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364 judgments found.
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December 2025
Improper High Court transfer to a specific magistrate renders trial proceedings a nullity; weak ID evidence precludes retrial.
Criminal law — Jurisdiction of magistrates with extended jurisdiction — Requirement for specific High Court transfer order — Criminal Procedure Act s 256A (now s 274)
Criminal procedure — Jurisdiction — Nullity of proceedings in absence of formal transfer to magistrate with extended jurisdiction — Criminal Procedure Act s 256A (now s 274)
Evidence — Identification parade — compliance with PGO 232, selection of similar participants and documentation (photograph) necessary for probative value
29 December 2025
Conviction for rape quashed due to unsafe identification and inadequate consideration of the appellant's corroborated alibi.
Criminal law — Rape — identification by recognition — reliability where witnesses knew accused and had close observation aided by moonlight
Criminal procedure — second appeal — Deference to concurrent findings of fact unless perverse, unreasonable or misapprehended — Misapprehension of evidence or departure from settled law
29 December 2025
Appellant's conviction quashed due to unreliable visual identification and material contradictions in prosecution evidence.
Criminal law — Armed robbery
— inconsistent witness accounts
— insufficiency of prosecution evidence
— mistaken identity risk
— parity in joint trials
— quashing conviction
— visual identification
29 December 2025
A plea recorded as guilty was equivocal due to procedural defects; conviction quashed and trial remitted for continuation.
Criminal procedure — exhibits relied upon to be before accused — Equivocal plea — Procedural irregularities vitiating conviction — Remittal for continuation of trial
Criminal procedure — plea of guilty
— accused to admit or deny each particular
— facts disclosing all elements to be read and recorded
— Requirements before convicting on plea of guilty: charge and ingredients explained
29 December 2025
Conviction quashed where accused pleaded to a fatally defective information that included a deceased co-accused without amendment.
Criminal law — Equivocal plea of guilty — Plea equivocal or unfinished — Plea cannot stand where charge is fatally defective
Criminal procedure
— Abatement — Proceedings against accused who has died properly abate on proof of death — Criminal Procedure Act s 284A (now s 304)
— amendment of information — Requirement for court order to amend defective information — Criminal Procedure Act s 276(2),(3)
29 December 2025
Application for stay of execution dismissed for failure to prove substantial or irreparable loss despite timely filing and offer of security.
Civil procedure — Stay of execution
23 December 2025
22 December 2025
Employer‑paid group life premiums are taxable employment benefits; Court cannot entertain appeals re‑evaluating factual evidence.
Tax law
— Exclusions — Medical insurance exclusion and administrative impracticability — Applicability of ss 7(3)(c) and 7(3)(i) Income Tax Act to group life premiums
— PAYE on employment benefits — inclusion of employer‑paid group life insurance premiums under s7 — s 7(2)(b) Income Tax Act
— Tax appeals — jurisdictional limitation — Whether s 25(2) Tax Revenue Appeals Act bars re‑examination of factual issues on appeal
19 December 2025
Appellant failed to prove contractual disbursement; second agreement incorporated the first, appeal dismissed with costs.
Contract law — burden of proof — proving disbursement by invoices and signed payment vouchers
Contract law — incorporation of earlier agreement — recitals versus operative clauses
Contract law — judgment on admission
— abandonment by proceeding to full trial
— enforceability of security contingent on proven loan
18 December 2025
A court ordering reinstatement for substantively unfair dismissal must not alternatively award compensation without reasons.
Labour law — arbitration jurisdiction
— compensation
— oral referral pre-2017 valid where no objection
Labour law — unfair termination — reinstatement, re-engagement or compensation are disjunctive
18 December 2025
A preliminary objection cannot dispose of a counterclaim when disputed factual averments on limitation require evidence.
Civil procedure — Preliminary objections — Cannot be entertained where contested facts require ascertainment — Limitation pleas and Order VII r.6 CPC
18 December 2025
Stay of execution granted pending appeal conditional on provision of a bank guarantee for the decretal sum.
Civil procedure — Stay of execution pending appeal — Conditions: reasonable time, risk of substantial loss, security for due performance — Substantial loss and security requirement
17 December 2025
A bank lawfully complied with AG prohibitory notices; the appellant should have joined the Attorney General to challenge their legality.
Banking law — Account freezing/prohibitory notices — Compliance with prohibitory notices under Prevention and Combating of Corruption Act s 34 — Bank's obligation to comply until formal release by prosecuting authority
Civil procedure
— Joinder of necessary parties — Attorney General — Plaintiff's duty to implead before challenging executive orders
— Judgment writing — Duty to analyse and weigh evidence and to consider defence — Order XX Rule 6 CPC
17 December 2025
Minor affidavit omissions and wrong rule citation were not fatal; preliminary objections overruled and matter fixed for hearing.
Civil procedure
— Affidavits — verification and jurat — Minor name omission and matching signatures not fatal
— Intervention — Admissibility and timing of third‑party intervention applications — Rule 109(1) and Rule 48(1) proviso
— Res sub judice — matter directly and substantially in issue in pending appeal — Requirement to produce memorandum of appeal/pleadings to justify stay
17 December 2025
Appointment of senior manager without Bank of Tanzania approval is illegal and renders subsequent termination an unfair labour practice.
