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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 2021 |
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The Court struck out the DPP's appeal as incompetent after a Constitutional Court ruling removed the DPP's right to appeal interlocutory orders.
Criminal procedure – competence of appeal – Whether the DPP may appeal interlocutory or preliminary orders after Constitutional Court declared section 6(2) AJA partially void. Interpretation of statutes – retrospective effect – Procedural changes and judicial decisions apply retrospectively to pending cases. Evidence – admissibility/use of CCTV/CD evidence – trial judge’s management of witness testimony (issue not determined due to lack of jurisdiction).
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23 December 2021 |
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Non‑compliance with statutory assessors’ participation and written‑opinion requirements nullifies tribunal proceedings and warrants retrial.
Land procedure — District Land and Housing Tribunal — mandatory composition and participation of assessors — requirement for assessors’ written opinions under Regulation 19(2) and section 23(2) — failure to comply is fatal and renders proceedings a nullity — appellate power to nullify and order retrial.
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3 December 2021 |
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High Court proceedings after a pending notice of appeal and without mandated assessors are null; matter remitted to recommence.
Civil procedure – jurisdiction – effect of a notice of appeal: once a notice of appeal to the Court of Appeal is lodged and not withdrawn, the High Court ceases to have jurisdiction to proceed. Procedure in Land Division – assessors – Rule 5F/5G (GN. No. 63 of 2001 as amended by GN. No. 364 of 2005): failure to indicate assessors' involvement or parties' choice vitiates proceedings. Appellate powers – revisional jurisdiction under s.4(2) of the Appellate Jurisdiction Act to quash and remit proceedings tainted by jurisdictional or procedural irregularities.
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3 December 2021 |
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Administrator's suit upheld: no time-bar, administrator had locus standi, marital issue not properly pleaded.
Land law – limitation – accrual of cause of action – Item 22, First Schedule, Law of Limitation Act; action not time‑barred where cause accrued on eviction. Pleadings – parties bound by pleadings; unpleaded factual issues (e.g. marital status) cannot be raised late. Probate/administration – powers of administrator appointed by Primary Court include collecting estate assets and bringing/defending proceedings (Fifth Schedule, MCA). Locus standi – administrator has standing to sue for matters concerning the deceased's estate even if particular property is not itemized in letters.
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3 December 2021 |
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Failure to sum up and to direct assessors on vital law vitiated the trial; conviction quashed and retrial ordered.
Criminal procedure – trial with assessors – mandatory duty to sum up evidence and direct assessors on vital points of law (s.298 CPA); failure renders trial a nullity; retrial in interests of justice; chain of custody and ingredients of offence directions essential.
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3 December 2021 |
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Omitted drawn orders are mandatory for a competent appeal, but Court may allow a supplementary record under Rule 96(7).
Civil procedure — Appeal — Record of appeal — Rule 96(1)(h)&(i) (decree/order and order giving leave to appeal) — omission renders record incomplete — Rule 96(7) — Court's discretion to allow supplementary record of appeal — overriding objective limited where mandatory documents are absent.
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3 December 2021 |
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Inadequate summing up to assessors vitiated the trial, leading to quashing of conviction and remittal for re-summing up or retrial.
Criminal procedure — duty of trial judge to sum up to assessors; assessors’ opinions must be informed — omission to address vital points (legality of arrest/search, seizure certificate, chain of custody, ingredients of offence, contradictions, burden/standard of proof) vitiates trial — conviction quashed and proceedings remitted for re-summing up or retrial under s.299 CPA.
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3 December 2021 |
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Nullification of irregular duplicate titles leaves land with original joint purchasers; subdivision and re-registration require joinder of non-parties.
Land law — competing titles — irregular registration and duplicate certificates — nullification of titles where original joint owners did not approve transfer; procedure — re-surveying, subdivision and registration cannot affect non-parties without joinder and hearing; remedy — dismissal of suit where neither claimant has lawful title.
