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910 judgments found.
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December 2022
Appeal on charge variance and chain‑of‑custody in unlawful possession of government trophy; conviction upheld, fine increased.
Criminal procedure — compliance with section 231(1)(a) & (b) CPA — Omission to issue seizure receipt under section 38(3) CPA and failure to record addressing accused not fatal absent prejudice
Evidence — Chain of custody and admissibility of exhibits — Documentary and oral proof of chain of custody — seizure and handing‑over forms sufficient for items not easily tampered with. Burden under s.100(3) shifts to accused to prove lawfulness on balance of probabilities
Wildlife offences — Identification and valuation of wildlife trophies — Unlawful possession of government trophies: requirement of credible expert identification and proof beyond reasonable doubt — Competent certifying officer under s 114(3) of the Wildlife Conservation Act
28 December 2022
Cautioned statement and chemist report expunged, but mother's and medical evidence sustained the conviction for unnatural offence.
Criminal law — admissibility and reading of documentary exhibits
— accused’s right to know contents
— conviction without victim testimony where victim of tender age
Criminal law — Admissibility of cautioned statements — compliance with four‑hour rule
Criminal law — Appellate jurisdiction
— new grounds not raised in first appellate court only entertained if point of law
— weight of concurrent findings and medical corroboration
Criminal law — Unnatural offence against a child
22 December 2022
DLHT had jurisdiction and the alleged sale was not proved; appeal dismissed with costs.
Land disputes
— Evidence — primary (original)
— Jurisdiction of District Land and Housing Tribunal — pecuniary limits
— Proof of sale of land — burden on purchaser to prove transfer on balance of probabilities
22 December 2022
A power of attorney is confined to its express terms and is revoked by the principal’s sale or notice, with written contracts prevailing over oral denial.
Civil procedure — succession of judges in partly heard trial
Evidence — Written contract
Land law — Power of Attorney — scope and effect
— Agent limited to the powers expressly conferred
— cannot execute or extend lease absent express authority
Land law — Power of Attorney — scope and proof of revocation
— registration not required to be effective between parties
— Revocation effective upon donor's inconsistent conduct or notice to the donee
21 December 2022
Refusal of leave by the High Court must be challenged by a fresh Court of Appeal application, not by revision.
Civil procedure
— Appellate procedure — leave to appeal
— limitation — Distinction between a decision that an action is time-barred and a refusal of leave on merits
— Revision — Appropriateness of revisional jurisdiction to challenge refusal of leave to appeal
20 December 2022
Applicant failed to prove good cause for extending time to file appeal records; alleged third‑party illness was uncorroborated.
Appellate practice — extension of time — Whether unsubstantiated assertions of important points of law or material irregularity justify extension of time — Points of law must be prima facie arguable to support extension
Civil procedure — Rule 10 (extension of time for delay upon good cause) — Good cause — discretionary inquiry requiring factual proof — Tanzania Court of Appeal Rules r.10
Evidence — Assertions about third‑party conduct require affidavit corroboration from material persons — Third‑party illness or conduct relied on in affidavit must be sworn to or corroborated by that person — Corroboration requirement / hearsay concern
19 December 2022
The applicant's stay application was struck out for being filed after the 14‑day period under Rule 11(4).
Civil procedure
— Stay of execution — time for application runs from date of decree or date of awareness — Rule 11(4) Court of Appeal Rules, 2009
— extension of time — Late filing of respondent's affidavit does not justify entertaining a time‑barred application
19 December 2022
Variance between charge particulars and evidence, plus credibility issues, rendered conviction unsafe and was quashed.
Criminal law — variance between charge particulars and evidence — duty to amend charge under section 234(1) CPA
— appellate power to evaluate defence where lower courts omitted to do so
— credibility of child witness and corroboration
— fundamental irregularity not curable under section 388 CPA
19 December 2022
Failure to administer oath to a key witness vitiated evidence, reversing judgment founded on that testimony.
