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548 judgments found.
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August 2020
Credible child-victim evidence, corroborated by an eyewitness and medical examination, upheld a rape conviction despite PF3 expungement and time omission.
Criminal law
— Charge particulars — omission of time not fatal where evidence establishes circumstances
— Evidence Act s.127(7) — child/victim evidence can sustain conviction if credible
— Expungement of exhibit (PF3) for procedural defect — court may rely on other credible evidence
— identification — recognition by a village resident and contemporaneous discovery
— sexual offences — Rape — Victim’s evidence and corroboration
18 August 2020
Failure to consider defence justified appellate reassessment; conviction upheld and 30‑year sentence substituted by life imprisonment.
Criminal law
— Evidence Act s.143 — no fixed number of witnesses
— second appeal — appellate intervention where lower courts omitted to consider defence
— Sexual offences involving children — victim's evidence corroborated by medical and supporting witnesses can suffice to prove penetration and non-consent
18 August 2020
Conviction quashed where prosecution failed to prove recent possession and High Court judgment was a nullity.
Criminal law — Armed robbery
— chain of custody of exhibits
— recent possession doctrine
— sufficiency of identification and proof of ownership
Criminal law — duty to call available independent witnesses (petrol attendants)
— adverse inference
— defects in seizure documentation
— revisional powers
18 August 2020
Appeal dismissed: confessions and corroborative circumstantial evidence sustained a murder conviction despite expunged autopsy and sketch map.
Criminal law — Murder — admissibility of post‑mortem reports (s291 CPA) — mandatory right to inform accused to call report's author
Criminal procedure — admissibility of cautioned statement — Recording beyond statutory four‑hour period — Prolonged investigation as exception and voluntariness
Evidence
— corroborating confessions and recovery of body — Identification of decomposed body and weight of family witnesses
— identification and circumstantial evidence — Last person seen with deceased
17 August 2020
Victim’s testimony and medical corroboration upheld rape conviction; child witness must promise to tell the truth under s127(2).
Criminal law — sexual offences against a child — reliance on victim’s testimony and medical (PF3) corroboration
Criminal procedure — Defence of alibi — defence of alibi (s.194(4) CPA)
Evidence — Child witness (tender age) — promise to tell truth under s127
17 August 2020
Non-compliance with s.231(1) CPA vitiates trial; convictions quashed and appellant released where prejudice shown.
Appellate practice — nullity of proceedings — Court may nullify proceedings and set aside sentence under s4(2) Appellate Jurisdiction Act — Appellate Jurisdiction Act s.4(2)
Criminal procedure
— Criminal Procedure Act s.192(3) — Omission may be curable under s.388 CPA
— right to be informed of right of defence under s.231(1)(a) CPA — Failure to inform accused of right to give evidence and call witnesses — Proceedings nullified
17 August 2020
A conviction based on a charge citing a non-existent statutory provision is incurably defective and void.
Criminal law — Charge — Citation of non-existent statutory provision — ss 132 and 135(a)(ii) CPA
Criminal procedure — Defective charge — Citing non-existent statutory provision — s 388(1) CPA, s 4(2) AJA
14 August 2020
Alleged illegality in an impugned decision can justify extension of time to appeal despite unproven illness.
Civil procedure — Extension of time
— Illegality as ground for extension — Rule 10, Court of Appeal Rules
— Insufficient evidence of illness as a ground for extension — Requirement for medical proof
13 August 2020
Convictions quashed for lack of proof of night-time burglary and improperly tendered evidence.
Criminal law — Burglary — requirement that breaking be committed at night
Criminal procedure
— Exhibits — requirement that exhibits be tendered by witnesses
— Preliminary hearing — Mandatory reading and explanation of memorandum of undisputed matters (s.192(3) CPA)
13 August 2020
Reported
Appeal dismissed; conviction and fine affirmed, unaffirmed witness evidence expunged, sentence reduced to 20 years.
Criminal law — Narcotics trafficking
— chain of custody
— cocaine hydrochloride as form of cocaine
— oral evidence sufficing where paper trail absent
— particulars of information
— sentence reduced to statutory minimum
— unaffirmed witness evidence expunged
12 August 2020
Applicants failed to show good cause for extension; proceedings are necessary for revision and alleged illegality was not apparent on the record.
Civil procedure — extension of time
Civil procedure — Revision
— Good cause
— necessary record includes High Court proceedings
12 August 2020
Strike-out refused where delay resulted from court registry's failure to furnish appeal documents; respondent granted costs.
Civil procedure — strike out of notice of appeal — application under rule 89(2) — whether appeal abandoned for inordinate delay
10 August 2020
Reported
An application for revision is not maintainable where a party has a pending notice of appeal; the notice is not automatically withdrawn.
