Corpun file 19411

The Guardian, Dar es Salaam, 14 July 2007

Four armed robbers sentenced to 30 years

By Charles Masayanyika
PST Babati

The Manyara Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday sentenced four people to 30 years in jail with 12 strokes of the cane each after convicting them of armed robbery and being found in possession of stolen property.

The resident magistrate, Huruma Shaidi, set free three other persons who were jointly charged with the convicts for lack of evidence.

The four who were sentenced include Elibariki Asoraeli, alias, Kisali (36), Mohamed Dominick (30), both residents of Poli-Ndatu Village, Humphrey Langali (24) a resident of Nduruma and Muslimu Saidi (26) alias Cheupe, or Shabani, and also Jimmy, a resident of Usa-River.

Those set free are Kanaeli Emanuel, a resident of Ndatu, Mussa Mohamedi (24), a resident of Nambara Village and Rahel Noeli (31) who is the wife of convicted Kisali.

It was alleged in court by the prosecutor, Assistant Inspector of Police, Evodius Kasigwa, that the accused committed the offence on August 25, last year at 10pm at Lemshuku Village in Simanjiro District, Manyara Region.

Kasigwa alleged that on the material day, the accused who were armed, broke into the office of Evergreen Exploration Co. Ltd owned by a French national, Mark Saul, and stole various items worth millions of shillings.

He alleged that before stealing, they gravely injured an employee of the company, Jonathan Traves, by slashing him with machetes causing him grievous harm that warranted his admission to Mount Meru Hospital in Arusha, and subsequent referral to Kenya for expert treatment.

Kasigwa alleged that the stolen properties include an 'Air' type gun worth 300,000/-, a 'Moesbarg' No 203735 worth 800,000/-, 35 rounds of ammunition valued at 35,000/-, a 'Thuraya' cell phone worth 1m/-, a Dstv decoder valued at 250,000/- and 5m/- in cash, all valued at 6.6m/-.

He claimed that after committing the robbery, the accused were arrested at different times and brought before the court for the first time on September 6, last year before Magistrate Shaidi where they pleaded not guilty.

A total of 14 witnesses were brought in by the prosecution, while some of the stolen items were tendered in court as exhibits.

Before the sentence the prosecution called for stiffer sentences as a deterrent to the spate of armed robbery in Mirerani mining area.

Delivering judgment, Magistrate Shaidi sentenced the four to 30 years in jail and 12 strokes of the cane each; six on entry and six others on leaving the prison.

The court also ordered one 'Honda CC 250' motorcycle with registration number T582AMX and a 'Honda CC 250’ with registration number T783ANV, (found with fake registration number TZQ7956), which were used in the robbery incident, to be auctioned. The court also ordered the stolen weapons to be returned to the lawful owner.

SOURCE: Guardian