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.
8 judgments
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Results. 8 judgments found.

8 judgments
November 1991
Appeal dismissed: trial court correctly rejected self‑defence; appellate court will not disturb credibility findings.
  • Criminal law — Murder — self‑defence — Assessment of witness credibility
15 November 1991
15 November 1991
Appeal against murder conviction dismissed where confessions, recovered property and identification evidence proved guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
  • Criminal law — Murder — conviction based on combination of eyewitness evidence, recovery of stolen property and confessions — admissibility and corroborative value of confessions and recovered exhibits
  • Criminal procedure — Arrest and identification — challenge to lawfulness of arrest and connection to recovered items
15 November 1991
The appellants' confessions, corroborated by recovered property and eyewitnesses, supported convictions and dismissed the appeal.
  • Criminal law — Burglary and robbery — Admissibility and weight of confessions — Confessions corroborated by recovery of stolen property and eyewitness accounts
  • Criminal procedure — Arrest and identification — challenge to lawfulness of arrest and connection to recovered items — Lawful connection of accused to exhibits through community identification and recovery circumstances
  • Evidence — Ocular identification and eyewitness testimony — Credibility and sufficiency of village eyewitnesses to support conviction
15 November 1991
August 1991
Assaults causing fatal head injuries by the appellants established malice aforethought; belief in witchcraft and unraised drunkenness not exculpatory.
  • Criminal law — Murder — Assault with stick/bamboo causing fatal head injuries
    • — Appellate deference to trial judge's credibility findings
    • — Common intention and contemporaneous statements as evidence of intent
    • — Drunkenness not raised at trial and unavailable on appeal
    • — inference of malice aforethought
1 August 1991
May 1991
A retracted but detailed voluntary confession, corroborated by eyewitness identification, can sustain murder convictions.
  • Criminal law — Extra‑judicial/confessional statements — A detailed, voluntary confession to a justice of the peace may support conviction if surrounding circumstances and corroboration satisfy the court
  • Criminal procedure — Identification
    • — defects may be curable and identification may be reliable
    • — Night‑time identification and interpreter shortcomings not automatically fatal
  • Evidence — corroboration — Confession corroborated by independent eyewitness testimony can sustain convictions
2 May 1991
An uncorroborated dying declaration amid contradictory evidence is an unsafe basis for conviction; appeal allowed and conviction quashed.
  • Civil procedure — Appeal — Benefit of doubt — Where record raises more questions than answers, conviction must be overturned
  • Criminal law
    • — Evidence — dying declaration — Whether conviction can safely be based solely on a dying declaration without corroboration
    • — Last seen with deceased — Burden to account for injuries where accused were alleged to be the last persons with deceased
  • Evidence — Credibility and contradictions — Inconsistent witness testimony and missing witnesses may render prosecution case unsafe
2 May 1991
January 1991
Appeal allowed; insufficient evidence of fraudulent transfer, ownership declared based on available title documents.
  • Land law — sale and transfer of land — Sufficiency of documentary evidence and need for Lands Department records
31 January 1991