The Preliminary Inquiry

“A crowd of solemn-faced African villagers sat on the stone benches around the whitewashed walls of the court, squatted on the concrete floor and stood four deep outside.” In early May, the magistrate holds a preliminary inquiry (PI) in Maswa. After a three-day hearing, the magistrate orders Bill to be held for trial in the High Court in Mwanza because the prosecution has presented a prima facie case. Several eyewitnesses are called to testify about the events on Impala Hill on March 27, 1966. Although the prosecution presents its entire case, the defense offers none of its evidence because under Tanzanian law it can be reserved for later. A strategic decision is made based on the assumption that the prosecution has adequate evidence to lead the magistrate to order Bill to trial; in this way, the prosecution will be unprepared and surprised by evidence put forward at the trial.