Administrative law — Revision
— Attorney General’s power to protect public interest acknowledged but procedural propriety requires joinder in appeal
— notice of appeal not automatically withdrawn
— pending notice of appeal bars parallel revision
7 August 2020
Reported
Failure to give each accused opportunity to object and to cross‑examine vitiated trial; convictions quashed and retrial ordered.
Criminal law — Fair trial — right to cross‑examination and right to be heard — Natural justice and Article 13(6)(a) — Proceedings vitiated; retrial ordered
7 August 2020
Conviction quashed where improperly admitted exhibits and lack of corroboration rendered the prosecution's case unsafe.
Criminal law — sexual offences against a child — sufficiency of evidence and requirement for corroboration of young child’s testimony — Need to scrutinise reliability and corroboration
Criminal procedure — defective charge sheet — Omission of penalty provision curable under section 388 Criminal Procedure Act — Appellate revision increasing sentence requires hearing under s29(b)(i) MCA
Evidence — PF3 admissibility — PF3 and caution statement
— irregular admission leads to expungement
— Procedural requirements
7 August 2020
Reported
Appeal dismissed; evidence and chain of custody upheld, sentence valid but must run from date of conviction.
Criminal law — Drug offences — Trafficking — Interpretation of statutory definition: modes of trafficking constitute methods not distinct offences
Evidence — Cautioned statement — admissible where defence counsel consented after consultation
Evidence — Expert evidence — Chemist’s report and sampling for weight
— no prescribed format required
— sampling permissible
Evidence — seizure and chain of custody
— delayed labelling at ADU acceptable
— Emergency search at airport
Evidence — Statements of unavailable witness
7 August 2020
Notice of appeal struck out for failure to institute appeal within prescribed time without good cause.
Civil procedure — Appeals
— Striking out notice of appeal for failure to take essential steps to prosecute appeal — Application under Rule 89(2) of the Court of Appeal Rules
— Time limit for instituting appeal — Proviso to Rule 90(1) excluding time for preparation/delivery of record and requirement to show compliance
7 August 2020
Conviction and death sentence quashed where trial Judge failed to consider defence and prosecution evidence contained fatal contradictions.
Criminal law — evaluation of evidence — appellate re-appraisal
— contradictions in prosecution witnesses
— duty to objectively consider defence evidence
Criminal law — failure to call crucial witness (deceased's wife) — adverse inference
Criminal law — unsafe conviction — quashing of conviction and setting aside of death sentence
7 August 2020
Reported
Appeal dismissed: conviction for trafficking upheld; cautioned statement and chain of custody held properly proved.
Criminal law — Narcotic trafficking
— admissibility of cautioned statement
— chain of custody (oral proof sufficient where no tampering shown)
— statutory minimum sentence
— tendering of exhibits
— variance in accused’s names not fatal to identity
5 August 2020
Reported
Court of Appeal quashed High Court’s wholesale annulment of section 148(5), holding non‑bailable provisions saved by Article 30(2).
Constitutional law — Bail
5 August 2020
A defective charge omitting the victim’s essential age element vitiated the trial and led to quashed conviction.
Criminal law — Rape of child — variance between particulars of offence and evidence — Victim's age as essential element must be stated
Criminal procedure
— charge particulars and curative power under section 388 CPA — Defective charge curable where accused informed of nature of offence — Section 388 Criminal Procedure Act (curability of defects)
— nullity of proceedings — Trial, conviction and sentence by a court without jurisdiction — Conviction and sentence quashed and appellate proceedings nullified
5 August 2020
Claim of unlawful imprisonment dismissed as time-barred; High Court wrongly extended statutory limitation.
Limitation law — Limitation of actions — Tort — cause of action accrues on date of imprisonment
— Civil Procedure Code s.95 (inherent jurisdiction) cannot be used to extend statutory limitation
— Court of Appeal revisional jurisdiction under AJA s.4(2) to quash proceedings and set aside judgment
— item 6 Schedule to the Law of Limitation Act (3-year period)
5 August 2020
District Court lacked jurisdiction over economic offence counts; trial was nullity, convictions quashed and appellants released.
Criminal law
— Jurisdiction — Economic offences — Defective consent and certificate under EOCCA
— Procedure — Trial without Director of Public Prosecutions' consent under s.26(1) — Mandatory requirement — Proceedings quashed
5 August 2020
Reported
Applicant improperly sought revision instead of seeking leave to appeal an execution order for civil imprisonment.
