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Citation
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Judgment date
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| February 2023 |
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Failure to properly sum up legal issues to assessors nullified the trial proceedings; conviction quashed and matter remitted for proper summing up.
Criminal procedure — Assessors — Duty of trial judge to properly sum up and direct assessors on vital points of law — Failure to explain ingredients of offence, chain of custody, expert evidence or evidential value of retracted cautioned statement renders subsequent proceedings a nullity — Court may invoke revisional powers (s.4(2) AJA) and remit for proper summing up.
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24 February 2023 |
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Conviction for impregnating a schoolgirl affirmed; excessive thirty‑year sentence set aside and appellant released.
Criminal law – Education Act s.60A(3) – Impregnating a schoolgirl – proof requires showing victim was a schoolgirl, pregnancy and that accused impregnated her; Criminal procedure – recording of evidence s.210(1)(b) CPA – non‑compliance curable under s.388 where no prejudice; Evidence – PF3/medical report admissibility and expungement of improperly admitted exhibits; Sentencing – statutory maximum not mandatory; sentencing limits of trial magistrates and appellate revision under AJA s.4(2).
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24 February 2023 |
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Appellant failed to prove TZS 300M payment; court awarded pre‑judgment interest at 15% on proven TZS 193,943,000.
Evidence — burden of proof (s.110 Evidence Act) — admitted deposit slips vs. bank statement; Documentary weight and reconciliation; Pre‑judgment interest — discretionary award; Contracts — courts cannot insert contractual interest terms not agreed by parties; Guarantor payments and recovery; Bank reconciliation — bank statements as decisive evidence.
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24 February 2023 |
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Appellants' convictions for unlawful possession of government trophies affirmed; sentencing corrected to EOCCA's mandatory 20-year term.
Criminal law – unlawful possession of government trophies; chain of custody; admissibility of documents where not read out after admission; evidential burden under WCA s100(3); jurisdiction and consent under EOCCA; sentencing under EOCCA s60(2) (mandatory minimum).
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24 February 2023 |
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A child’s promise to tell the truth suffices under section 127(2); age and penetration proven, conviction and sentence upheld.
Criminal law – Rape – Proof of age of victim – Child witness testimony – Section 127(2) Evidence Act (promise to tell truth suffices) – Evaluation of contradictions (minor vs. material) – Admissibility and weight of cautioned statement – Conviction upheld.
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24 February 2023 |
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A guilty plea must clearly admit sexual intercourse and the victim's age to be unequivocal in statutory rape cases.
Criminal procedure – guilty plea – requirement that plea be unequivocal – Chaki factors applicable. Rape – essential ingredient sexual intercourse must be clearly established in narrated facts. Statutory rape – proof of victim's age is fundamental and cannot be casual. Compliance with s.228 Criminal Procedure Act when recording plea. Appealability – s.360(1) CPA does not bar intervention where plea is equivocal. Appellate revision powers – re‑arraignment ordered under AJA s.4(2).
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23 February 2023 |
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Conviction for unlawful possession of government trophies upheld; sentence increased to 20 years under EOCCA.
Wildlife offences – unlawful possession of government trophies; valuation not an ingredient of offence; admissibility of seizure certificate; emergency search under section 42 CPA; credibility of witnesses; sentencing under EOCCA section 60(2).
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23 February 2023 |
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Applicant’s attempt to strike out notice of appeal failed because delay in supplying certified copies was due to the Registrar, not respondents.
Civil procedure – appeal – striking out notice of appeal – whether essential steps to institute appeal were taken under Rules 89 and 90 of the Court of Appeal Rules, 2009; Certified copies – delay by High Court Registrar – effect on right to prosecute appeal; Precedent – Registered Trustees of Kagera Farmers' Trust Fund v. CRDB Bank Ltd; Foreign Mission Board v. Panomaritis.
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23 February 2023 |
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Sale to bona fide purchaser before administrator’s revocation cannot be set aside by later inventory allocation.
Probate and administration – sale of estate property by an administrator – effect of revocation of administrator’s appointment on completed sale – bona fide purchaser for value without notice – evidentiary weight of Administrator General’s inventory – procedural succession of judges.
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22 February 2023 |
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Failure to seek required leave and to take essential appellate steps warranted striking out the respondent's notice of appeal.
Procedure — striking out notice of appeal — Rule 89(2) Court of Appeal Rules: failure to take essential steps; Leave to appeal — s. 47(2) Land Disputes Courts Act required where appeal originates from DLHT; Time limits — Rule 90(1) (60 days to file appeal) and collection of documents from Registrar; Adjournment — Rule 59 requires good cause for delay.
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22 February 2023 |
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Adverse possession can extinguish a village land claim even where the original sale lacked Village Council approval.
Land law – village land – transfer/sale without Village Council approval – such transfers are void and ineffectual. Prescription/adverse possession – continuous occupation can extinguish estate claims after statutory period. Civil procedure – extension of time – unchallenged tribunal orders remain effective. Appeal jurisdiction – High Court certification required for appeals from Ward Tribunals; grounds must substantially reflect certified points. Procedural irregularity – lack of locus standi does not automatically vitiate prior tribunal proceedings.
