Onesphory Materu v. The Republic

Salma Yusuf, a fourteen year old girl, alleged that the appellant police officer, Onesphory Materu, had raped her inside a police cell with a promise to release her (made in writing) after the fact. The trial court found the police officer guilty of rape and convicted him to a sentence of thirty years imprisonment, twenty four strokes of the cane and an order that he pays Shs.700,000 compensation to the complainant. The police officer had appealed for the second time and the court had to consider two grounds: (1) whether the victim was in fact telling the truth; and (2) that the court erred in relying on the “release note” as evidence of the crime. On the first matter, the court noted that inclusion of Section 127 (7) of the Evidence Act as amended by the Sexual Offences Special provisions Act, Number 4 of 1998 means that the only burden imposed on the court is “to give reasons that it is satisfied that a child of tender years or the victim of the offence is telling nothing but the truth”. There is no longer a requirement for the court to warn itself of the dangers of basing a conviction on the uncorroborated evidence of a child where a sexual offence is involved. On the second matter, the court noted that the appellant did not object to the entry into evidence of the note, so there can be no merit in objecting to it now. The conviction and sentencing was upheld.