Company law — Transfer of shares — validity of board meetings and compliance with Articles and Companies Act where transfer is challenged — Articles of Association and Table A to the Companies Act
Evidence
— Administration of oath/affirmation — Failure to administer oath or affirmation to witnesses — Oaths and Statutory Declarations Act ss 3 and 4(a)
— Expert/forensic report — disowned reports and effect on civil proceedings — Admissibility and weight of forensic/expert reports
15 December 2022
The appellant had no duty to request avalisation; as holder in due course it recovered the bill value less set-off.
Banking law — Bills of exchange
— Avalisation
— Duty of bank to request avalisation
— Distinction between sight and time bills
— Holder in due course rights preserved despite alleged failure to request avalisation
— Set-off against account credits
— Interest on decretal sums
15 December 2022
Time for appeal excludes period to obtain certified judgment/decree, but unexplained remaining delay bars extension.
Civil procedure — extension of time — discretion to grant extension
Civil procedure — Order XXXIX Rule 1(1) CPC
— copies of proceedings are not automatically necessary for lodging an appeal
— memorandum of appeal to be accompanied by decree and, unless dispensed with, judgment
Limitation law — Limitation of actions — Appeals — computation of the 45‑day time limit
15 December 2022
Alleged illegality apparent on the record can justify extension of time despite counsel’s negligence or unexplained delay.
Civil procedure — extension of time
— Alleged illegality as sufficient cause — Rule 10 Court of Appeal Rules
— negligence of counsel — Negligence of counsel not ordinarily a sufficient cause
13 December 2022
Prisoner granted extension to seek review after court found delay accounted for and an arguable manifest-error ground.
Civil procedure — extension of time — Lyamuya guidelines — Accounting for delay by incarcerated applicants
Criminal procedure — Review application — Permissible grounds: manifest error on face of record — Requirement of an arguable case
8 December 2022
Applicant's extension of time dismissed for failing to plead and prove good cause in the supporting affidavit.
Civil procedure
— Defective notice of motion for extension of time — Affidavit cannot substitute for grounds in the notice — Concession by respondent cannot confer jurisdiction or cure procedural defect
— Extension of time (rule 10) — Requirement to plead and prove good cause in supporting affidavit — Court of Appeal Rules, Rule 10
Evidence — Affidavit evidence — Written submissions cannot substitute for factual averments in affidavit
8 December 2022
Applicant failed to show good cause for extension; alleged illegality not apparent and prospects of success insufficient.
Civil procedure — extension of time — procedural missteps, wrong forum and relitigation do not justify extension — prospects of success alone insufficient
8 December 2022
Applicant granted 30 days to apply for certificate on points of law; delay treated as technical and justified.
Civil procedure — extension of time — application for certificate on point of law
8 December 2022
Failure to deliver a ruling on admissibility of crucial CCTV evidence led to quashing and remittal of CMA and High Court proceedings.
Civil procedure — Quashing and remittal — Quashing proceedings and remitting record where crucial ruling was not delivered — Appellate Jurisdiction Act s 4(2)
Labour law — Evidence — admissibility of electronic/bank documents and formal requirements — Ruling on admissibility must be delivered before proceeding
8 December 2022
Extension of time to file revision denied where revision cannot lie against interlocutory High Court orders.
Civil procedure
— Revision — Availability of revision against interlocutory orders — Appellate Jurisdiction Act s 5(2)(d)
— extension of time — Application for extension to file revision — Rule 10 Court of Appeal Rules
8 December 2022
Trial court lacked jurisdiction without endorsed DPP consent/certificate; convictions quashed and appellants ordered released.
