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.
226 judgments

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226 judgments
Citation
Judgment date
August 2025
Administrator’s appointment revoked for failing to file inventory; subsequent land suit did not excuse non-compliance.
Probate — Revocation of letters of administration — Failure to exhibit inventory within prescribed period — Section 49(1)(e) Probate and Administration of Estates Act — Subsequent land suit not a retrospective excuse — Appellate interference where trial court took irrelevant considerations into account (Mbogo principle).
1 August 2025
July 2025
The appeal challenges the trial court's judgment for failing to join necessary parties, thus denying them the right to be heard.
Land Law – Trespass – Right to be heard – Joinder of necessary parties – Non-compliance with procedural requirements.
31 July 2025
Failure to include the Registrar of Titles in a registered land dispute rendered the trial proceedings null and void.
Civil procedure - necessity of joining the Registrar of Titles in disputes involving registered land - non-joinder rendering proceedings a nullity.
31 July 2025
Dismissing a suit for want of jurisdiction without hearing parties on the issue violates the right to be heard.
Civil procedure – Jurisdiction – Suo motu issue raised by the court – Right to be heard – Natural justice.
30 July 2025
Court nullified proceedings due to unsworn witness testimony, ordering a retrial for evidentiary compliance.
Civil procedure - Effect of unsworn evidence - Admissibility and validity - Nullity of proceedings due to procedural irregularity.
29 July 2025
Trial proceedings nullified due to continuation without appointing legal representative for deceased party.
Civil Procedure - Trial proceedings - Effect of continuing trial after death of a party without a legal representative.
29 July 2025
Proceedings against the deceased without representation breached natural justice, leading to annulled judgments.
Civil Procedure – Natural Justice – Right to be heard – Proceedings against a deceased party without representation – Procedural impropriety
29 July 2025
Invalidation of a Will must not lead to unsanctioned appointment of co-administrators without adherence to legal processes.
Probate law – Validity of a Will – Appointment of administrators – Requirements for letters of administration after invalidation of a Will.
28 July 2025
Court confirms life sentence for unnatural offence, finding victim's account credible despite minor inconsistencies.
Criminal law - unnatural offence - evidence credibility - victim testimony vs. minor inconsistencies - sentence enhancement based on victim's age.
28 July 2025
Appellant's conviction for sexual offenses overturned due to unreliable evidence and procedural errors.
Criminal law – Sexual offenses – Rape and grave sexual abuse – Evidence of child witnesses – Procedural compliance and credibility of testimony – Allegations of trial court errors.
25 July 2025
The conviction for rape was upheld based on credible testimonies and compliance with legal provisions.
Criminal Law – Rape – Evidence of child witness and spouse – Credibility and reliability of prosecution evidence.
25 July 2025
The court found insufficient evidence to uphold convictions for incest and unnatural offense, quashing the appellant's conviction.
Criminal Law – Appeals – Incest and unnatural offense – probative value of evidence – delayed disclosure – unexplained absence of key witnesses – improper investigation.
24 July 2025
Conviction quashed due to identification discrepancies in prosecution evidence against the appellant leading to failure of justice.
Criminal Law – Unnatural offence – Proof of identity – Variance between charge and evidence – Procedural irregularities in amending the charge sheet.
24 July 2025
Tanzanian Court of Appeal dismisses appeal, affirming conviction and sentence for unnatural offence based on credible evidence.
Criminal Law - Unnatural offence - Proof of age and procedural standards for child witness testimony - Evaluation of evidence and witness credibility.
24 July 2025
An equivocal plea due to ambiguity in the appellant's admission results in nullified proceedings and a remand for retrial.
Criminal law - Arraignment - Validity of plea - Consequences of an imperfect or equivocal plea in criminal proceedings.
24 July 2025
Court quashes conviction due to insufficient evidence and inconsistencies in the victim's testimony in an unnatural offence case.
Criminal Law - Unnatural offence - Credibility of witness testimony - Delayed arrest - Burden of proof.
23 July 2025
Application for extension of time to appeal dismissed due to lack of demonstrated apparent illegality.
