Muakana, Gracia

Gracia Muakana appeared at Croydon Crown Court in August 2011 charged with robbery and handling stolen goods. He pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods but not guilty to robbery. He was convicted of both and sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment.

He tried to appeal against his conviction in 2012 but was refused leave to appeal. He applied to the CCRC for a review of his case in February 2013.

Having conducted a detailed review of the case the CCRC decided to refer Mr Muakana’s robbery conviction to the Court of Appeal.

The referral was made on the basis that the trial judge failed to give the jury appropriate directions in relation to Mr Muakana’s alibi and in relation to the “no comment” interview he gave to police.

The CCRC considered that, in the specific circumstances of the case, the combined impact of these misdirections raised a real possibility that the Court of Appeal would regard Mr Muakana’s robbery conviction as being unsafe.

The CCRC referred the conviction in July 2015.

The Court of Appeal upheld the conviction in March 2016.