Dodoma. The High Court of Tanzania, Dodoma Registry, has upheld the life imprisonment sentence handed to four security officers convicted of gang rape but set aside their conviction for group sodomy, ruling that such an offence does not exist under Tanzanian law.
The appellants, Tanzania People’s Defence Force (TPDF) officer Private Clinton Damas, popularly known as Nyundo; Amin Lema (Kindamba); Nickson Jackson (Machuche); and Prison Officer Praygod Mushi, had appealed against their conviction and life sentence imposed by the Dodoma Resident Magistrate’s Court.
Delivering the judgment on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, Judge Amir Mruma said that while individual acts of sodomy are punishable under Tanzanian law, there is no provision recognising “group sodomy” as a criminal offence.
However, he affirmed that the law clearly provides that gang rape carries a mandatory life sentence, which has no alternative penalty. The four will therefore continue serving their sentences for the gang rape conviction.
Judge Mruma criticised the legal framework for lacking an alternative punishment for gang rape, saying it conflicts with the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, which grants the judiciary final authority in dispensing justice.
“The law has tied the hands of the court because there is no alternative punishment to life imprisonment,” he said. “This places the statute above the Constitution, which states that the courts have the final say in the administration of justice. This provision ought to be reviewed.”
He observed that punishment should ideally promote reform and rehabilitation, but life imprisonment and the death penalty deprive offenders of that opportunity, especially when the convicts are young.
The judge noted that the four men, aged between 23 and 27, were relatively young at the time of the offence and may not have fully grasped the gravity of their actions.
According to court records, the victim had initially consented to sexual intercourse with one man, but the others forced their way into the room and raped her.
Judge Mruma called for a comprehensive review of the country’s penal laws to align them with present-day realities, particularly those relating to group sodomy and gang rape, which currently do not grant courts discretion to impose alternative sentences.
He said the conviction was supported by video evidence and the victim’s testimony, which clearly identified each of the accused committing the offences. None of the appellants disputed appearing in the footage.
“If they had denied being the ones in the video, further forensic analysis could have been conducted, perhaps even to determine whether it was artificial intelligence, but since no one disputed it, there was no need for further examination,” he said.
The appellants were represented by advocates Godfrey Wasonga, Robert Owino, and Meshack Ngamando, while the state was represented by Principal State Attorney Lucy Uisso, and prosecutors Ahmed Mtenga and Aziza Mhina.
Judge Mruma upheld only one ground of appeal, the unlawfulness of the group sodomy charge, saying no such offence exists under Tanzanian law.
Outside the courtroom, Principal State Attorney Uisso said the judgment exposed gaps in current sexual offence laws, particularly those concerning gang rape and sodomy, and called for urgent legislative review.
“When the sodomy law was enacted, lawmakers did not anticipate the possibility of group involvement, which is why no specific punishment was prescribed,” she said.
Defence lawyer Wasonga said his team intends to appeal further to ensure their clients receive full justice.
The four were convicted on September 30, 2024, by the Dodoma Resident Magistrate’s Court for gang rape and unnatural offences against a young woman from Yombo Dovya in Dar es Salaam. They were sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to pay the victim Sh1 million each in compensation
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