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Court of Appeal of Tanzania

This is the highest level in the justice delivery system in Tanzania. The Court of Appeal draws its mandate from Article 117(1) of the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania. The Court hears appeals  on both point of law and facts for cases originating from the High Court of Tanzania and Magistrates with extended jurisdiction in exercise of their original jurisdiction or appellate and revisional jurisdiction over matters originating in the District Land and Housing Tribunals, District Courts and Courts of Resident Magistrate. The Court also hears similar appeals  from quasi judicial bodies of status equivalent to that of the High Court. It  further hears appeals  on point of law against the decision of the High Court in  matters originating from Primary Courts. The Court of Appeal also exercises jurisdiction on appeals originating from the High Court of Zanzibar except for constitutional issues arising from the interpretation of the Constitution of Zanzibar and matters arising from the Kadhi Court.

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26 Kivukoni Road Building P.O. Box 9004, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.
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https://jmap.judiciary.go.tz/jmap/jmap-coa
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8 judgments
Citation
Judgment date
November 1980
Bombo vs Tomolo vs Republic (Criminal Appeal 56 of 1979) [1980] TZCA 24 (20 November 1980)
Repudiated confession corroborated by eyewitness and circumstantial evidence supports manslaughter conviction; sentence reduced to five years.
Criminal law – extra‑judicial confession – admissibility and corroboration; identification of deceased by circumstantial evidence; causation and liability as aider/abettor under s.22(c) Penal Code; distinguishing murder from manslaughter; appellate reduction of excessive sentence.
 20 November 1980
Hussein Abdallah vs Republic (Criminal Appeal 58 of 1979) [1980] TZCA 26 (20 November 1980)
Appeal dismissed: witness credibility and physical corroboration upheld; trial omission on corroboration not fatal.
Criminal law – murder – conviction based on testimony of close relative and community leader – corroboration by physical evidence (axe embedded in victim’s head). Evidence – credibility – lie on one point does not automatically nullify the remainder of a witness’s testimony. Procedure – trial judge’s failure to direct on corroboration not necessarily fatal where corroboration is clear. Criminal procedure – opening address – assessors rely on evidence, not prosecutor’s unproven statements.
 20 November 1980
Lukio Eliezeli vs Republic (Criminal Appeal 15 of 1980) [1980] TZCA 102 (20 November 1980)
Appeal dismissed: retracted extra-judicial confession held voluntary and adequately corroborated, conviction upheld.
Criminal law – Extra-judicial confession – voluntariness and admissibility; retracted confession – need for corroboration; trial-within-a-trial; application of TUWAMOI v. UGANDA standard; sufficiency of corroborative evidence to uphold murder conviction.
 20 November 1980
July 1980
Hon Attorney General vs Lesinoi Ndeinai @joseph Laizer and 2 Others (Criminal Appeal 52 of 1979) [1980] TZCA 20 (23 July 1980)
Vice‑President may automatically exercise Presidential functions during absence; detention orders without the Public Seal are nullities.
Constitutional law — devolution of Presidential functions — section 8(1) automatic assumption in President’s absence; Preventive Detention Act — validity of detention orders — requirement of President’s hand and Public Seal; judicial review — ouster clause (s.3) strictly construed and not absolute; arrest procedure — requirement to show original detention order to authorise detention.
 23 July 1980
Kasmiri Joseph Aridai vs Republic (Criminal Appeal 51 of 1979) [1980] TZCA 19 (1 July 1980)
Alternative pleading of "stolen or otherwise unlawfully acquired" is permissible; conviction reduced to items proved.
Criminal law – Conveying property suspected to be stolen or unlawfully acquired; Pleading — alternative particulars permitted under s.138 Criminal Procedure Code; Duplicity — charge not fatally duplicitous where statute permits alternatives; Evidence — possession plus unexplained ownership required to sustain conviction; Conviction varied to items proved.
 1 July 1980
Okong Omue vs Republic (Criminal Appeal 54 of 1979) [1980] TZCA 22 (1 July 1980)
Dying declaration corroborated by witnesses established appellant's joint responsibility for murder; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – Murder – Admissibility and weight of dying declaration – Corroboration by witness testimony – Joint participation in homicide – Sufficiency of evidence on appeal.
 1 July 1980
May 1980
Damiano Petro and Another vs Republic (Criminal Appeal 57 of 1979) [1980] TZCA 25 (6 May 1980)
Eyewitness identification can sustain a murder conviction; mere presence and a remark to discard a weapon do not establish aiding and abetting.
Criminal law – Identification evidence – Reliability of single eyewitness who knew accused – Sufficiency to convict. Criminal law – Aiding and abetting (s.22(c) Penal Code) – Mere presence and flight insufficient; active participation or encouragement required. Criminal law – Circumstantial evidence – adequacy when corroborated by credible identification. Sentencing – Substitution of conviction – cannot substitute murder conviction with accessory after the fact in these circumstances.
 6 May 1980
Waziri Amani vs Republic (Criminal Appeal 55 of 1979) [1980] TZCA 23 (6 May 1980)
Reported
Court upheld murder conviction, finding eyewitness identification reliable and medical testimony about wound location untenable.

* Criminal law – Identification evidence – visual identification at night – need for careful scrutiny of surrounding circumstances (familiarity, distance, lighting, opportunity to observe). Criminal law – Evidence – contradictions between post-mortem surgeon and eyewitnesses – court may reject medical testimony if untenable in context. Criminal law – Alibi – fabricated alibi insufficient to raise reasonable doubt.

 6 May 1980