The High Court in Arusha has ordered Mariam Gida be released immediately after it quashed both her conviction and sentence. She was jailed 30 years by the district court for trafficking eight kilograms of Catha edulis or Khat – (mirungi), considered a narcotic drug in Tanzania, but not so in neighboring Kenya. “I hereby quash the conviction and set aside the sentence imposed on the appellant. I also order her immediate release from prison unless she is lawfully held on other grounds,” the judge declared in the recent judgment. The judge ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove her offence beyond reasonable doubt. He specifically pointed out that the inventory form, which was prepared after the destruction of the alleged narcotic substance, had been illegally obtained because the appellant was not given the opportunity to comment on it. As a result, the form could not support the prosecution’s case and was removed from court records. “After removing Exhibit P5 (the inventory form) from the records, the remaining evidence was insufficient to uphold the conviction of the appellant for the alleged trafficking of narcotic drugs,” Judge Mwenda stated. The prosecution had alleged that on September 21, 2022, at the Arusha Bus Station, Mariam was found unlawfully trafficking narcotic drugs, specifically Catha edulis. On the day in question, two police officers, while on patrol at the station, noticed Mariam carrying a black bag as she boarded Salama Luxury Coach to a destination out of the city. Getting suspicious, they followed her and upon searching her inside the bus, they found 50 bundles of green or fresh leaves, which were suspected to be narcotic substance.
