TREASON

SMZ v. MACHANO KHAMIS ALI AND 17 OTHERS CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO 8

OF 2000
MATERIAL FACTS OF THE CASE; The accused were charged with treason contrary to
section 26 of the penal code the litigation was landed in the court of Zanzibar after the
amendment of the charge which was initially defective the accused raised the preliminary issue
that the charge of treason against the authority in the revolutionary government of Zanzibar
(serikali ya mapinduzi zanzibar s.m.z) was not maintainable as Zanzibar was not a sovereign
state.
DECISION OF THE COURT; it was held that
(i) The act should be proved to be treasonable which is against a sovereign state and for
a state to exist there must be a country in which people have settled down.
(ii) Treason is defined by article 28(4) of the union constitution as the gravest offence
against the united republic, although the article does not create an offence it
acknowledges the existence of an offence although it is not listed in the first schedule
of the constitution
(iii) The combined effect of article 28(4) and article 64(5) of the union constitution is to
repeal section 26 of the penal code.

RATIO DECIDENDI; It as argued in the case of haji v. nungu that treason is not a union matter
and hence it cannot be committed against the revolutionary government of zanzibar