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3 December 2021 |
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Admission of killing; malice aforethought proved by weapon, head wounds, forceful injuries and post-offence conduct; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – Murder – Malice aforethought – Factors to infer intent (weapon, force, part of body, number/nature of blows, conduct before and after attack) – Defence of property/self-defence – afterthought and excessive force.
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3 December 2021 |
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Appeal dismissed: procedural signature omission and lack of voire dire were not fatal; evidence and corroboration proved the applicant's guilt.
Criminal law – Grave sexual abuse – Elements: use of body part for sexual gratification and lack of consent; Evidence Act s.127 (post-2016) – child of tender years must promise to tell the truth; Criminal Procedure Act s.210(1)(a) – signing of proceedings; omission curable if authenticity and lack of prejudice shown; corroboration and admission as proof of guilt.
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2 December 2021 |
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Reporting alleged death threats amid a workplace dispute was reasonable, not malicious, so the applicants' malicious prosecution claim failed.
• Malicious prosecution – elements – malice as mala animus (ill-will) and requirement to prove improper motive; • Reasonable and probable cause – standard from Hicks v. Faulkner applied; • Employer liability for prosecution – need for evidence that employer instigated prosecution; • Criminal complaint by alleged victim – reporting to police may be reasonable amid credible threat or workplace intimidation.
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2 December 2021 |
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Court dismisses appeal: eyewitness identification under electric lighting was reliable; late alibi and arrest delay did not create reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Armed robbery – Visual identification – Waziri Amani principles – requirements for watertight identification. Criminal procedure – Alibi raised late – sections 194(4),(5),(6) CPA – discretionary weight. Criminal procedure – Delay in arrest – effect on prosecution case. Evidence – Minor inconsistencies and typographical errors not material to conviction.
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1 December 2021 |
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Minor procedural defects did not vitiate the rape conviction; prosecution proved penetration and age; appeal dismissed.
Criminal procedure — section 210(3) Criminal Procedure Act — witnesses’ right to have recorded evidence read over; omission curable under section 388 where no prejudice shown. Criminal law — rape — essential elements: penetration and age of victim — victim’s testimony and medical report corroboration. Evidence — discrepancies and contradictions — assess whether they go to the root of the case; minor inconsistencies do not necessarily vitiate conviction. Defence — alibi — requirement to give prior notice under section 194(4) CPA and burden to establish alibi; failure to do so reduces its weight. Appellate review — duty to re-evaluate defence where lower courts failed to consider it; Court may step into appellate court’s shoes.
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1 December 2021 |
| November 2021 |
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Child witness's evidence admitted without statutory promise was expunged; remaining evidence insufficient, conviction quashed and appellant acquitted.
Criminal law – sexual offences – evidence of child of tender age – non‑compliance with s.127(2) Evidence Act (failure to promise to tell the truth) – expungement of evidence; sufficiency of remaining evidence in sexual offences; appellate jurisdiction – inadmissibility of new factual grounds on second appeal.
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30 November 2021 |
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Credible child-victim evidence and corroboration upheld unnatural offence conviction despite excluded confession.
Criminal law – Unnatural offence – conviction based on child-victim’s testimony and corroboration Evidence – child witness competence and procedure (voir dire; promise-to-tell-truth amendment effective 8 July 2016) Evidence – cautioned statement admissibility and voluntariness inquiry Criminal procedure – pre-arraignment detention/production to court (section 32 CPA) Identification – failure to hold identification parade where witnesses knew accused Sentencing/judgment formalities – omission to restate statutory provisions curable under CPA
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30 November 2021 |
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Appellate court upheld incest conviction, finding victim's credible testimony and sufficient corroboration; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – Sexual offences – Incest by male (Penal Code); victim's testimony as crucial evidence in sexual offences – applicability of section 127(6) Evidence Act and Selemani Makumba principle. Evidence – Corroboration by family witnesses and medical report; medical evidence admissible to show intercourse but not exact timing. Criminal procedure – Contents of judgment – compliance with section 312(1) CPA. Appeal – Second appeal limited to points of law; Court may reassess shortcomings of appellate review where necessary.
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26 November 2021 |
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A charge omitting the essential element of being armed in armed robbery is fatally defective and renders trial a nullity.
