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.

Physical address
26 Kivukoni Road Building P.O. Box 9004, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.
20 judgments

Court registries

  • Filters
  • Judges
  • Alphabet
Sort by:
20 judgments
Citation
Judgment date
May 2017
Inability to trace an unrepresented respondent can amount to good cause to extend time to serve a notice of appeal.
Civil procedure — Extension of time under Rule 10 Court of Appeal Rules — service of notice of appeal within 14 days required by Rule 84(1) — inability to trace an unrepresented respondent can constitute good cause — discretion to extend time and Ratnam principle.
26 May 2017
25 May 2017
Applicants' disagreement over visual identification does not constitute a manifest error warranting review.
Criminal law — Review jurisdiction — Rule 66(1)(a) — manifest error on face of record; Visual identification — conditions for reliable identification (light, proximity, prior acquaintance); Review is not a rehearing — mere disagreement with judgment insufficient.
24 May 2017
Applicant’s evidential complaints were appellate issues, not reviewable under Rule 66(1); application dismissed.
Criminal procedure – Review – Scope of review under Rule 66(1) – Review limited to manifest error on face of record, denial of hearing, nullity, lack of jurisdiction, or judgment procured illegally/fraud or perjury. Review vs appeal – Errors of identification and evidential sufficiency are appellate issues, not proper grounds for review. Public policy – finality of litigation; Court will not sit in appeal of its own judgment.
24 May 2017
Improper admission of an extra-judicial/cautioned statement rendered the conviction unsafe; conviction quashed and sentence set aside.
Criminal law – Evidence – Extra-judicial/cautioned statements – Requirement that such statements be cleared for admission and the accused afforded opportunity to object – Failure renders reliance on the statement unsafe. Evidence procedure – Reading documents before formal admission is prejudicial. Confessions – Prosecution’s burden to prove voluntariness once objection is raised.
23 May 2017
Applicants failed to show good cause for extension of time; unexplained delay and factual grounds led to dismissal.
Court of Appeal — Extension of time under Rule 10 — Good cause/sufficient reason — Lyamuya criteria (account for delay; non-inordinate delay; diligence) — Illegality/point of law as alternative ground — Factual grounds do not justify extension.
23 May 2017
23 May 2017
High Court’s summary dismissal of an appeal at mention without hearing parties violated the constitutional right to be heard; order quashed and remitted.
Administrative and constitutional law — Right to be heard — Natural justice — Trial court’s summary dismissal of an appeal at mention without hearing parties — Decision nullified and remitted for hearing on merits.
23 May 2017
Review granted: punitive costs set aside for denial of opportunity to be heard; matter struck out and each party to bear costs.
Civil procedure – Review under Rule 66(1) – Whether party was wrongly deprived of opportunity to be heard – natural justice and right to fair hearing (Art 13(6)(a)). Evidence – Affidavit requirements (Rule 49(1)) – extraneous matter, verification and expunging inconsequential parts. Costs – Personal costs against an advocate – requirement to give notice to show cause before punitive orders. Court of Appeal – Power to review and modify its prior Ruling where denial of hearing renders decision a nullity.
22 May 2017
A review filed nineteen years after judgment is time-barred and incompetent absent an extension of time.
Court of Appeal Rules (old) – limitation – review applications must be brought within prescribed time or after leave/extension; Rule 40(1)-(2) confines relief to clerical/arithmetical corrections and cannot be used to extend time or correct substantive errors; Registrar’s marking 'Lodged Out of Time' notifies filer of lateness; time-barred review is incompetent and liable to be struck out.
22 May 2017
22 May 2017
Failure to issue the statutory citation to a caveator renders subsequent probate proceedings a nullity; matter remitted for proper procedure.
Probate law – Caveat procedure – Compliance with section 58–59 of the Probate and Administration of Estates Act and Rule 82 of the Probate Rules; mandatory use of Forms 62, 63, 64, 65; failure to issue statutory citation to caveator renders subsequent proceedings nullity; oral citation insufficient.
22 May 2017
Court set aside personal costs against advocate for lack of notice, ordering each party to bear its own costs.
Administrative justice – right to be heard – court must give an advocate notice to show cause before imposing personal costs. Review procedure – Rule 66(1)(b) – deprivation of opportunity to be heard grounds for review. Affidavit practice – extraneous matters may be expunged where substantive parts suffice. Court of Appeal Rules – citation of correct rule (Rule 48(1)) required but omission does not justify summary personal sanction without hearing.
20 May 2017
Review under Rule 66(1)(a) cannot be used to reargue appellate grounds or reassess evidence.
Review – Rule 66(1)(a) – manifest error on the face of the record; review limited to obvious errors; review not a substitute for appeal; cautioned statement voluntariness and trial-within-a-trial; credibility of witnesses not reviewable if not on face of judgment; finality of appellate decisions.
19 May 2017
An application to review a 19‑year‑old Court of Appeal judgment was time‑barred and therefore struck out.
Civil procedure — Review — Time limitation for review applications under the old Court of Appeal Rules — Rule 40 (correction of clerical/arithmetic mistakes) not a vehicle for substantive review — Registrar's marking "Lodged Out of Time" and competence of filings.
18 May 2017
A review application filed nineteen years late was struck out as time-barred; Rule 40 does not permit substantive review.
Court of Appeal — Review — Time limitation for review applications under the revoked Court of Appeal Rules, 1979 — Rule 40 limited to clerical/arithmetic mistakes and not a substitute for review — "Lodged out of time" mark and requirement for extension of time — competency of late review applications.
18 May 2017
Failure to issue statutory citation to the applicant's caveat rendered subsequent probate proceedings null and required quashing.
Probate law – Caveat and citation – Requirement that petitioner apply (Form 63) and Registrar issue/service of citation (Form 64) – mandatory compliance under Rule 82 of Probate Rules. Procedural irregularity – Failure to issue statutory citation renders subsequent probate proceedings nullity. Court of Appeal – Revisionary powers exercised suo motu to quash and remit defective probate proceedings.
18 May 2017
Review dismissed: Rule 66(1)(a) cannot be used to re-argue appeal merits or re-open evidence.
Criminal procedure – Review under Rule 66(1)(a) – scope limited to specified grounds – 'manifest error on the face of the record' must be obvious/self-evident. Criminal law – cautioned statement – trial within a trial and voluntariness issues cannot be re-opened by review where they were already raised on appeal. Appellate practice – review is not a substitute for appeal; grounds of appeal cannot be resurrected as grounds of review. Evidence – credibility challenges not forming part of the appellate judgment cannot form a basis for review.
17 May 2017
Applicant’s review seeking re‑argument of identification and alibi dismissed as improper use of review jurisdiction.
Review jurisdiction — Rule 66(1) Court of Appeal Rules — limited grounds; review not a substitute for appeal; manifest error on the face of the record; identification evidence and close-encounter identification; alibi; right to be heard; abuse of process.
17 May 2017
Review application dismissed; review not allowed to re‑argue appeal or substitute appellate findings.
Criminal law – review jurisdiction – limited scope of Rule 66(1) – review not a substitute for appeal; Criminal procedure – identification evidence and alibi – adequacy of consideration by appellate court; Procedural fairness – alleged denial of hearing at first appellate court is not ground for review by final court; Abuse of process – re‑argument of settled appeal is impermissible.
17 May 2017