Civil procedure — Execution — Arrest and detention as civil prisoner — Appealability and Appellate Jurisdiction Act s 5(1)(b)(viii) and s 5(1)(c)
Appellate practice — Revisionary jurisdiction — Limits where right of appeal exists — Appeal with leave; revisional jurisdiction only in exceptional circumstances
5 August 2020
Revision against an interlocutory striking-out Ruling was incompetent under s.5(2)(d) AJA and the application was struck out with costs.
Appellate practice
— abuse of court process — impermissible revision applications
— Appellate jurisdiction — interlocutory orders
— Record completeness — omission of skeleton arguments
— Summary suits — leave to appear and defend — interlocutory striking-out
5 August 2020
Charge irregularities curable where particulars and evidence eliminate prejudice; conviction for rape of a 69‑year‑old upheld.
Criminal law
— concurrent findings of fact — appellate interference unwarranted where evidence is credible
— Delay in arrest — short delay where accused fled not fatal
— Evidence Act s.143 — no fixed number of witnesses required
— Rape — Charge irregularity (wrong subsection and omission on consent) — Curable
5 August 2020
Conviction for robbery unsafe where prosecution failed to identify the stolen phone or prove ownership beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — Robbery with violence — burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt — Identification of stolen property — Generalized description insufficient to sustain conviction
4 August 2020
July 2020
High Court erred in deciding a suo motu jurisdictional issue without hearing parties; its decisions were quashed and remitted for rehearing.
Appellate practice — Appellate jurisdiction
— Decision taken without hearing is nullity
— Remittal for rehearing by different panel
— Revision
30 July 2020
Conviction for armed robbery quashed where prosecution failed to prove theft and exhibits were not properly identified.
Criminal law
— Admissibility — PF3 expunged where not read out in court
— Armed robbery — ingredients of offence
30 July 2020
Review refused: misconceived separate application for additional evidence must be sought under Rule 36(1)(b) at appeal hearing.
Civil procedure
— additional evidence on appeal — Leave to adduce additional evidence in pending appeal — Rule 36(1)(b) versus Rule 4(2)(a) of the Court of Appeal Rules
— Review of Court of Appeal decision — Manifest error on the face of the record — Rule 66(1)(a) AJA
29 July 2020
Delay in recording cautioned/EJS statements excused by investigatory conveyance; confession leading to discovery and corroborated evidence upheld convictions.
Criminal procedure — cautioned statements
— prescribed four‑hour limit
— trial‑within‑trial required on voluntariness objections but unlawfully admitted confession may be relied on if it led to discovery and is corroborated
Criminal procedure — extra‑judicial statements before Justices of the Peace
— circumstantial evidence and confessions may establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt
— reasonableness of timing
29 July 2020
Court dismissed appeal, holding identification and emergency seizure lawful despite the trial judge’s defective written judgment.
Criminal law — Armed robbery — written judgment requirements
Criminal law — Identification of accused — aids and prior acquaintance
Criminal law — Search and seizure
— chain of custody of exhibits
— emergency searches
— proof beyond reasonable doubt
— recent possession doctrine
29 July 2020
Conviction quashed because courts failed to consider the defence; retrial refused due to prosecution’s material gaps, appellant ordered released.
Criminal law — Unnatural offence — Right to be heard — Revision — Retrial refused where prosecution’s case has material gaps (failure to prove victim's age; inconsistent eyewitness)
28 July 2020
Conviction quashed where alleged admission lacked clarity and independent evidence failed to connect appellant to the killing.
Criminal law
— Admissions — caution in accepting oral admissions
— Circumstantial evidence — Last‑seen doctrine
— Murder- Provocation — requirement of sudden and grave provocation
24 July 2020
Court found the house on Plot 16; respondent was a trespasser; appellant awarded TZS15M, eviction and injunction.
Civil procedure — Procedure — use of additional evidence via locus in quo under Court of Appeal Rules to resolve factual dispute
Civil procedure — Remedies
— costs
— eviction and perpetual injunction
Land law
— possession and title — buyer in possession — trespass actionable per se despite honest mistake
— Trespass to land — disputed location of property — locus in quo visit and certified survey plan establishing location (Plot No.16)
Tort — Award of general damages (tshs 15,000,000)
24 July 2020
Child-victim’s consistent evidence, corroborated by parental observation, established rape; procedural and defence complaints were dismissed, appeal dismissed.
Criminal law — Rape — Evidence of child victim of tender years can suffice for conviction — Corroboration by parent’s observation — Second appeal will not entertain grounds not raised in the first appellate court
24 July 2020
A notice of appeal naming a party not in the original suit is fatal and renders the appeal incompetent.
Civil procedure — Amendment
Civil procedure — Appeal competence
— Right to appeal limited to parties to the original suit
— substitution without court order is invalid
Civil procedure — Notice of appeal — Identity of parties — A notice naming a legal entity different from the party in the trial court is fatal
Civil procedure — remedy — Incompetent appeal struck out with costs
23 July 2020
Conviction quashed where material eyewitness contradictions and an improperly handled co‑accused statement rendered the trial unsafe.
