Man who appealed 30-year sentence gets life imprisonment in Tanzania
A Tanzanian man who appealed a 30-year sentence for sodomizing a 10-year-old child has had his sentence increased to life imprisonment by the High Court. The judge ruled that the original sentence was unlawful under the Penal Code, which mandates life imprisonment for crimes against minors.
Why it matters
The ruling highlights the strict legal enforcement of child protection laws in Tanzania and the risks associated with appealing criminal convictions.
Arusha. Acram Ashirafu, who appealed against a 30-year prison sentence for sodomising a 10-year-old child, has ended up with a harsher punishment after the High Court’s Bukoba Sub-Registry dismissed his appeal and increased the sentence to life imprisonment.
Mr Ashirafu, who was 19 and a secondary school student when the offence was committed, had challenged a Bukoba District Court judgment that convicted him of sodomising the child and sentenced him to 30 years in prison.
The High Court, however, ruled that the sentence imposed by the lower court was unlawful because the law prescribes life imprisonment for the offence where the victim is under 18.
The ruling was delivered on August 7, 2026, by Judge Lilian Itemba in Criminal Appeal No. 8155 of 2026, filed by Mr Ashirafu against the Republic.
Judge Itemba said the appellant was not eligible for a 30-year sentence because the victim was 10 years old.
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