Labour law — Banking regulation
— appointment without prior approval illegal and vitiates termination
— Regulation 19(1) BOT prior approval mandatory
Labour law — time-bar rules — commencement of cause of action for continuous practices
Labour law — unfair labour practice — continuous breaches accrue at termination
17 December 2025
Appeal dismissed: restructured loan validity, debtor's default, and guarantors' liability proven; awarded amount upheld.
Commercial law — loan facilities — Variation/restructuring and accrual of cause of action
Company law — Corporate law — Authority to sue — Board resolution not required for a company to sue third parties
Evidence — Documentary evidence and bankers' books — Tendering exhibits in Commercial Division
17 December 2025
Interest to pay prior years' tax is not deductible in a later year; IT charges disallowed for lack of evidence.
Tax law
— Evidential burden for related-party charges — Whether intragroup IT charges were proved to be incurred and at arm's length — s 18(2) and s 26(2) Tax Revenue Appeals Act
— deductibility of expenditure — Whether interest on a 2020 loan used to pay prior years' tax liabilities is deductible under s 11(2) Income Tax Act
17 December 2025
A decision‑maker’s failure to decide an extension application violated the applicant’s right to be heard; matter remitted for lawful determination.
Administrative law — Natural justice — Right to be heard — Denial of right to be heard where decision‑maker fails to determine an application for extension of time
Tax law — Tax appeals — Tribunal’s appellate jurisdiction — Jurisdiction under section 230(1) where no review decision exists
17 December 2025
Warrantless search, defective cautioned statement and failure to call a material witness vitiated the murder conviction.
Criminal procedure
— Cautioned statement — mandatory contents and certification under s.57 Criminal Procedure Act — Non‑compliance renders statement inadmissible
— Search and seizure — warrantless search and PGO/CPA compliance
Evidence — Failure to call material witnesses — adverse inference for failure to call material witnesses — Impact on circumstantial evidence sufficiency
16 December 2025
Whether retrenchment was substantively and procedurally fair; court upheld retrenchment and applied estoppel.
Labour law — Mediation and arbitration — Referral to CMA — Who may refer unresolved consultations — ELRA s 38(2)
Labour law — procedural fairness — Consultation and notice requirements under section 38 ELRA — ELRA s 38(1)
Labour law — retrenchment for operational requirements — Structural needs arising from merger
— Code of Good Practice r 23(2)(c)
— ELRA s 38
16 December 2025
The appellant’s appeal was timeously filed because the registrar’s certificate correctly excluded delay in supplying appeal documents.
Civil procedure — Appeals
16 December 2025
Registrar’s failure to supply complete appeal documents justified a certificate of delay; appeal was not time-barred.
Civil procedure — Appeal time limits
16 December 2025
Borrower default enforced against guarantors; frustration by COVID-19 not established; appeal dismissed.
Banking law — loan facilities — borrower default and recovery — Guarantor liability
Civil procedure — loan recovery — Notice to guarantors and enforcement absent debenture
Contract law — frustration of contract — Burden to plead and prove frustration to excuse non-performance
15 December 2025
Murabahah financing characterised as taxable sale of goods, not exempt financial services under VAT Act 1997.
Tax law
— Tax Revenue Appeals Act s.18(2)(b) — burden of proof on taxpayer to challenge computations
— Value Added Tax Act, 1997 — Murabahah Islamic financing — whether sale of goods or exempt financial service under paragraph 9(3) Second Schedule — construction of tax exemptions strict and schedule-based
15 December 2025
Non-joinder of necessary parties (borrower and directors) rendered the land suit defective and judgment was quashed.
Civil procedure
— necessary party test
— Non-joinder of necessary parties
— remedy — nullification, quash and set aside of judgment
15 December 2025
Declarations without an attesting officer’s rubber stamp can satisfy s.118(3) Land Act and validate a mortgage.
Evidence
— Formal sufficiency of jurat — Place, date, signatures, qualification and address in jurat satisfy attestation requirements
— jurat of affidavit — minor jurat defects not necessarily incurable
Land law — Mortgage of matrimonial home — Declarations discharging mortgagee's duty to verify marital status
15 December 2025
The appeal failed: ex parte order valid and the respondent lawfully recovered unpaid insurance premiums under contract and guarantees.
Civil procedure — ex-parte proceedings — Setting Aside Ex Parte Judgment — Order IX CPC
Contract law — breach of contract — Guarantee — Recovery of unpaid insurance premiums
Evidence — Proof of special damages — requirement of strict proof for special damages
15 December 2025
Whether allocated head‑office costs met section 11(2)’s 'wholly and exclusively' test and were correctly disallowed.
Tax law — Allowable deductions — Head‑office/management fees
Tax law — Appellate jurisdiction
— appeals on questions of law only
— Burden of proof and evaluation of evidence
Tax law — Transfer pricing — cost allocation and recognised arrangements
12 December 2025
Failure to serve the record of appeal within seven days is an essential-step default warranting striking out the notice of appeal.
