Arusha. A disagreement over a Sh18,000 (about $6.9 on the prevailing exchange rate) debt between two close friends ended in tragedy after a court found Mr Ally Athumani guilty of killing his friend, Mr Aidan Daudi, but convicted him of manslaughter instead of murder.
The High Court’s Kigoma Sub-Registry found that the prosecution had failed to prove that Mr Athumani had a prior intention to kill, leading the court to reduce the charge from murder to manslaughter.
The judgment was delivered on June 30, 2026, by Judge Augustine Rwizile, who presided over the case.
According to the judgment uploaded on the Judiciary website, Mr Athumani was convicted, although details of his sentence were not provided. Under Sections 195 and 198 of the Penal Code, manslaughter carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
The court heard that on July 19, 2024, Mr Athumani gave Mr Daudi a memory card and a small solar panel worth Sh18,000 to sell on his behalf.
The two were close friends, and Mr Athumani expected to receive the money after the items were sold.
Later that night, while Mr Daudi was having dinner with his wife, Ms Hamisa Almas, and his brother-in-law, Mr Kitwana Almas, Mr Athumani arrived at their home and asked to speak with him privately outside.
Ms Almas told the court that she heard the two men discussing money related to the items before she heard her husband shouting for help.
When she went outside, she found her husband lying on the ground bleeding heavily, while Mr Athumani was leaving the scene holding what appeared to be a knife.
Neighbours responded to the screams and rushed Mr Daudi to Maweni Regional Referral Hospital, where he later died.
A medical report showed that he died from severe blood loss caused by a stab wound to the neck that damaged a major blood vessel.
The court heard that after his arrest, Mr Athumani gave a caution statement, which was admitted as evidence. In the statement, he explained how he had given Mr Daudi the items to sell, the disagreement over the money and how he stabbed him before fleeing and hiding the knife at his home.
The prosecution presented five witnesses, including Mr Daudi’s wife, as well as two exhibits: a post-mortem report and the accused’s caution statement.
In his defence, Mr Athumani denied knowing the deceased and claimed he was carrying out his normal activities in Kibirizi on the day of the incident.
His mother, Ms Hadija Sehelami, supported his defence, telling the court that her son was at home when police arrived to arrest him.
However, the court rejected the defence, finding that evidence showed Mr Athumani knew the deceased and his family.
Judge Rwizile said Ms Almas’ testimony was credible because she had known the accused for a long time, there was sufficient lighting at the scene, and she saw him before and after the attack.
The court also found that the medical evidence and the accused’s caution statement supported the prosecution’s case.
However, while the evidence proved that Mr Athumani caused Mr Daudi’s death, the court said the prosecution failed to establish an intention to kill.
The judge noted that the two men were friends, there was no evidence of a long-standing dispute, and the confrontation appeared to have occurred suddenly following an argument over money.
The court also observed that the deceased was stabbed only once and there was no evidence of prior planning.
Based on those circumstances, Judge Rwizile exercised the court’s powers under Section 319(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act to convict Mr Athumani of manslaughter instead of murder.
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