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.
9 judgments

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9 judgments
Citation
Judgment date
July 2008
Prisoner’s notice of appeal deemed timely; rape conviction quashed for insufficient identification and medical corroboration.
Appeal – computation of time – Rule 68(1) prisoner’s notice to officer-in-charge deemed compliance; Criminal law – identification evidence – visual and voice identification reliability; Medical evidence – PF3/hospital notes referring to uncalled witnesses insufficient corroboration; Rape – conviction quashed for lack of corroborative evidence.
25 July 2008
Appellant's conviction quashed due to unreliable identification, inconsistencies and prosecution's failure to call a key witness.
Criminal law – Incest/rape of a child – identification of assailant by young complainant; Circumstantial evidence – exclusivity of access to the scene; Failure to call a key witness – adverse inference; Reasonable doubt – effect of inconsistencies in dates and testimony.
25 July 2008
Conviction for rape of a child upheld on child’s credible evidence; life imprisonment and compensation confirmed, corporal punishment set aside.
Criminal law – Rape of a child of tender years – Child’s uncorroborated evidence admissible under s127(7) Evidence Act – Penetration however slight suffices under s130(4) Penal Code – PF.3 evidence and requirement to call doctor – Trials involving children should be in camera (s3(5) Children and Young Person Act) – Sentencing: life imprisonment and compensation lawful, corporal punishment unlawful.
25 July 2008
Reported
Child witnesses and PF3 corroboration sustained rape conviction; corporal punishment quashed, life sentence and compensation upheld.
Criminal law – Evidence of children – Voir dire requirements; Children and Young Persons Act – in‑camera evidence; Cautioned statement admitted for identification – non‑evidence; Alibi raised late – section 194(6) CPA; Corroboration in child sexual‑offence cases – PF3 and accused's conduct; Sentencing – mandatory life for rape of a girl under ten; corporal punishment quashed.
25 July 2008
Reported
The appellant's rape conviction and life sentence were upheld; corporal punishment was quashed and compensation affirmed.
* Criminal procedure – evidence of children – requirements of section 127(2) Evidence Act and sitting in camera under the Children and Young Persons Act; unsworn evidence of a young child requires corroboration. * Evidence – identification by child witnesses in daylight; trivial inconsistencies do not necessarily vitiate convictions. * Admissibility – cautioned statement admitted only for identification cannot be acted upon as substantive evidence. * Sentencing – rape of a girl under ten mandates life imprisonment; corporal punishment improperly imposed and quashed; compensation under section 348A(1) mandatory.
25 July 2008
Reported
Conviction based on uncorroborated accomplice evidence and unsatisfactory identification is unsafe and was quashed.
Criminal law – Accomplice evidence – Corroboration under section 142 Evidence Act – Alleged admissions to witnesses – Identification of recovered property – Failure to consider defence – Conviction unsafe.
25 July 2008
Conviction quashed where accomplice corroboration, alleged admissions and identification were not satisfactorily proved.
Criminal law – accomplice evidence – admissibility and corroboration under s.142 Evidence Act; confession and admissions – proof in evidence; identification of property – sufficiency of identifying marks; duty to consider accused's defence before convicting.
25 July 2008
Court of Appeal limited to reviewing matters decided by High Court; sentence lawfully increased to 15-year statutory minimum.
* Criminal law – cattle theft – statutory minimum sentence – section 268(1) Penal Code (as amended) prescribing 15-year minimum; * Revision jurisdiction – High Court may correct sentence below statutory minimum; * Appellate scope – Court of Appeal confined to matters decided by High Court; challenge to conviction not entertainable where High Court did not decide it.
18 July 2008
January 2008
1 January 2008