Arusha. The Court of Appeal has overturned a life imprisonment sentence handed down to a retail shop owner in the Mto wa Mbu area of Monduli District, Arusha Region, Mr Baraka Makubi, after finding that the evidence lacked the credibility required to prove a charge of child rape beyond reasonable doubt.
In a judgment delivered on July Friday, 17, 2026, a panel of justices comprising Lugano Mwandambo, Abraham Mwampashi, and Lameck Mlacha quashed the previous convictions.
A copy of the ruling was subsequently uploaded to the Judiciary of Tanzania website.
The appellate court allowed Mr Makubi’s appeal, setting aside the prior verdicts of both the Monduli District Court and the High Court (Arusha Zone), which had originally upheld the life sentence.
Mr Makubi had been prosecuted for rape contrary to sections 130(1), 130(2)(e), and 131(1) of the Penal Code under criminal case number 19/2021.
The prosecution's evidence
Records from the lower court show that the alleged offence occurred on June 29, 2021, in Mto wa Mbu.
The minor, aged three and identified by the initials AJ to protect her identity, was alleged to have been assaulted by Mr Makubi, a retail trader and close family neighbour.
The victim's mother testified that the minor returned home complaining of severe discomfort in her private parts.
Following a physical inspection at home, the child allegedly named Mr Makubi as the perpetrator.
A medical officer who later examined the child testified that he observed inflammation around the vulva, along with fluid deposits confirmed to be semen, adding that the area was dilated enough to permit the passage of a small finger.
This evidence initially prompted the Monduli District Court to convict Mr Makubi and sentence him to life imprisonment, a decision upheld by the High Court in 2023 during his first appeal.
The final appeal
Undeterred, Mr Makubi lodged a second appeal before the Court of Appeal, challenging his conviction on multiple grounds.
His defence highlighted substantial contradictions in witness testimonies, unprocedural delays in prosecution, and a general failure to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt.
The primary factor that secured Mr Makubi's acquittal was the panel's detailed analysis of the inherent contradictions within both the testimonial and medical evidence.
The justices noted that the toddler lived a mere five metres away from Mr Makubi's shop, and her father was present at home throughout the duration of the alleged assault.
The justices questioned how the father could have failed to hear the child cry out if a forcible sexual assault had occurred, noting that such an act would typically cause severe distress to a child of that tender age.
The court also pointed out that the minor managed to walk back home unaided to report the discomfort to her father, a scenario that appeared inconsistent with the claims of severe, traumatic physical injury described by the medical officer.
Furthermore, the appellate court observed that no traces of blood were detected during either the initial maternal inspection or the subsequent clinical examination.
Critiquing the medical testimony, the justices noted the doctor's claim that the minor had been penetrated on more than one occasion.
The court questioned who had previously assaulted the child and why the mother, who bathed her regularly, had never noticed such physical changes before the date of the incident.
The justices concluded that the two lower courts had misapprehended the evidence and failed to evaluate the facts holistically.
In addition, the court ruled that the child’s testimony, which was unsworn due to her age, was too brief and lacked the material details necessary to sustain a criminal conviction.
During her short statement, the child had merely claimed that the appellant mistreated her and gave her sweets.
The panel further held that the testimonies of the remaining prosecution witnesses were based entirely on what they were told by the child, rendering them hearsay and incapable of independently proving the core allegations.
"AJ's evidence was weak but also faced the risk that it was the product of coaching stemming from the defence that there was a sexual design which was rejected," the justices ruled.
Following a comprehensive evaluation of the case file, the Court of Appeal concluded that there was insufficient and credible evidence to prove the charge of rape against Mr Makubi beyond any reasonable doubt.
Consequently, the court allowed the appeal, quashed the decisions of the lower courts, set aside the conviction and life sentence, and ordered the immediate release of Mr Makubi from custody unless held for other lawful reasons.
