Why appeals court freed man jailed 15 years over heroin conviction

It ruled that the delay weakened the credibility of prosecution witnesses and created doubts that should have benefited the accused.

In a judgment delivered on June 22, 2026, by a panel of Appeal Court judges Barke Sehel, Issa Maige and Lameck Mlacha, the court said there was no evidence showing what investigations, if any, were continuing between December 2019, when the appellant was arrested, and January 2022, when he was brought before the court.

Nassor was arrested on December 3, 2019, at Fuoni Kwa Mabala in Magharibi A District, Zanzibar, after allegedly being found in possession of 15.6211 grams of heroin.

The Regional Court initially sentenced him to seven years in prison after convicting him of the offence.

However, after he appealed to the High Court, his appeal was dismissed and the sentence was increased from seven years to 15 years.

According to prosecution evidence, officers from the Anti-Narcotics Unit arrested him during patrol operations and claimed to have recovered a small bag containing brown powder, which was later confirmed by the Government Chemist to be heroin.

Nassor denied the allegations, arguing that he had not been found in possession of narcotics. He further claimed that after his arrest he had been released on police bail and required to report daily at a police station while undertaking cleaning duties for a prolonged period before eventually being charged more than two years later.

Grounds of appeal

In his appeal, Nassor raised eight grounds challenging both the conviction and sentence, arguing that the lower courts erred in convicting him because the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.

He also maintained that he had never been found in possession of heroin and that the evidence presented against him was neither reliable nor truthful.

Regarding the delay in bringing him before court, he argued that the unexplained period of more than two years reflected weaknesses in the prosecution's case and violated his rights. He therefore asked the Court of Appeal to overturn the conviction and set him free.

The prosecution also conceded that it had no explanation for what transpired during that period, while acknowledging that forensic examination of the drugs had been completed only days after his arrest.

Court ruling

Justice Mlacha said that while delays in bringing a suspect before court do not automatically invalidate a conviction in every case, the circumstances in this matter had significantly undermined the credibility of prosecution evidence.

The court said that if the appellant had indeed been arrested in possession of heroin as alleged, there would have been no logical reason to wait more than two years before charging him, particularly when forensic analysis by the Government Chemist had already been completed within days.

The judges found that the delay strengthened the appellant’s defence, particularly his claims that he had not been arrested while in possession of drugs and that he had continued reporting to the police for a long period without being charged.

The court further noted that both the Regional Court and the High Court had failed to assess the impact of the delay on the credibility of prosecution evidence.

As a result, the Court of Appeal concluded that the prosecution had failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt. It therefore allowed the appeal, quashed the decisions of both the Regional Court and the High Court together with the 15-year sentence, and ordered Nassor’s immediate release unless he was being held on other lawful grounds.