Criminal law – Armed robbery – Section 287A Penal Code – Essential ingredients include stealing, being armed, and use or threat of violence – charge must allege all ingredients. Criminal Procedure – Charge drafting – Sections 132 & 135 CPA – omission of material ingredient renders charge fatally defective. Evidence – Defect in charge cannot be cured where prosecution evidence does not establish omitted ingredient. Appeals – Second appellate court may decide point of law not addressed by first appellate court.
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26 November 2021 |
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Non-joinder of the Permanent Secretary rendered the appellant's suit unmaintainable; an executive agency is suable in its own name only in contract.
Civil procedure – Executive agencies – Tanzania Building Agency (TBA) suable in its own name only in contract – where no contract exists, Government Proceedings Act procedure applies and Ministry/Attorney General must be joined. Civil procedure – Joinder of parties – Necessary party (Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works) must be joined where proprietary rights are affected and an effective decree cannot be passed otherwise. Remedy – Non-joinder of necessary government party renders suit unmaintainable; appropriate remedy can be setting aside proceedings and ordering retrial after joining necessary parties.
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15 November 2021 |
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Charge defects curable but material inconsistencies in prosecution evidence rendered rape conviction unsafe; appeal allowed.
Criminal law — Charge sheet defects — Non‑citation of subsection curable under s.388 CPA where particulars and evidence afford fair notice; Criminal procedure — s.312(2) CPA non‑compliance curable if no prejudice; Evidence — credibility of complainant in sexual offences, need for scrutiny where material inconsistencies and lack of corroboration render conviction unsafe.
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2 November 2021 |
| October 2021 |
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A defective certificate of delay was held curable by rectification and filing a supplementary record under the overriding objective.
Commercial appeal — Certificate of delay — Rule 90(1) & (2) Court of Appeal Rules, 2009 — Defective certificate (format, incorrect dates, wrong aggregate days) — Consequences: rectification v striking out — Overriding objective (AJA ss 3A, 3B; Rule 2) — Supplementary record under Rule 96(7) to include correct certificate and missing trial evidence — Adjournment under Rule 38A(1).
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1 October 2021 |
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Conviction for rape quashed due to unreliable victim evidence and procedural failures, including unrecorded demeanour remarks.
Criminal law – Sexual offences – Sole evidence of the victim under section 127(6) Evidence Act – requires thorough scrutiny and not to be treated as gospel truth. Criminal procedure – Duty to record remarks on witness demeanour in proceedings (s.212 Criminal Procedure Act) – remarks cannot be first introduced in judgment. Appeals – Second appeals – Court will not entertain new grounds not argued and decided in first appeal; appellate court may re-evaluate evidence where lower courts failed to consider defence. Evidence – Delay in reporting, lack of medical/DNA tests and inconsistencies may undermine victim’s credibility in rape prosecutions.
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1 October 2021 |
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Recent possession sustained conviction despite weak visual identification; first appellate court failed to re-evaluate evidence.
Criminal law – armed robbery – doctrine of recent possession – elements: possession of stolen property, positive identification, recentness, subject matter of charge. Evidence – visual identification – need for careful scrutiny of observation time, distance and lighting; earliest opportunity to name suspect. Evidence – chain of custody – distinction between exhibits easily changable and durable items (motorcycle). Appeals – duty of first appellate court to re-evaluate trial evidence; higher court may step into its shoes where re-evaluation was not done.
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1 October 2021 |
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Appeal allowed where search warrant was not read and chain of custody for seized ammunition was broken, rendering the case unproven.
Criminal law – unlawful possession of ammunition – necessity of proving chain of custody for seized exhibits – unexplained gaps invalidate authenticity. Evidence – admissibility of documents – requirement to read a tendered exhibit in open court; failure amounts to improper admission. Criminal procedure – burden to prove exhibits’ custody and handover from seizure to tendering in court.
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1 October 2021 |
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Failure to explain vital legal issues to assessors vitiated their opinion; conviction quashed and retrial ordered.