Civil Procedure - Extension of time - Jurisdiction - Right to be heard - Apparent illegality.
23 July 2025
Armed robbery conviction quashed due to unamended variance between charge and prosecution evidence.
Criminal law - Armed robbery - Variance between the charge and evidence - Requirement to amend charge to fit evidence - Credibility of visual identification.
22 July 2025
Trial nullified due to jurisdictional error and weak prosecution evidence; appellant ordered to be released.
Criminal Law – Trial procedure – Jurisdiction of Resident Magistrates with Extended Jurisdiction – Validity of transfer orders – Circumstantial evidence in murder trials.
22 July 2025
Employment contract void due to lack of statutory teacher qualification and registration.
Employment law – Validity of employment contracts – Qualifications as a teacher under law – Teacher registration requirement.
11 July 2025
The appeal was struck out as time-barred due to late filing without a relevant delay certificate.
Civil Procedure – Appeal process – Timeliness of filing appeal – Certificate of delay relevance.
10 July 2025
May 2025
The court quashed convictions for drug trafficking due to material discrepancies in evidence, compromising the chain of custody.
Criminal Law – Drug trafficking – Chain of custody – Discrepancies in evidence – Reliability of prosecution witnesses – Proof beyond reasonable doubt.
28 May 2025
April 2025
Court maintains statutory rape conviction despite technical and procedural challenges raised by the appellant.
Criminal Law - Statutory rape charge - Omission of punishment section citation; Evidence - Victim's age and credibility; Admissibility - Promise to tell truth
28 April 2025
March 2025
Circumstantial evidence and lack of material witness led to acquittal in a murder conviction appeal.
Criminal Law – Murder – Circumstantial evidence – Adequacy of evidence for conviction – Failure to produce material witness – Adverse inference.
26 March 2025
An appeal filed beyond prescribed time limits is struck out for lack of proof of procedural compliance.
Appeal procedure – Time limits – Lack of proof of document request – Non-compliance with service requirements – Incompetent appeal.
26 March 2025
The appeal against a statutory rape conviction was dismissed, with the court upholding the trial and appellate findings.
Criminal law - Statutory rape - Prosecutorial proof beyond reasonable doubt - Burden of proof and evidence assessment in rape cases.
26 March 2025
Court quashes conviction due to unreliable sole witness testimony and absence of corroborative evidence.
Criminal Law – Unnatural offense – Recognition vs. Identification – Standard of Proof beyond reasonable doubt – Effects of uncorroborated evidence.
26 March 2025
Cohabiting partners' jointly acquired properties are divisible even without formal marriage recognition.
Matrimonial law - Presumed marriage - Division of assets - Joint acquisition of property during cohabitation - Burden of proof in division of marital assets.
26 March 2025
Jurisdictional transfer initiated by appellant upheld despite initial lack of District Court pecuniary jurisdiction.
Civil Procedure - Jurisdiction - Transfer of case - Pecuniary jurisdiction of Primary and District Courts
25 March 2025
Convictions quashed due to discrepancies in evidence, unreliable identification, and failure to call critical witnesses.
Criminal law – Proof beyond reasonable doubt – Variance between charge sheet and evidence – Impact of witness omission and reliability of visual identification.
25 March 2025
Conviction omission not fatal; variance in evidence-charge requires acquittal.
Criminal Law – Conviction omission and evidence-charge variance – Overriding objective principle – Proof beyond reasonable doubt clarified.
24 March 2025
The appeal was struck out for incompetence due to the non-joinder of a necessary party in the trial court.

Civil procedure – non-joinder of necessary parties – appeal incompetence due to procedural irregularities in service of documents.

21 March 2025
Conviction for rape and impregnating a schoolgirl overturned due to unreliable witness testimony and uncorroborated confession.
Criminal Law – Evidence – Credibility of witnesses – Reliability of confession – Procedural irregularities in criminal proceedings.
21 March 2025
Extension granted for appeal on technical delay, ill health, and illegality in ruling on locus standi.
Extension of time – Criteria for good cause – Significance of alleged illegality in extension of time applications – Requirements to account for each day of delay.
