ARE YOU A WITNESS?
I must start by throwing more light on who a witness is. Witness in Law has a narrow meaning unlike its literal meaning as is the case with many other legal terms little wonder Patrick Delvin in his book, ‘the criminal prosecution’ once said, “every witness is an editor; he tells not everything he saw and heard for that would be impossible, but rather what he saw and heard and deem significant and what he finds significant depends on his preconceptions”
The term witness in its strict and narrow sense means one who gives evidence in a case before a court that may be the determinant of the judge’s judgment.
As a witness to a crime, your cooperation is essential to make the criminal justice system work or thrive better. I have taken to this discourse in an effort to lessen the inconveniences of would-be witnesses and to help them feel more comfortable in the court room.
WHEN TESTIFYING: here are some suggestions to keep in mind. What to say and what not to say as you prepare for your appearance.
· Always tell the truth. At trial as in all other matters, honesty is the best policy. If you tell the truth and tell it accordingly, nobody can cross you up. Do not guess or make up an answer. It is best to say, “I don’t know” if you are asked to explain a detail that you don’t know or remember, it issue best to say, “I don’t remember”. In a nutshell, it all boils down to the truth.
· Answer all questions directly and answer only the questions you are asked and then stop. Avoid “volunteering information” the court is not a Father Christmas and you must not make yourself a Santa Claus with answers.
· Beware of simple questions such as, “why are you here today?” hei! You have not come to volunteer information in order to convict. You are not voluntary organizations. It is safer to say, “you have appeared at trial in response to being served with a subpoena issued by the court”.
· Please at all times, give positive, definite answers whenever possible. Avoid saying, “I think, I believe, in my opinion” gentleman! The court will not entertain all those. As a witness, you testify to facts and not beliefs or opinions.
· Do not say, “That’s all that happened”, get more smart by saying, “that’s all I can recall”. Remember you are like an editor and not bound to remember everything. If possible, later in your testimony, you may remember more details.
In conclusion, the role of witnesses especially in any criminal prosecution cannot be over emphasized. It’s the bedrock of evidence law and most often, judgments are based on the testimony of witnesses since the court cannot be at two places at a time.
As I get to more study, I hope to throw more light on the roles of witnesses in criminal trials especially the Do’s and Don’ts.but before then, the most effective witness is one who can tell their ‘story’ comfortably. Just tell the truth and be yourself. Everything else I bet will be taken care of.
The contributor is a law student and tweets @yung_silky
Je, Wewe Ni Shahidi? Lazima nianze kwa kutoa nuru zaidi juu ya ni nani shahidi. "Kama ilivyo katika sheria, shahidi ni mtu ambaye anajibu kwa njia ya kipekee, na kwa njia ya kipekee, na kwa njia ya kipekee, na kwa njia ya kipekee, na kwa njia ya kipekee, na kwa njia ya kipekee, na kwa njia ya kipekee, na kwa njia ya kipekee, na kwa njia ya kipekee, na kwa njia ya kipekee, na kwa njia ya kipekee, na kwa njia ya kipekee.""" Kama shahidi wa uhalifu, ushirikiano wako ni muhimu ili kufanya mfumo wa haki ya jinai ufanye kazi au ukue vizuri. """Nimechukua hotuba hii katika juhudi ya kupunguza usumbufu wa watakaokuwa mashahidi na kuwasaidia kujisikia vizuri zaidi katika chumba cha mahakama." Wakati wa kutoa ushahidi: hapa ni mapendekezo machache ya kukumbuka. Nini cha kusema na nini cha kutosema wakati wa kuandaa kwa ajili ya kuonekana kwako. · Sema kweli sikuzote. Katika kesi kama ilivyo katika mambo mengine yote, uaminifu-mshikamanifu ndio njia bora zaidi. Ukisema ukweli na kusema kulingana na hilo, hakuna mtu anayeweza kukukosea. Usidhanie au kutunga jibu. Ni bora kusema, "Sijui" ikiwa unaulizwa kuelezea maelezo ambayo hujui au kukumbuka, ni bora kusema, "Sikumbuki". Kwa ufupi, yote hayo yanatokana na ukweli. · Jibu maswali yote moja kwa moja na jibu tu maswali unaulizwa na kisha kuacha. Kuepuka <unk> kujitolea habari <unk> mahakama si Baba Krismasi na lazima si kufanya mwenyewe Santa Claus na majibu. · Jihadharini na maswali rahisi kama vile, <unk>kwa nini uko hapa leo?<unk> hei! Wewe si kuja kutoa habari kwa hiari ili kuhukumu. Ninyi si mashirika ya kujitolea. Ni salama zaidi kusema, <unk>umekuwa umeonekana mahakamani kwa kujibu kutolewa kwa subpoena iliyotolewa na mahakama<unk>. · Tafadhali wakati wote, toa majibu mazuri, ya uhakika inapowezekana. Epuka kusema, "Nafikiri, naamini, kwa maoni yangu" bwana! Mahakama haitakubali mambo hayo yote. Kama shahidi, unatoa ushahidi wa mambo ya hakika na si imani au maoni. · Usiseme, "Hiyo ndiyo yote ambayo ilitokea", kuwa na busara zaidi kwa kusema, "hiyo ndiyo yote ninayoweza kukumbuka". Kumbuka wewe ni kama mhariri na si amefungwa kukumbuka kila kitu. Ikiwa inawezekana, baadaye katika ushuhuda wako, unaweza kukumbuka mambo zaidi. Kwa kumalizia, jukumu la mashahidi hasa katika mashtaka yoyote ya jinai haliwezi kusisitizwa kupita kiasi. Ni msingi wa sheria ya ushahidi na mara nyingi, hukumu hutegemea ushuhuda wa mashahidi kwani mahakama haiwezi kuwa katika maeneo mawili kwa wakati mmoja. Kama mimi kupata zaidi ya utafiti, Natumaini kutupa mwanga zaidi juu ya majukumu ya mashahidi katika kesi za jinai hasa Do's na Don'ts.lakini kabla ya hapo, shahidi ufanisi zaidi ni mmoja ambaye anaweza kuwaambia 'hadithi' yao kwa urahisi. Tu kusema ukweli na kuwa wewe mwenyewe. Kila kitu kingine mimi bet itakuwa kushughulikiwa. Mchangiaji ni mwanafunzi wa sheria na tweets @yung_silky