|
Citation
|
Judgment date
|
| November 2019 |
|
|
A withdrawn criminal appeal is deemed dismissed and may only be restored under Rule 77(3), not by an extension of time.
Criminal procedure – withdrawal of appeal – Rule 77(1) withdrawal deemed dismissal – restoration only by leave under Rule 77(3) upon fraud or mistake and interests of justice. Extension of time under s.11(1) AJA not available to revive a withdrawn appeal. Court of Appeal revisional jurisdiction – s.4(2) AJA – nullification of improper proceedings and striking out incompetent appeal.
|
29 November 2019 |
|
Appellate court upholds rape conviction: witness credibility, coherence and medical report suffice; new DNA ground struck out.
Criminal law — Rape — Evidence — Credibility: assessment of demeanour, coherence and corroboration; requirement of DNA testing — not obligatory; appellate jurisdiction — new grounds not raised in lower court cannot be entertained.
|
29 November 2019 |
|
Failure to consider the appellant's two years on remand and first‑offender status rendered the 15‑year sentence excessive; reduced to 13 years.
Criminal law — Sentencing — Appellate interference with sentencing discretion — Failure to take into account material mitigating factors (first‑offender status; time spent on remand) — Reduction of manifestly excessive sentence.
|
29 November 2019 |
|
Registrar's delayed endorsement constituted good cause to extend time under Rule 10, extension granted; no costs.
Court of Appeal — Extension of time — Rule 10 of the Tanzania Court of Appeal Rules 2009 — Extension may be granted before or after expiration or after doing the act; Registrar's delayed endorsement as good cause; unopposed service of record and memorandum of appeal.
|
28 November 2019 |
|
Failure to consider the applicant’s two years pre‑bail custody and first‑offender status warranted reduction of sentence.
Criminal law – Attempted murder – Sentencing – Pre‑trial custody and first‑offender status as mitigating factors – Appellate interference where trial court fails to consider material mitigating circumstances.
|
28 November 2019 |
|
Defective charge was curable; identification and medical evidence proved rape beyond reasonable doubt, appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – Rape – sufficiency of evidence and visual identification (Waziri Amani criteria) – medical corroboration (PF3) – defective charge curable under s.388(1) CPA – new grounds on second appeal not entertained.
|
8 November 2019 |
|
High Court erred in finding the appeal out of time and in dismissing rather than striking out; appeal restored for hearing.
Criminal procedure — Time for filing Notice of Appeal and lodging appeal under CP A s.361(1)(a)&(b) — Appeal within statutory time where notice filed within 10 days and appeal lodged within 45 days after receipt of judgment copies — Procedural remedy for defective/time-barred appeal is striking out, not dismissal — Unsolicited orders without hearing improper.
|
8 November 2019 |
|
Failure to retire assessors and to read admitted cautioned statements vitiated the trial; retrial ordered post-preliminary hearing.
Criminal procedure – trials with assessors – trial-within-trial on admissibility of cautioned statements – assessors must retire during inquiry and be recalled afterwards – admitted cautioned statements must be read in open court – failure to comply vitiates trial and may warrant retrial.
|
8 November 2019 |
|
Concurrent credible scene identifications established guilt; appeal dismissed for lack of merit.
Criminal law - armed robbery - identification at scene - reliability of eyewitness identification despite absence of parade record or conductor's testimony. Evidence - concurrent findings of credibility by trial and first appellate courts - appellate restraint. Evidence - failure to call an available witness and adverse inference - circumstances where witness was discharged following objection.
|
8 November 2019 |
|
Application for stay of execution dismissed as overtaken by events and premature for failing to meet Rule 11(5) requirements.
Civil procedure – Stay of execution – Application under Court of Appeal Rules r.11(2)(c) and r.48(1) – Conditions in r.11(5) (substantial loss, promptness, security) – Requirement that stay remain relevant to prevailing status quo; applications overtaken by events are dismissible. Execution proceedings – Effect of intervening orders setting aside execution for lack of jurisdiction and pending appeals on stay applications.
|
7 November 2019 |
|
An application for stay of execution was dismissed as premature and overtaken by subsequent events and pending appeals.
Stay of execution — requirements under Rule 11(5) (substantial loss, promptness, security) — prematurity and overtaken-by-events doctrine — execution of decree and tribunal jurisdictional defects — relevance of subsequent proceedings to interlocutory relief.
|
7 November 2019 |
|
Recent-possession proved guilt but lack of proof of a weapon downgraded armed robbery to robbery with violence.