Civil procedure — remedy — Fatehali Manji principle — retrial versus release where retrial risks prejudice by allowing prosecution to fill gaps
Criminal law — Charge consistency
Criminal procedure — Jurisdiction — DPP certificate and consent
Evidence
— documentary exhibits not read after tendering — inadmissible and cannot support conviction
— obligation to administer oath — unsworn witness evidence is unlawful
8 December 2022
Conviction quashed where identification was unreliable and cautioned statement uncertified under section 57(3) CPA.
Criminal law
— Identification and corroboration — Failure to call neighbours who were alleged recipients of earliest identification diminishes reliability
— Visual identification — night-time identification by torchlight — Sufficiency of opportunity and reliability
Criminal procedure — Cautioned statement — Mandatory certification under section 57(3) CPA — Mis‑certification renders statement inadmissible
8 December 2022
Court of Appeal struck out extension application for failing to obtain a prior High Court refusal as required by the rules.
Civil procedure — Court of appeal rules — procedural prerequisite for extension of time applications
— costs waived
— requirement of prior High Court refusal ('first bite')
— sua sponte striking out
8 December 2022
Extension of time refused where applicant failed to account for inordinate delay in filing a second‑bite leave application.
Civil procedure — extension of time — Second‑bite applications
— accounting for delay
— Good cause
— Tanzania Court of Appeal Rules r 45A(1)(b)
8 December 2022
Extension application struck out because the supporting affidavit lacked required deponents' signatures and proof of assertions.
Civil procedure
— Evidence — submissions from the bar not substituting sworn evidence — Documentary proof required (eg, death certificates)
— Extension of time to appeal — Affidavit formalities — verification clause, signature and date
— Notice of motion — Incompetency and striking out for procedural defects — Defective supporting affidavit renders application incurably defective and struck out
8 December 2022
Applicant failed to show good cause for extension to file revision; alternative remedies available; application dismissed.
Civil procedure
— Civil revision — High Court’s revisional jurisdiction under Magistrates' Courts' Act to correct jurisdictional error, illegality or material irregularity — Illegality must be apparent on the face of the record to justify extension
— execution objections — where property is wrongly attached remedy is objection proceedings under Order XXI r.57
— extension of time — Whether sufficient cause shown to extend time to file revision — Rule 10 Court of Appeal Rules
8 December 2022
Section 56 LIA allows non‑advocate personal representatives in labour proceedings; deciding merits without hearing parties is a nullity.
Civil procedure — Right to be heard — court may not decide suo motu issues affecting parties without hearing — audi alteram partem
Labour law — notice of representation (Rule 43(1)/s.56) — Representation by personal representative — Section 56 Labour Institutions Act
8 December 2022
Extension refused where alleged illegality was not apparent on the record and a 33-month delay remained unexplained.
Civil procedure — extension of time
Civil procedure — inordinate delay and inadequate medical evidence
— refusal of extension
— reliance on Lyamuya and Ngao authorities
8 December 2022
The appellant’s conviction was quashed because identification evidence was unreliable without a proper identification parade.
Criminal law
— Criminal appeal — second appeal — interference with concurrent findings only where misdirection or misapprehension of evidence shown
— Evidence — visual identification — Requirement that visual identification evidence be watertight before convicting — Waziri Amani principle
Criminal procedure — identification parade
8 December 2022
8 December 2022
Applicant failed to show good cause or account for delay to extend time for filing a review; application dismissed.
Criminal procedure
— Extension of time — Good cause — Requirement to account for each day of delay and demonstrate diligence
— Review applications — Applicant must indicate ground(s) under Rule 66(1) when seeking extension — Time limit under Rule 66(3)
8 December 2022
Illegality apparent on the record justified granting extension of time to file a notice of appeal; 30 days granted.
Civil procedure
— Delay — applicant’s duty to explain each day — Illegality on the face of the record may excuse unexplained delay
— Extension of time to appeal — illegality of impugned decision as sufficient ground for extension — Lyamuya principles
Land law — Land appeal — Limitation period for appeals from DLHT
8 December 2022
A second‑bite extension application filed after the 14‑day limit under rule 45A(1)(c) is time‑barred and struck out.
