No. 004/2013)
  • Wilfred Onyango Nganyi and 9 Others v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 006/2013)
  • Kijiji Isiaga v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 032/2015)
  • Waziri Amani v. United Republic of Tanzania
  • Anaclet Paulo v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 020/2016)
  • Tanganyika Law Society and Others v United Republic of Tanzania (Application Nos. 009 and 011/2011)
  • African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights v Republic of Kenya (Application No. 006/2012)

Full judgment

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

Werema and Another v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 024-2015) [2018] AfCHPR 21 (7 December 2018)
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.