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.
12 judgments

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12 judgments
Citation
Judgment date
June 2021
The Court dismissed the appellant's appeal, upholding CMA awards for unfair termination and associated statutory payments.
* Labour law – unfair termination – statutory entitlements on termination including payment for remaining contract period and subsistence allowance; * Employment and Labour Relations Act – section 43 (repatriation and subsistence allowance) – repatriation not conditional on employee confirming date of departure; * Evidence – admissibility of documents – copies excluded at CMA cannot form basis of appeal; * Appellate procedure – appeals from Labour Court limited to points of law (s.57 Cap.300); * Civil procedure – parties bound by grounds of appeal and written submissions (Rules 93 and 106 Court of Appeal Rules).
11 June 2021
Minor's unsworn testimony expunged, but medical findings plus witness confessions upheld the rape conviction.
* Evidence Act s.127 (tender age witnesses) – promise to tell the truth required; failure to ensure understanding renders testimony valueless. * Oaths and Statutory Declarations – form of recording "has sworn/has affirmed" curable and not fatal. * Criminal Procedure – failure to read admitted exhibits (PF3, birth certificate) prejudicial and grounds for expungement. * Confession – oral confession before reliable witnesses may suffice to support conviction; medical evidence can corroborate penetration. * Preliminary hearing – must record disputed and undisputed facts properly though defects do not always require retrial.
11 June 2021
Conviction based on an unlawful search and unread seizure certificate was quashed and the appellant ordered released.
Criminal law – Search and seizure – Compliance with section 38 Criminal Procedure Act and Police General Order No. 226 – Illegally obtained exhibits expunged; seizure certificate not read out — inadmissible – s.169 CPA and admission of illegally obtained evidence – recent possession doctrine ineffective where primary exhibits invalidated.
9 June 2021
Conviction for housebreaking and stealing upheld: confession admissible, defective seizure certificate expunged, constructive possession established.
Criminal law – housebreaking and stealing; admissibility of cautioned statement; statutory four‑hour rule; defective seizure certificate (independent witness/read over) – expunged; identification of stolen property by special mark; constructive possession and doctrine of recent possession.
8 June 2021
8 June 2021
Violence used to resist arrest, not to obtain/retain stolen property — armed robbery not proved; substituted conviction for theft.
Criminal law – Armed robbery – requirement that violence be used to obtain or retain stolen property – where weapon used to resist arrest not amounting to armed robbery; Evidence – admissibility of exhibits – possessor/custodian competent to tender exhibit; Appellate procedure – new grounds of fact not previously raised are not entertainable on appeal.
7 June 2021
Failure to evaluate the defence evidence by trial and appellate courts vitiated the conviction; retrial ordered.
Criminal procedure — Duty to consider and objectively evaluate defence evidence — Failure vitiates trial; first appellate court must re-evaluate entire evidence on rehearing — retrial ordered.
7 June 2021
Written sale agreement governs remedies; non-party whose account was used cannot be compelled to pay the purchaser's balance.
Contract law – written sale agreement prevails over oral variation; clause permitting seller repossession upon purchaser's default; non-party bank account-holder not bound by contract; remedy limited to contractually agreed recovery, not payment-specific performance.
7 June 2021
Omission of a trial Judge's signature on witness testimony rendered those records unauthentic, prompting nullification and retrial.
* Criminal procedure – recording of evidence – Judge's signature after each witness' testimony – omission renders affected proceedings unauthentic. * Appeal – revisional powers (s.4(2) Appellate Jurisdiction Act) – nullification of proceedings, quashing of conviction and setting aside sentence. * Retrial – application of Fatehali Manji principles – retrial ordered to allow prosecution opportunity to prosecute. * Assessors – alleged insufficient summing-up not determined where proceedings nullified and retrial ordered.
7 June 2021
Complainant over 14 and medical corroboration sustained rape conviction; procedural affirmation errors were harmless and appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – Rape – Proof of age and requirement for promise by witness of tender age; Medical corroboration of penetration and absence of sperm; Appellate jurisdiction – new grounds of appeal not previously raised; Oaths and affirmations – supervisory role of the court, semantic irregularities curable under section 388 CPA.
2 June 2021
Warrantless night search, defective seizure documentation and suspect witness credibility led to quashing of conviction for lack of proof.
Criminal law – Search and seizure – DCEA subject to CPA – warrant required for non-emergency searches – night searches require court permission – defects in seizure certificate and absence of receipt undermine seizure credibility – independent witness credibility and possibility of planting – failure to prove case beyond reasonable doubt.
2 June 2021
May 2021
A notice of intention to appeal valid when filed should be amended to meet later-prescribed form, not dismissed.
* Criminal procedure – Notice of intention to appeal – s.379 CPA – format and title – judicially prescribed title "In the High Court of Tanzania" for notices filed in District Court (Sendi Wambura jurisprudence). * Retrospectivity – effect of subsequent judicial decisions on previously filed notices – amendment permitted where notice was valid when filed. * Remedy – defective notice should be amended to conform with settled procedure rather than dismissal or striking out where justice so requires.
31 May 2021