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21 February 2023 |
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Child witnesses’ truthful promise sufficed; euphemistic testimony can prove rape; convictions upheld but two life sentences reduced.
Criminal law – sexual offences involving children – compliance with s.127(2) Evidence Act; child witnesses’ promise to tell the truth; sufficiency of euphemistic testimony to prove penetration; cautioned statement defective but not relied on; proof of victims’ ages and appropriate sentencing under s.131 Penal Code; consideration of accused’s defence; procedural compliance (PF3s read, judgment signed).
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20 February 2023 |
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Conviction for unlawful possession of elephant tusks upheld; sentence revised to twenty years imprisonment under amended law.
Criminal law – unlawful possession of government trophies – valuation and number of trophies – admissibility of trophy valuation certificate; Evidence – certificate of seizure signed by accused suffices in place of statutory receipt; Witnesses – non‑production of fellow officer does not require an independent witness in remote area; Cautioned statement – voluntariness and weight; Sentencing – application of amended harsher penalties under Cap. 200 as amended.
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20 February 2023 |
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Prosecution failed to prove complainant's age and omitted material witnesses; conviction for statutory rape was quashed.
Criminal law – Rape – Essential ingredient of age under section 130(1) & (2)(e) Penal Code – Age must be proved by positive evidence; citation in charge or magistrate’s pre-evidence statement is not proof – Medical report not read out after admission vitiates its probative value – Failure to call material witnesses may attract adverse inference.
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20 February 2023 |
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Registered title confers ownership absent proof of unlawful issuance; trial errors were harmless and appeal dismissed with costs.
Land law – ownership disputes – effect of registration and Certificate of Title – person in whose name estate is registered treated as owner unless certificate shown to be unlawfully obtained; Evidence – competence of party-witness (s127 Evidence Act) – refusal to allow party to testify may be error but can be harmless; Civil procedure – appealability and time-limits – preliminary objections relating to other judgments not impeding valid appeal.
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17 February 2023 |
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Second appeal in statutory rape: child evidence, exhibit admissibility, curable variance — conviction and life sentence upheld.
Criminal law – statutory rape; child witness procedure under s.127(2) Evidence Act; admissibility and reading of documentary exhibits; curable variance under s.388 CPA; limits on second appeals to pure questions of law; non‑prejudicial tendering irregularities of medical reports.
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15 February 2023 |
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Elephant tusks must be valued by the Regulations' tusk rates; EOCCA mandates minimum 20-year sentence for economic offences.
Wildlife law – valuation of trophies – Regulation 3(1) and (2) and First Schedule Items 18 and 87 – elephant tusks valued by weight under Item 87 (USD 550/kg unpolished). Evidence – certificate of value under WCA Regulations admissible as prima facie evidence, not conclusive. Sentencing – EOCCA s.60(2) overrides other statutes for economic offences and prescribes minimum 20 years' imprisonment without option of a fine. Interpretation – regulation 3(2) general rule (part valued as whole) applies to all WCA offences except where Regulations provide specific values.
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14 February 2023 |
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Prosecution proved unlawful possession of giraffe trophy; sentencing corrected to twenty years' imprisonment.
Wildlife Conservation Act – unlawful possession of government trophy – portions of animal as trophy; chain of custody of seized exhibits. Evidence Act – weight and credibility of witnesses – no prescribed number of witnesses (s.143). Criminal procedure – prosecutor's discretion in calling witnesses. Sentencing – EOCCA s.60(2) minimum custodial sentence for economic offences; appellate substitution of sentence.
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14 February 2023 |
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Applicant succeeded in having respondent’s notice of appeal struck out for failure to take essential steps to institute the appeal.
Civil procedure – Court of Appeal Rules 2009: Rule 55(1) (service of notice of motion within 14 days); Rule 90(5) (essential steps to institute appeal); Rule 89(2) (power to strike out notice of appeal) – competence of preliminary objections dependent on facts apparent on record.
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10 February 2023 |
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The appellant's no‑case stance failed; respondents proved PayPal fund withholding and website misuse; appeal dismissed.
Contract – oral agency for website and online marketing; receipts through PayPal – proof of receipt and non-remittance; special damages must be pleaded and proved; general damages for misuse of website; burden of proof and standard in civil cases; submissions are not evidence; appellate re-evaluation of evidence under Rule 36(1)(a).
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8 February 2023 |
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Appellant's procedural and evidential challenges failed; trafficking conviction upheld as proved beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Trafficking in narcotic drugs – proof beyond reasonable doubt – weight and chemist analysis; chain of custody of exhibits. Evidence – Seizure procedure – section 38(3) CPA receipt requirement – omission minor and not automatically fatal. Evidence – Inventory and destruction of exhibits – compliance with Police General Orders not fatal where conviction rests on total evidence. Evidence – Cautioned statement admissibility – witness oath and trial procedure (section 198(1) CPA). Appellate review – re-evaluation of evidence, significance of minor contradictions.
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8 February 2023 |