Criminal procedure – Trials with assessors – Proper selection and opportunity to object to assessors – Duty to explain assessors’ role – Summing-up to assessors – Necessity to explain ingredients of offence, chain of custody and treatment of inconsistencies – Failure to do so vitiates assessors’ opinion and proceedings from summing-up to judgment – Remedy: nullification and retrial.
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1 October 2021 |
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Review granted: appellate omission to quash convictions after declaring proceedings nullity and inclusion of withdrawn appellant in retrial were corrected.
Criminal procedure – Appeal – Review under Rule 66(1)(a) & (b) and Rule 66(6) – manifest error on face of record – omission to nullify proceedings, quash convictions and set aside sentences after declaring trial nullity. Right to be heard – inclusion of appellant who had withdrawn appeal in retrial order – denial of fair hearing. Remedy – appellate modification under Rule 66(6) rather than full rehearing; release order where detention results from erroneous order. Adjournment of rehearing; parties to bear own costs.
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1 October 2021 |
| September 2021 |
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Failure to properly select, brief or have assessors present and an inadequate summing up rendered the trial null and void; retrial ordered.
Criminal procedure – assessors: proper selection, notification to accused and explanation of role; summing up – requirement to summarise evidence and explain vital legal points to assessors; absence of assessor during evidence and later participation – fatal irregularity; cumulative irregularities render trial a nullity; remedy — quash conviction and order retrial.
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30 September 2021 |
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Denying bail without serving affidavit or hearing the accused violated the right to be heard; conviction quashed and retrial ordered.
Criminal procedure – Section 192 CPA – requirements and conduct of preliminary hearing; memorandum of undisputed facts. Constitutional and procedural right – Right to be heard; denial of bail based on affidavit not served and not on record vitiates proceedings. Criminal appeal – Nullity of proceedings and judgments arising from breach of right to be heard; quashing of conviction and ordering of retrial. Retrial – Application of Fatehali Manji principles; retrial appropriate where interest of justice so requires.
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30 September 2021 |
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Appeal struck out for failure to serve notice, memorandum and application for copies, making the appeal incompetent and time-barred.
Civil procedure – Appeal competence – mandatory service requirements under Rules 84(1), 97(1) and 90(3) of the Tanzania Court of Appeal Rules; non-service renders appeal incompetent and, where application for copies is not served, appeal becomes time-barred.
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30 September 2021 |
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Failure to hear a party on a court-raised issue vitiated the ruling; change of judge without recorded reasons was irregular but not fatal.
Civil procedure — Order XVIII r.10 CPC — Succession of judge — Duty to record reasons when taking over partly heard matters; applies to applications decided on affidavits and submissions. Natural justice — Audi alteram partem — Court raising and deciding issue suo motu (propriety of power of attorney) without affording party opportunity to be heard vitiates proceedings. Overriding objective — AJA ss.3A,3B — Curative effect where no material prejudice shown.
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30 September 2021 |
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The appeal was allowed because identification and cautioned-statement irregularities and failure to call material witnesses undermined the prosecution.
Criminal law – Identification evidence – need for prior detailed description and proper conduct/read-over of identification parade register; Cautioned statements – must be read over after admission or are of no evidential value; Failure to call material witnesses (ballistic expert and victim) – adverse inference; Conviction unsafe where key evidence expunged.
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30 September 2021 |
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The appellant's equivocal plea admitting presence, not transporting migrants, vitiated conviction; appeal allowed and remitted.
Criminal law – Plea of guilty – Requirement that plea be unequivocal and admit every ingredient of offence – Section 192 CPA preliminary hearing only for not guilty pleas – Section 360(1) CPA bar to appeals on guilty pleas and recognised exceptions – Conviction vitiated by equivocal plea – Remittal for trial as if not guilty.
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29 September 2021 |
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Conviction quashed where visual identification was unreliable and cautioned statement was recorded outside statutory time and inadmissible.