Criminal law – Doctrine of recent possession – unexplained possession of recently stolen property may permit inference of guilt. Evidence – Chain of custody and seizure certificates – exigent circumstances may excuse strict compliance where provenance is otherwise established. Evidence – Failure to call potential witnesses (VEO/WEO) is not fatal if their testimony would not materially alter credible evidence. Offences – Distinction between Armed Robbery (s.287A) and Robbery with violence (ss.285, 286); requirement that weapon use be proved. Appellate jurisdiction – Power to quash conviction and substitute lesser offence and vary sentence (s.4(2) AJA).
|
7 November 2019 |
|
|
7 November 2019 |
|
Conviction for armed robbery upheld on reliable at-scene identification despite parade defects.
Criminal law – Armed robbery – identification at scene of crime – sufficiency of at-scene identification despite defective identification parade. Evidence – contradictions in witnesses’ accounts – materiality of discrepancies. Evidence – failure to call a potentially favourable witness – objection and discharge of witness; adverse inference not automatic. Appellate procedure – scope of second appeal – deference to concurrent findings of fact by trial and first appellate courts.
|
7 November 2019 |
|
Establishing marriage does not dispense with assessing each spouse's contribution to matrimonial property for distribution.
Law of Marriage Act, s.114 – Distribution of matrimonial property – Requirement to assess extent of each party’s contribution; Domestic work as contribution – not necessarily 50% share; Concurrent appellate factual findings – generally binding unless shown to be perverse or unsupported; Remedy — valuation, option to buy out, and distribution of proceeds.
|
7 November 2019 |
|
Establishing marriage does not negate the statutory requirement to assess each spouse’s contribution before dividing matrimonial property.
Family law – matrimonial property – interpretation of sections 114 and 60 Law of Marriage Act – requirement to assess parties’ contributions (including domestic work) before division. Precedent – Bi Hawa Mohamed, Robert Aranjo, Bibie Maulidi on domestic contribution as part of joint efforts. Relief – valuation and buy-out option; dismissal of appeal.
|
7 November 2019 |
|
|
6 November 2019 |
|
Appellate court reduced sentence after finding the trial judge failed to consider mitigation and decided extraneous factual issues without hearing parties.
Criminal law — Sentencing — Obligation to consider and demonstrate mitigating factors (first offender, guilty plea, remand custody, provocation) — Improper determination of factual issues (intoxication) at sentencing without hearing parties — Appellate interference where judge acted on wrong principle or imposed excessive sentence — Reduction of sentence from 15 to 10 years.
|
6 November 2019 |
|
Appellate court reduced sentence after finding the trial judge failed to consider mitigation and decided issues without hearing parties.
Criminal law — Sentencing — Appellate interference where trial court acted on wrong principle or imposed manifestly excessive sentence. Sentencing — Mitigating factors — first offender status, plea of guilty, time on remand, provocation and intoxication as mitigation. Procedure — Improper determination of factual issues (intoxication) during sentencing without hearing the parties. Sentencing principle — maximum penalty reserved for worst in the class.
|
6 November 2019 |
|
Stay of execution granted pending appeal where statutory requirements met and applicants risk substantial loss.
Stay of execution – Court of Appeal Rules, Rule 11 – requirements (notice of appeal, notice of execution, timing, attachments) – substantial/irreparable loss – balance of convenience – security by banker's guarantee.
|
6 November 2019 |
|
Non-joinder of the Government to a sale agreement rendered the DLHT suit unmaintainable and the tribunal lacked jurisdiction.
Civil procedure – Joinder of parties – Non-joinder of the Government where it is party to foundational contract renders suit unmaintainable; Order 1 R.3 and R.9 CPC; Rule 10(2) joinder powers; Government Proceedings Act s.7 – exclusive High Court jurisdiction; severance inappropriate where common questions of law and fact.
|
6 November 2019 |
|
Proof of marriage does not eliminate need to assess contributions; equal contribution and equal division upheld on the facts.
Family law — Distribution of matrimonial property — Section 114 Law of Marriage Act — Establishment of marriage does not dispense with requirement to assess each spouse's contribution; domestic work can constitute contribution; valuation and buy-out option appropriate before distribution.
|
6 November 2019 |