Civil procedure
— Unopposed application — Court’s duty to enforce procedural time limits
— extension of time — Second-bite application — Fourteen‑day limitation (Rule 45A(1)(c))
— jurisdiction — Time limitation goes to jurisdiction — Incompetent proceedings to be struck out
8 December 2022
Appellant's rape conviction quashed where prosecution failed to prove penetration and positive identification.
Criminal law — Identification by recognition
— appellate review where lower courts misapprehend evidence
— duty to call material witnesses and adverse inference
— reliability and contradictions
Criminal law — Rape
8 December 2022
Extension of time granted to serve review application; avoiding service via registered mobile may be treated as service.
Civil procedure — extension of time — Good cause assessed by Lyamuya factors — Service of process by telephone/mobile — Rebuttable presumption of service where party avoids service via mobile number registered under BVR
8 December 2022
Extension of time granted where appeal was prosecuted and determined at the instance of a deceased respondent, amounting to prima facie illegality.
Civil procedure — Extension of time to apply for review
Civil procedure — illegality as sufficient cause
— appeal prosecuted and determined at instance of a deceased person
— Court’s inherent powers to proceed ex parte and depart from abatement rule where administrator fails to comply with joinder order
— denial of right to be heard (lack of service)
— reliance on Principal Secretary v Devram Vallambhia
— requirement that illegality be apparent on face of record
8 December 2022
Applicant failed to prove illegality or sickness sufficient to justify extension of time; application dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure
— Appeal out of time — Refiling period and jurisdiction — Illegality must be apparent on the face of the record
— extension of time — Illegality as good cause
Evidence — affidavits — Requirement to account for and explain all periods of delay
8 December 2022
Inadequate summing up and improperly relied cautioned statements rendered the trial a nullity; convictions quashed and sentences set aside.
Criminal law — Criminal appeal
— cautioned statements not admitted at main trial cannot be relied upon
— certificate of seizure/mobile phone evidence expunged
— inadequate summing up to assessors
— retrial not ordered where remaining evidence is weak
— summing up omissions (malice, actus reus, confessions)
— trial without proper assessors’ participation is nullity
8 December 2022
Conviction for rape of an eight‑year‑old upheld where age, penetration and victim's account were credibly proved.
Criminal law
— concurrent findings — appellate interference
— defence of impotence — credibility and lack of corroboration
— delay in reporting — threats and inducements as plausible explanation
— Rape — proof of age and penetration — PF3 and birth certificate corroboration
7 December 2022
Extension of time granted where applicant proved excusable delays and justified reasons; affidavit inferences tolerated.
Appellate practice — extension of time — Criteria for extension: length of delay, reasons, prospects of success and prejudice — Rule 10
Civil procedure — Overriding objective — Substantive justice over procedural technicalities — Rule 3A(1)
Evidence — affidavits — inadmissible conclusions and legal argument to be expunged
7 December 2022
First appellate court’s failure to analyse defence evidence did not prevent Court of Appeal affirming the appellant's convictions.
Criminal law — Appellate Jurisdiction Act s4(2) — Court of Appeal stepping into the shoes of first appellate court
Criminal law — appellate review — duty of first appellate court to re-evaluate and analyse both prosecution and defence evidence
Criminal law — Evidence
— sufficiency and corroboration
— unexplained proceeds as evidence of fraud
Criminal law — Offences — fraudulent appropriation of power, malicious damage to property, personation of public officer, obtaining money by false pretence
7 December 2022
Failure to administer oaths and to sign witness evidence at the CMA vitiated the arbitration and required rehearing.
Civil procedure — authenticity of record — Presiding officer to append signature after recording witness evidence — Omission vitiates proceedings
Labour law — Revision of CMA arbitration award — Quashing arbitral award and remitting for rehearing de novo before another arbitrator
Labour law — arbitration procedure
— Administration of oath/affirmation to witnesses
— Mediation and Arbitration Rules r 25(1)
7 December 2022
Confession corroborated by parental and medical evidence can sustain a rape conviction even if the child’s testimony is excluded.
