A provincial court sentenced Maria Ngoda, a mother of four, to 22 years in jail in November 2023 for possessing antelope meat which is an offence under the country's wildlife protection laws. However, she was set free by Tanzania's High Court in February following a huge public outcry against the harshness of the punishment.
The case set a fresh precedent in Tanzania in terms of striking a balance between the application of the laws of the land and the dispensation of fair justice by lower-level courts in particular.
It drew much attention within legal and social circles where relentless questions were raised over the length of the prison term compared to the nature of the offence. The fact that Ngoda was a destitute and recently widowed mother who couldn’t afford to hire her own defence counsel was highlighted, along with the provincial court’s failure to provide her with free legal aid which she was entitled to under Tanzanian law.
Prominent legal groups that voiced loud concerns over the conduct of the case included the Tanganyika Law Society (TLS) and Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC). Political overtones also entered the mix when the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party became involved by offering to sponsor a formal appeal against the verdict.
The TLS and CCM’s women’s wing subsequently joined forces to provide a panel of defence lawyers for the appeal hearing which ran for two weeks in February.
Ngoda, aged 40, was found with a bucket containing 12 strips of antelope meat worth just under US$360. In Tanzania, antelope are considered government trophies, and possessing antelope meat without a permit is a criminal violation of wildlife conservation and anti-economic sabotage laws, punishable by a fine of not less than three times the value of the booty, a jail term of between 20 and 30 years, or both.
Discussions within the legal fraternity and on social media following Ngoda’s acquittal have been dominated by fresh calls for Tanzania’s parliament to review laws that appear to deny equal justice to people with meagre financial resources.
Anna Henga, LHRC executive director, said Ngoda’s case had shown how Tanzania’s legal system can be quicker to punish lower-class citizens than "people with status, influence in society or good economic status" who commit more serious crimes.
Ngoda spent a total of seven months in remand prison, four of them before the November sentencing and three more up to her acquittal in February. The situation left her family so poor that the eldest, a daughter, had to drop out of secondary school due to her mother’s inability to pay the required fees.
"In a legal system that prioritises equality and justice for all, it is important that penalties for alleged crimes take into account the intentions and social conditions of the accused persons alongside the circumstances of the offence committed, without any discrimination whatsoever," Henga said.
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