Criminal law — armed robbery; sufficiency of evidence. Visual identification — night-time incidents; need for detailed evidence on lighting, proximity and duration (Waziri Amani principles). Cautioned/confessional statement — statutory time-limits under s.50(1) Criminal Procedure Act; requirement to inform suspect of rights; non-compliance renders statement inadmissible. Conviction unsafe where identification and confession are both unreliable or inadmissible.
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27 September 2021 |
| April 2021 |
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Failure to summon assessors on vital legal points vitiated the trial; conviction quashed and retrial refused for insufficient evidence.
Criminal procedure – trial with assessors – duty to sum up on all vital points of law (circumstantial evidence, doctrine of recent possession, ingredients of offence) – failure vitiates proceedings; Circumstantial evidence – identification and proof of ownership of exhibits – necessity of prior description and documentary links (e.g. phone registration) before relying on recent possession; Retrial – principles and when retrial should not be ordered.
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30 April 2021 |
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Inadequate summing up to assessors on identification and retracted confession vitiated the trial; retrial ordered.
Criminal procedure – duty of trial judge to sum up adequately to assessors on all vital points of law. Evidence – visual and voice identification made at night; conditions for relying on such identification. Evidence – cautioned/confession statement retracted by accused; evidential value and cautionary direction required. Appellate/revisional powers – nullification of proceedings where assessors not properly directed. Retrial – principles for ordering retrial (Fatehali Manji) and interest of justice.
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30 April 2021 |
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Failure to comply with reinstatement clause time limits converts measure of indemnity to market/value at date of loss.
Insurance law – contract of indemnity – reinstatement value clause – compliance with time/notice conditions – measure of indemnity (market value v. reinstatement) – burden of proof on insured – appellate reappraisal of evidence.
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19 April 2021 |
| March 2021 |
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An extension to file an appeal was prematurely granted while a prior application to strike out the notice of appeal remained undecided.
Civil procedure – Extension of time to file appeal – Validity of notice of appeal – Pending application to strike out notice must be determined before granting extension; Reference – Full Court may interfere where single judge fails to consider material preliminary issue.
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19 March 2021 |
| February 2021 |
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Failure to allow rejoinder on admissibility of exhibits breached the right to be heard and vitiated the trial, prompting retrial.
Civil procedure — admission of documents — objections, reply and rejoinder procedure — right to be heard (audi alteram partem) — breach vitiates proceedings — retrial ordered.
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26 February 2021 |
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Whether the certificate of delay and record of appeal complied with Rules 90 and 96, and whether defects are curable.
Civil procedure – Court of Appeal Rules, Rule 90(1): certificate of delay – computation must be from date of lodgement/receipt in High Court; certificate must state number of days to be excluded (Form L). Civil procedure – Court of Appeal Rules, Rule 96(3) & (7): completeness of record of appeal – Registrar’s power to exclude exhibits and remedy by filing supplementary record; omission of a document by filing only a notice does not properly include it in the record. Remedies – curable procedural irregularities: leave to file corrected certificate and supplementary record rather than striking out appeal.
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25 February 2021 |
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An ordinary civil suit is not a proper vehicle to challenge administrative decisions; appeal dismissed for want of jurisdiction and maintainability.
Administrative law — challenge to administrative acts — improper use of ordinary civil suit to question Government Notices and abolishment of villages; locus standi and jurisdiction — requirement to invoke proper forum (judicial review/ statutory procedure) — representative suit procedure (Order 1 r.8 CPC) — pleadings and maintainability.
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25 February 2021 |
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Inadequate summing up to assessors on vital legal points rendered the murder trial a nullity; retrial ordered.
Criminal procedure – Trial with assessors – Mandatory requirement under section 265 CPA – Adequacy of summing up to assessors; omission to direct assessors on ingredients of murder, circumstantial evidence, doctrine of recent possession, visual identification and accused’s conduct renders trial a nullity. Appellate jurisdiction – Exercise of revisional powers under section 4(2) – Quashing of proceedings and ordering of retrial.
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25 February 2021 |
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Stay of execution granted pending appeal: application timeous, substantial loss shown, third‑party security acceptable.
Civil procedure — Stay of execution (Rule 11) — requirements: timeous application; substantial/irreparable loss; adequate security — third‑party customary title and owner affidavit may suffice as security — conditional stay pending appeal.
