|
Citation
|
Judgment date
|
| October 1992 |
|
Contract - Agency - Claim for price of fuel - Attachment of truck as security pending determination of suit - Whether reasonable cause for attachment. Civil Practice and Procedure - Security - Damages for attachment of property as security - No reasonable cause for filing suit. |
22 October 1992 |
|
Metric‑ton measurement governed fuel consignments; appellant owes volumetric balance and modest truck non‑use damages.
* Contract interpretation – Letter of Intent and invoices govern measurement of bulk fuel consignments (metric tons). * Conversion dispute – agreed metric‑ton to litre conversion controls volume calculation. * Accountancy of deliveries – deduction of received litres from contracted metric‑ton totals determines balance due. * Civil procedure – attachment of vehicle justified if there are reasonable grounds (risk of disposal). * Damages – compensation for non‑use of attached property must be supported by evidence and reasonable in amount.
|
22 October 1992 |
|
Redemption of a customary pledge without stipulated vesting terms does not vest ownership; clan council’s equitable distribution upheld.
Customary land – Haya pledges/mortgages – distinction between pledges which vest ownership on redemption (paragraph 574 Cory & Hartnoll) and pledges that only create a personal debt – redemption without requisite terms does not confer title; occupation and limitation; clan council distribution and equity.
|
22 October 1992 |
|
Recent possession of stolen goods shortly after a burglary supports an inference of guilt, affirming conviction for murder.
* Criminal law – murder – circumstantial evidence and inference of guilt from recent possession of stolen property; identification and recovery of stolen goods; sufficiency of defence explanations – appeal dismissed.
|
22 October 1992 |
Customary Law - Bahaya Customary Law - Whether Musika can be excluded from inheritance. Customary Law - Bahaya Customary Law - Whether the redeemer of clan Shamba always becomes its owner. |
22 October 1992 |
Evidence - Confession - Whether a village chairman is a person in authority - Section 27(3) Evidence Act. Evidence - Discrepancy with respect to dates - Witnesses illiterate - Whether to take them literally on the dates they mention. Evidence - Confession - Repudiated Confession - Repudiation during the defence stage - What court do? |
22 October 1992 |
Evidence - Witnesses - Credibility of witnesses. |
12 October 1992 |
|
Appeal against murder conviction dismissed where credible eyewitness evidence and motive established the appellant’s guilt.
* Criminal law – Murder – Eyewitness identification and contemporaneous observations – Sufficiency of evidence to sustain conviction.
* Criminal law – Motive and prior assaults – Use of history of quarrels and prior beatings to corroborate guilt.
* Criminal procedure – Accused’s denial and cautioned statement – evaluation of defence credibility.
|
12 October 1992 |
Criminal Law - Murder - Provocation - Failure to address the assessors on the issue of provocation - Effect of. |
12 October 1992 |
|
Omission on assessors’ retirement not automatically fatal; uncorroborated witness unreliable; conviction reduced to manslaughter.
* Criminal law – assessors – omission to record assessors retiring during trial – serious irregularity but not automatically fatal; case‑specific inquiry into prejudice required. * Evidence – cautioned statement – repudiated statement admitted after trial within trial – admissibility and weight. * Evidence – reliability of prosecution witness and danger of uncorroborated testimony. * Homicide – distinguishing murder from manslaughter based on intent and nature of injuries.
|
12 October 1992 |
| June 1992 |
|
Criminal Practice and Procedure - Assessors - Compliance with Rule 3 of G.N. 2 of 1988. Criminal Practice and Procedure - Compensation - Order given against a person convicted of receiving part of stolen property. Criminal law - Receiving stolen property - When offence established |
12 June 1992 |
Customary Law - Bahaya Customary Law - Whether a woman can sell clan land. Civil Practice and Procedure - Powers of the High Court - Whether the High Court can make any decision or order that could be made by the court of first instance |
9 June 1992 |
|
Conviction for murder upheld: police‑written statement excluded, but extra‑judicial admission and circumstantial evidence proved guilt.
Evidence — admissibility of written statements under section 34B (requirement of maker’s declaration and perjury acknowledgment); extra‑judicial statements — voluntariness and admissibility; identification — reliability of eyewitness identification; circumstantial evidence and confessions — sufficiency to prove murder beyond reasonable doubt.
|
9 June 1992 |
|
|
9 June 1992 |
Peoples Militia Law - Sungusungu - Whether may order compensation - Peoples' Militia Laws 1989, |
9 June 1992 |
|
Appellant failed to prove defendants stole the machine; trial dismissal affirmed, with limited adjustment for Shs.60,000 and costs.
Criminal/civil liability for theft – adequacy of evidence – admissibility and sufficiency of village meeting statements – requirement to produce witnesses to corroborate local determinations – appellate review of trial court dismissal for lack of proof – costs apportionment.
|
9 June 1992 |
|
Reported
Civil Practice and Procedure - Damages - Special damages must be specifically pleaded and proved.Civil Practice and Procedure Proof of cost of repair - Vehicle engine blown off- Cost of repair pleaded but not proved -Amount pleaded far below cost of purchasing new engine. Whether the amount pleaded is awardable in the circumstances. Civil Practice and Procedure - Devaluation ofthe Tanzanian shilling - Reasonable award for devaluation |
9 June 1992 |
| May 1992 |
|
|
The prosecution failed to prove murder beyond reasonable doubt after mandatory section 192 procedures were not followed and eyewitnesses proved unreliable.
* Criminal law – murder v. accidental discharge – whether shooting was intentional or occurred during a struggle for a sub‑machine gun.
* Evidence – section 192 Criminal Procedure Act (memorandum of admitted facts): mandatory duty to read and explain memorandum to accused; non‑compliance requires disregard.
* Procedure – Rules 4 and 6 of Accused Trial and Disposal Rules (1988): requirement to explain facts and obtain accused’s admissions.
* Evidence – assessment of eyewitness credibility and need for independent corroboration to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
|
29 May 1992 |
Criminal law - Murder- Appellant had inflicted a grievous cut wound - Cause of death was respiratory failure caused by tetanus - Whether the wound caused the tetanus. Criminal Practice and Procedure - Charges - Murder - Date of charge - Whether date or unlawful act or death. |
29 May 1992 |
Criminal Practice and Procedure - Sentencing - Two convictions, 1 of murder - Whether sentence must be in respect of the first conviction. |
29 May 1992 |