Civil procedure — Appeal procedure
12 December 2025
Notice of appeal struck out for failure to file appeal record; advocate's negligence not a defence under rule 89(2).
Civil procedure — Court of Appeal Rules, 2009
12 December 2025
Illness of counsel and asserted illegality did not justify extension of time to appeal a tax decision.
Civil procedure — Extension of time to appeal — Applicant’s sickness as sufficient cause supported by medical records — Requirement of credible medical proof
Tax law — Judicial review of tax decisions — Alleged illegality must be apparent on the face of the record and first raised in the forum seeking extension
12 December 2025
Notice of appeal struck out after respondent’s concession; costs awarded against the first respondent.
Civil procedure — strike out notice of appeal — concession by respondent — costs follow the event — costs awarded where application uncontested
12 December 2025
Whether a pending appeal warrants stay of execution of decree releasing security, given timeliness, irreparable loss, and security undertaking.
Civil procedure — Stay of execution
12 December 2025
Failure to follow up for appeal copies under rule 90(5) justified striking out the notice of appeal.
Civil procedure — Appeal procedure
12 December 2025
Strike-out application dismissed for lack of proof Registrar officially notified respondent of corrected judgment and documents.
12 December 2025
Four‑year delay in following up certified copies breached rule 90(5), amounting to failure to take essential steps; notice struck out.
Civil procedure — Appeal — Notice of appeal
12 December 2025
Notice of appeal struck out for failing to take essential steps and to remind the Registrar under Rule 90(5).
Civil procedure — Court of Appeal Rules 2009 — Rule 90(5) duty to collect records and reminder to Registrar — Rule 89(2) failure to take necessary steps — Rule 63(2) proceeding in absence after service — affidavit evidence must be supported by documentary proof — striking out notice of appeal with costs.
12 December 2025
Preliminary objection overruled: service of letter for certified copies and notice of appeal was timely and sufficiently proved.
Civil procedure — Service of process
12 December 2025
Failure to serve a directly affected respondent with notice of appeal renders the appeal incompetent and subject to striking out.
Civil procedure — Court of Appeal Rules 2009, r.84(1)
— appellate review limited where preliminary competence issue is dispositive
— mandatory service of notice of appeal on persons directly affected
12 December 2025
Tribunal improperly dismissed application for non-appearance while a pending preliminary objection remained undetermined.
Tax law — Tax appeals — Preliminary objection — Dismissal for non-appearance inappropriate where matter not scheduled — Restoration/remit
12 December 2025
Amending an issue after plaintiff's case without recalling its witness breached the right to be heard, so proceedings were quashed.
Appellate practice — Revisionary powers — Section 6(2) Appellate Jurisdiction Act — Nullification and remittal where procedural breach causes miscarriage of justice
Civil procedure — Framing and amendment of issues — Amendment after closure of plaintiff's case — Right to be heard and principles of natural justice
Constitutional law — right to be heard (Article 13(6)(a)) — natural justice — Court must afford parties opportunity to be heard before adverse findings
12 December 2025
Failure to take required steps under Rules 90(1)–(2) justified striking out the respondent's notice of appeal with costs.
Civil procedure — Striking out Notice of Appeal under Rule 89(2) — Essential steps under Rules 90(1)–(2) — Request for High Court proceedings within 30 days — 60‑day filing rule — Abuse of court process — Costs awarded.
12 December 2025
12 December 2025
An appeal re-opening factual findings on a tax assessment is not a pure point of law and is dismissed with costs.
Tax law — burden of proof — appeals to Court of Appeal limited to questions of law — evaluation of evidence and documentary proof (final auction invoices) — factual findings not re-opened on appeal
12 December 2025
Court granted stay of execution pending appeal, requiring a banker's guarantee for the decretal sum within 60 days.
Civil procedure — Stay of execution pending appeal
12 December 2025
A stay of execution must relate to an executable order; the applicants' attempt to stay a non-executable veil-lifting order was dismissed.
Civil procedure — Stay of execution — Requirement that stay relates to an executable order — Corporate veil lifting order not inherently executable — Competence of an application to stay execution
11 December 2025
Whether transfer of insurance contingency reserves to a new company constituted a taxable distribution attracting withholding tax.
Tax law — Withholding tax — Transfer of contingency reserves — Capitalization of profits/distribution by an entity
11 December 2025
Proceedings against a respondent that had ceased to exist due to merger were declared void and set aside.
Civil procedure — Proceedings against non-existent party following corporate merger — Amendment/substitution cannot cure absence of joinder — Revision
11 December 2025
Whether the appellant breached a sale by nondisclosure of encumbrance and whether interest and damages awards were justified.
Land law — Land registration — Indefeasible title on registration
11 December 2025
A limitation preliminary objection cannot be decided where accrual dates are disputed; factual inquiry requires trial.
Limitation law — Limitation of actions — Preliminary objection — Point of law — Reliance on annexures/evidence at preliminary stage impermissible
11 December 2025