PASCAL NKALA TUBULA V. REPUBLIC

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

The appellant Pascal Nkala Tubula was convicted of robbery contrary to section 296(1) of the Penal Code and sentenced to four years imprisonment with three strokes of the cane. His appeal to the superior court was dismissed. He has appealed to this court against both conviction and sentence. There were only two grounds of appeal that deserved consideration. These are that:

(a)there was no identification parade held for the complainant to positively identify him; and (b)the alleged search of his house was conducted in his absence.

The robbery at the house of James Nakoje Mulama, with which Tubula was charged and convicted took place in the very early morning hours of 22nd January, 1991 (about 1 a.m.). There were at least five people who attacked mulama and his wife Catherine Mutsetsi Nakoje. Mulama was cut on the hand and head during the robbery and ran under the bed where he hid himself. This witness told the court:

"when lying under the bed I recognized one when the…