Court throws out appeal against death sentence

Dar es Salaam. When John Shini brutally killed a 62-year old woman, Antonia Jitinde at night on October 4, 2013 at Zawa Village in Simiyu Region - so that he could ‘inherit’ 25 cows and a farm which the childless woman owned, he thought it was all over.
And when weeks passed without suspicion over the disappearance of the woman who had employed him to take care of her cows for many years, Shini started selling the cows.
However, as the ki-Swahili saying goes, ‘damu ya mtu haipotei bure’ - literally meaning ‘innocent blood always cries out for justice’ - the truth of how Ms Jitinde was axed to death started to emerge 28 days later.

Villagers raise suspicion
Neighbours of Ms Jitini and fellow villagers were the first to raise suspicion after noticing that she had not been seen for days.
But, Shini continued to attend to the cows routinely.
When arrested Shini told village leaders that the woman had gone to a nearby Isoro Village to look for traditional medicine to protect her cows against thieves.
When the panel further inquired why he was selling her cows in her absence, Shini told them that the old lady had asked him to do so to raise money for the medicine.
The village leaders decided to take the suspect to Shishiwi Police Station for questioning. But was released within no time because there was no report of a missing person filed there.
The next day, the village leaders ordered arrest of the suspect after her relatives reported the matter to the police.
This time round, the suspect confessed to the village leader that he had killed the old woman in the company of his friend who had since been on the run, so that he could inherit her cows and farms.
He made similar confession before the police and took them to a pit where he buried her body. The pit was used by the woman to prepare bricks.
He told the police that on the fateful day, he and his friend visited the old woman in the evening and had supper with her and left.
He further revealed that they did not go far but hide in a bush until midnight when they returned and attacked the woman with an axe which the woman had borrowed from her neighbor for cutting
On July 29, 2016 High Court Judge Makani found the appellant guilty and sentenced him to death by hanging based on circumstantial evidence and his oral confession which led to the discovery of the deceased’s body.
Last week, Shini lost his appeal to have the conviction and death sentence against him set aside by the Court of Appeal.