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25 February 2021 |
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Appeal allowed: conviction quashed due to credibility doubts, material contradictions, and failure to consider defence evidence.
Criminal law – Incest – credibility of victim and delay in reporting; Evidence – contradictions between oral testimony and documentary evidence (guest register); Missing key witness — adverse inference; Criminal procedure – proper evaluation of defence and burden of proof; Appellate review of concurrent findings of fact.
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24 February 2021 |
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A court cannot raise and decide a new issue suo motu without first affording the parties a right to be heard.
Civil procedure — appellate practice — court raising new issue suo motu at judgment composing stage — vicarious liability — right to be heard and natural justice — decision in violation of hearing rights is a nullity — remittal for rehearing on new issue.
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19 February 2021 |
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Variance between charge particulars and evidence plus inadequate identification made recent-possession conviction unsafe; appeal allowed.
Criminal procedure – variance between charge particulars and evidence – duty to amend under section 234 Criminal Procedure Act; amendment required to meet case circumstances. Evidence – doctrine of recent possession – requirements: possession, positive identification by owner, recent theft, and property forming subject of charge. Evidence – identification of exhibits – owner should first identify distinctive marks before exhibits tendered. Evidence – chain of custody/certificate of seizure – relevance where seizure by civilians and police procedures involved. Appeals – second appeal limited to points of law but may interfere with concurrent findings where misapprehension of evidence causes miscarriage of justice.
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19 February 2021 |
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Variance in charge and broken chain of custody defeated prosecution; conviction quashed and sentence set aside.
Wildlife offences – unlawful possession of trophy – variance between charge and evidence – requirement to amend charge under s.234 Criminal Procedure Act; Chain of custody – failure to establish handling of exhibits; Perishable exhibits – need for magistrate's order before disposal (Police General Orders); Cautioned statement – where it does not confess, cannot sustain conviction.
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19 February 2021 |
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Five village members must be joined where the respondent’s pleadings and annexure named them as alleged interferers with his land.
Joinder of parties – Order 1 Rule 10(2) and Order 1 Rule 3 CPC – Cause of action to be ascertained from pleadings and annexures – Annexures part of pleadings – Public interest locus standi not applicable to joinder in ordinary civil suits – Necessary parties must be joined to enable complete adjudication and to avoid multiplicity of suits.
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17 February 2021 |
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An application cannot be withdrawn to pre-empt a preliminary objection; Court struck out the incompetent application with costs.
Civil procedure – Withdrawal of application – Preliminary objection as to competence – A preliminary objection must be heard before any withdrawal – Incompetent application cannot be withdrawn to pre-empt objection – Strike out with costs; Rule 58(1) Tanzania Court of Appeal Rules.
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17 February 2021 |
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Improperly admitted and unread documentary exhibits were expunged, collapsing the prosecution case and leading to quashing of conviction.
Criminal procedure – admission of documents: documents must be cleared for admission, actually admitted and read out; failure is fatal and warrants expungement; where expunged documents form the crux of the prosecution case, conviction must be quashed. Issues also raised: chain of custody of seized exhibits; competence to prepare trophy valuation under s.86(4) Wildlife Act.
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16 February 2021 |
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Appellant's WSD filed within seven days before hearing was timely; High Court's ex parte order quashed.
Civil procedure — summons to appear v. summons to file defence — interpretation of Order V r.1 and Order VIII r.1 CPC — time for filing written statement of defence — court cannot require filing outside statute — parties should not be punished for court errors — ex parte proof set aside.
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12 February 2021 |
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Victim’s credible testimony can sustain sexual‑offence conviction; procedural irregularities curable and did not vitiate conviction.
Criminal law – sexual offences – conviction on child‑victim’s uncorroborated evidence (s.127(7) Evidence Act); evidence – no duty to call specific witnesses (s.143 Evidence Act); procedure – non‑compliance with s.210(3) CPA curable under s.388; second appeal standard – interference only for misdirection/non‑direction.
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12 February 2021 |