Criminal law — Robbery with violence — Use of label 'armed robbery' — Defect curable under Criminal Procedure Act s 388(1)
Criminal procedure — Visual identification — reliability at well-lit scene
Evidence — Cautioned statement — irregular admission and requirement to read out in court
23 July 2020
Notice of appeal struck out for failure to serve and to obtain proceedings within prescribed times.
Civil procedure — Appeal — striking out notice of appeal
Labour law — Labour matter — no order as to costs
23 July 2020
Court grants 30‑day extension to file review, finding apparent illegality on face of record concerning judgment, sentence and joinder.
Criminal procedure — Extension of time
— effect on judgment and sentence
— illegality apparent on the face of the record as sufficient reason
— joinder of appellant who withdrew appeal and completed sentence
23 July 2020
Application for extension refused: ignorance of procedure and unexplained delay do not justify condonation.
Civil procedure — extension of time — good cause — applicant’s ignorance of procedure not good cause — duty to account for every day of delay
21 July 2020
Failure to consider the respondent's reinstatement claim vitiated the High Court's judgment, requiring remittal.
Labour law — unfair termination — duty of trial court to consider pleaded reliefs — appellate court cannot decide issues omitted by lower court — remittal required
17 July 2020
Reported
The respondent did not breach the loan agreement; the applicant failed to prove short payment or losses.
Commercial law — Commercial court procedure
— burden of proof where foreign‑currency disbursements and alleged conversion shortfalls are asserted
— construction
— document format and expungement of non‑compliant submissions
— insufficiency of oral evidence without documentary proof to support counterclaim for payments or damages
— rule on timing of witness statements
16 July 2020
Extension of time granted because alleged lack of High Court jurisdiction constitutes sufficient illegality despite inadequate explanation for delay.
Civil procedure — extension of time — Allegation of illegality (lack of jurisdiction/pecuniary jurisdiction) can constitute sufficient reason for extension — Conditional grant requiring service within 14 days
15 July 2020
Applicant granted extension to file review due to alleged illegality despite not fully accounting for a short delay.
Civil procedure — extension of time — whether applicant accounted for delay — error apparent on the face of the record/illegality as sufficient reason
15 July 2020
Reported
Section 13A PCA does not permit confiscation after an acquittal or an abated appeal; plain meaning governs.
Criminal law
— Forfeiture — Scope of s 13A PCA — Whether it covers death after acquittal or during appeal
— Statutory interpretation — Purposive vs literal approach — When purposive interpretation is inappropriate if statute is clear
Criminal procedure — Forfeiture/confiscation — Effect of confiscation on acquittal and abated appeals — Whether confiscation amounts to setting aside an acquittal
14 July 2020
Appeal struck out as time-barred because a second certificate of delay was invalid where the first remained unwithdrawn.
Civil procedure
— Appeal competence — Certificates of delay — Validity of second certificate where first not withdrawn — Registrar's power to issue certificate of delay
— Appeal time limits — Whether an appeal filed months after certification of judgment is time-barred due to lack of diligence in procuring certified copies — Appeal struck out as time-barred
14 July 2020
First appellant's conviction on visual identification upheld; second appellant's conviction quashed for unsafe identification and procedural defects.
Criminal law — Identification parade — proper conduct and reading of parade reports required
Criminal law — Section 289(1) CPA
— Defective charge heading curable under s.388 CPA if particulars disclose offence
— notice requirement applies to High Court committal/trial procedure, not subordinate courts
Criminal law — Visual identification
13 July 2020
Court dismissed review: no patent error or denial of hearing; sale set aside for execution irregularities, refund ordered.
Appellate practice — Appellate procedure — Review jurisdiction — error apparent on face of record
Appellate practice — Consequential relief — refund order following nullification of sale
Appellate practice — Execution law
— Falsification of court records
— Order XXI CPC, validity of attachment and sale
Appellate practice — right to be heard — sufficiency of oral and written submissions
Appellate practice — Suo motu revision — scope and powers to call documents
9 July 2020
Court expunged improperly recorded cautioned statement and post-mortem; upheld circumstantial evidence to convict first appellant, acquitted second appellant.
Criminal law — Evidence
— Admissibility of cautioned statements — Time limits for recording and inadmissibility if recorded outside statutory period (section 50 CPA)
— Admissibility of post‑mortem report — Post‑mortem report must be formally tendered and admitted before reliance by the court
— accomplice evidence — A self‑exculpatory statement by an accomplice requires independent corroboration in material particulars
7 July 2020