20 March 2025
Appeal dismissed; appellant's guilty plea was unequivocal and warranted life sentence for the unnatural offence.
Criminal Law – Plea of guilty – Propriety and conditions for conviction – Unnatural offence – Appeal dismissed.
19 March 2025
Appeal dismissed; murder conviction upheld based on sufficient circumstantial evidence and waiver of cross-examination rights.
Criminal Law - Murder conviction upheld based on circumstantial evidence - Waiver of right to cross-examine medical expert.
18 March 2025
Nullified court proceedings due to reliance on a defective charge citing incorrect Penal Code provision.
Criminal Law – Charge – Defect in charge – Citation of offence creation provision – Nullity of proceedings.
18 March 2025
The conviction for unnatural offence was upheld by the Court, despite the appellant's claims of procedural and evidential errors.
Criminal law – unnatural offence – evidence evaluation – child witness testimony compliance with section 127(2) & (6) of Evidence Act.
18 March 2025
Court nullifies Tribunal's proceedings for failing to address res judicata prior to trial, remanding case for redetermination.
Land law - ownership disputes - Tribunal's procedural error in not determining preliminary objection - competency of appeal affected by procedural oversight.
14 March 2025
January 2025
Court upheld conviction for an unnatural offence, dismissing claims of defective charge and unreliable evidence.
Criminal law – unnatural offences – charge sheet requirements – evidence reliability – age determination in sexual offences
20 January 2025
Failure to allow the appellant to be heard before judgment led to nullification of prior proceedings and directions for rehearing.
Criminal procedure – right to be heard – section 226 of the Criminal Procedure Act– magistrate's duty when accused appears post-absence
20 January 2025
Appeal dismissed against rape conviction as charge sheet and evidence were deemed consistent and credible.
Criminal Law - Rape conviction - Challenge on charge sheet and prosecution evidence - Credibility and sufficiency of evidence
20 January 2025
Appeal succeeds partly due to defective charges and improper admission of evidence in wildlife conservation-related offenses.
Criminal Law – Wildlife Conservation Act – Admission of evidence – Plea of guilty – Defective charge and lack of DPP consent.
3 January 2025
December 2024
Appellants' trial lacked a valid High Court transfer order and flawed disposal procedure; convictions quashed.
* Criminal procedure – transfer to resident magistrate with extended jurisdiction – High Court transfer order must specifically name the magistrate – absence renders subsequent plea, trial and judgment nullity. * Evidence/procedure – disposal of perishable exhibits – suspect’s participation and signature on Inventory of Unclaimed Property required by Police General Orders; failure to involve suspect vitiates the inventory. * Appeal/remedy – where prosecution evidence is weak, retrial may be inappropriate; conviction may be quashed and sentence set aside.
10 December 2024
Delay in naming a suspect by the victim rendered witness testimony unreliable, leading to acquittal.
Criminal Law - Evidence - Reliability of witness testimony - Impact of delay in naming the suspect by the victim.
10 December 2024
Appeal allowed due to insufficient evidence and material contradictions in a sodomy conviction case.
Criminal law – Sodomy charges – Appellate review – Material contradictions in victim testimonies – Lack of corroborating medical evidence
10 December 2024
Case remitted for rehearing due to denial of the right to be heard, impacting judgment validity.
Land Law - Appeal - Right to be heard - Natural justice - Nullification of judgments made without fair hearing.
10 December 2024
Trial court lacked jurisdiction to convict without valid DPP consent; appeal leads to retrial order.
Criminal law – Jurisdiction – Consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions required for economic crimes – Invalid consent renders trial proceedings a nullity.
3 December 2024
November 2024
The appellant's right to a fair trial was violated by denying him a chance to present his defense.
Criminal Procedure - right of accused to defend - section 226 of the CPA - natural justice - retrial ordered.
29 November 2024
Procedural irregularities led to the nullification of High Court proceedings and remittance for rehearing.
Criminal Procedure – Written submissions – Procedural irregularities – Right to be heard.
29 November 2024