Criminal law
— admissibility and weight of cautioned statements — Voluntariness and failure to object at trial
— statutory rape: proof of penetration and age — Proof of victim's age and penetration as essential ingredients — Medical and parental corroboration (PF3)
Evidence — Evidence act, s.127(2) — Non‑compliance requires exclusion of evidence
7 December 2022
Inadequate summing up to assessors caused a miscarriage of justice, prompting nullification and a retrial order.
Criminal law
— Remedy for inadequate summing up — Nullification, quashing conviction and retrial where assessors' opinions prejudiced
— Trial with assessors — Summing up to assessors on vital points of law
7 December 2022
Concurrent findings of credibility, medical evidence and unobjected cautioned statement upheld conviction for rape of a nine-year-old.
Criminal law — Cautioned statements — admissibility
Criminal law — Rape — proof of age and penetration
Criminal law — second appeal
— deference to concurrent findings of credibility
— relevance of victim's school class in rape of a child
7 December 2022
Failure to read amended charge and reliance on extraneous, uncorroborated evidence vitiated the trial; conviction quashed and appellant released.
Appellate practice — Appellate jurisdiction
— Exercise of revisional powers under s.4(2) AJA to nullify proceedings and quash conviction
— retrial withheld where prosecution evidence is weak
Criminal procedure
— Amendment of charge — Mandatory requirement to read amended charge to accused — Failure vitiates trial and denies fair trial
— summing up to assessors — Importation of extraneous matters not supported by evidence may improperly influence assessors and vitiate trial
Evidence — Doctrine of last known person
— Requires corroboration
— time lapse between last sighting and discovery can weaken inference of guilt
7 December 2022
Applicant failed to account for each day of delay; extension of time refused and costs awarded to respondent.
Civil procedure — extension of time — duty to account for each day of delay — Virtual proceedings do not excuse failure to aver material facts
7 December 2022
A purported transfer of mineral rights is void where not all registered co-owners consent, so proceedings based on it are a nullity.
Civil procedure — Validity of contract — Proceedings founded on a void contract are nullities — Order VII r.11 Civil Procedure Code
Contract law — capacity to contract — actual and apparent authority to bind an organisation — Nemo dat quod non habet
Mining law — transfer/assignment of mineral rights — consent of all licence holders required for disposition — Section 9(1) Mining Act
7 December 2022
Unsworn analyst testimony and broken chain of custody rendered the prosecution's narcotics evidence insufficient; convictions quashed.
Criminal law — Trafficking in narcotic drugs — Requirement of sworn evidence by government analyst and consequences of unsworn testimony
Criminal procedure — Requirement to examine witnesses on oath or affirmation (section 198(1) CPA) — Failure to administer oath vitiates proceedings
Evidence — chain of custody — Seizure, custody, transfer and analysis — Breaks in chain undermine exhibit authenticity and admissibility
7 December 2022
Omission of trial magistrate's signature on recorded evidence renders proceedings null, requiring retrial de novo.
Criminal procedure — Appellate revisional powers — proceedings nullified, judgments quashed and retrial ordered de novo
7 December 2022
Failure to administer oath to CMA witnesses vitiated both arbitration and revision proceedings, requiring a retrial before another arbitrator.
Labour law — Arbitration — Commission for Mediation and Arbitration
7 December 2022
Registered certificate of title prevails over unregistered transfer; unpleaded rent claims fail and appellant bears the evidential burden.
Civil procedure
— Evidence — burden of proof on claimant
— pleadings bind parties — unpleaded relief cannot be granted
Land law
— certificate of title conclusive — unregistered deed cannot alter registered title
— Co-ownership — tenants in common — shares as per title
6 December 2022