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Kinondoni court sets free lawyer in rape case
2008-01-18 09:18:45
By Gabriela John
The Kinondoni Resident Magistrate`s Court in Dar es Salaam yesterday set free a private lawyer Benjamin Mwakagamba, who has been facing charges of raping a 12-year-old girl.
Reading the judgment, Resident Magistrate Eliminius Mchauro said the prosecution had failed to prove that the accused was guilty.
He said that the prosecution brought four witnesses while the defendant brought three witnesses.
Mchauro added that all prosecution witnesses, including the girl who claimed to have been raped, were not sure of the evidence they gave in court, making the court doubt the authenticity of their statements.
``It is not upon the accused to prove that he is not guilty, but rather the burden of proof lies on the prosecution to prove that the accused is guilty, and this can be proved by the evidence tendered in court,`` he said.
It was alleged that the accused committed the offence on an unknown date in May 2005 at Ubungo NHC area in Kinondoni.
Meanwhile, a mason, Said Juma, a resident of Ubungo in the city, was brought before the same court charged with rape.
The accused appeared before magistrate Stahimili Ngawasya.
Prosecutor Alfred Kasoro told the court that on January 9, this year, at Mbezi the accused had sexual intercourse with a 16-year-old girl.
The accused pleaded not guilty to the charge and the case comes up for another mention on January 30, this year.
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