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Citation
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Judgment date
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| November 1983 |
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Reported
The applicant may claim division of property acquired during concubinage under customary law without invoking section 160.
Family law – Concubinage – Division of property acquired during cohabitation – Applicability of Local Customary Law (GN No. 279 of 1963, Rules 93–94) permitting division of property acquired during concubinage. Marriage law – Presumption of marriage under section 160(1) of the Law of Marriage Act – Not to be invoked where parties have not pleaded marriage and evidence shows independent lives. Civil procedure – Appeal – District Court erred in construing concubinage as marriage and quashing Primary Court award.
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30 November 1983 |
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Where customary naming of an alleged father occurs, the allegation is rebuttable and cannot substitute for proof of paternity.
Customary law (Local Customary Law (Declaration) Order s.183) — Naming of alleged father — Rebuttable presumption — Burden of proof — Misinterpretation of settlement discussions as admission — Appeal against Primary Court award.
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30 November 1983 |
Family Law - Concubinage - Concubinage for 16 years - Whethers. Section 160 of the Law of Marriage Act, 1971 applicable where there is no allegation of presumption of marriage. Customary Law - Concubinage - Division of property upon termination of concubinage - Rule 93 and 94 of the Customary Law (Declaration) Order G.N. No. 279 of 1963 |
30 November 1983 |
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30 November 1983 |
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29 November 1983 |
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Appellant, a village agent, convicted of stealing entrusted funds; appellate court upheld conviction and three-year sentence.
Criminal law – Stealing by agent – money entrusted to village officials for purchase of paddy – agent’s liability for misappropriation of entrusted funds. Evidence – credibility assessment – appellate court’s deference to trial magistrate’s findings where testimony is consistent and reasons given. Sentencing – appeal against sentence – three years not manifestly excessive where statutory maximum is ten years.
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26 November 1983 |
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Perjury conviction quashed for failure to prove knowingly false, material testimony beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Perjury (s.102(1) Penal Code) – Elements: false testimony, knowledge, materiality – Contradiction with prior statements insufficient alone to prove perjury – Witness reliability, hearsay and bias require caution and corroboration.
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26 November 1983 |
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Conviction for robbery unsafe where trial court failed to assess adequacy of identification of recovered property.
Criminal law – Robbery with violence – Identification of alleged stolen property – Complainant’s identification at police station insufficient without proper in‑court identification – Standard of proof: ownership must be proved beyond reasonable doubt, especially where accused claims ownership.
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26 November 1983 |
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Appeal dismissed — convictions for burglary, stealing and possession of stolen property upheld by recent possession and inadequate defence.
Criminal law — Burglary; Stealing; Possession of property reasonably suspected to be stolen — identification of stolen property; recent possession doctrine; credibility of accused’s explanation; sufficiency of evidence to uphold convictions.
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26 November 1983 |
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An appellate court cannot admit an out-of-time appeal on its own motion; an application to extend time is required.
Criminal procedure; appeals from Primary Court to District Court; statutory thirty-day appeal period (s.16(3), Cap. 537); requirement for application to extend time; appellate court erred in admitting appeal out of time on its own motion.
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26 November 1983 |
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Conviction for burglary and theft quashed where identification and circumstantial evidence failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Circumstantial evidence – Requirement for an irresistible inference of guilt; Identification of stolen property – necessity for marks or particular proof of ownership; Recent possession – application only where possession is sufficiently proved; Trial misdirection – acceptance of inadequate testimony and impermissible inferences.
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26 November 1983 |
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Mere knowledge of Government trophies does not establish constructive possession under the Wildlife Conservation Act.
Wildlife Conservation Act – unlawful possession of Government trophies – distinction between physical and constructive possession – s.70(2) presumption applies where trophy is in house or vehicle occupied/controlled by accused – mere knowledge insufficient – circumstantial evidence and speculation insufficient to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
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26 November 1983 |
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Whether witness access plus circumstantial evidence can sustain conviction for theft despite imperfect identification.
Criminal law – housebreaking and stealing – identification of stolen property – reliability of witness identification based on access/use – circumstantial evidence and possession – credibility of documentary evidence (cash-sale receipt) – sentence and proof of value.
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26 November 1983 |
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Unchallenged earlier title and supported factual findings justified dismissal of the appellant's land-encroachment appeal.
Land law – determination of title – prior declaration of ownership – unchallenged 1967 decision treated as authoritative. Civil procedure – findings of fact – Primary Court inspection and witness evidence supporting encroachment finding. Appellate review – interference with concurrent lower-court factual findings – appellate restraint where evidence supports findings.
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25 November 1983 |
Criminal Practice and Procedure - Compounding of offenses under section 17 (a), Business Licensing Act, 1972 and sections 4 and 5 of the Hotel Levy Act, 1972 - Procedure to be followed. Criminal Practice and Procedure - Internal Revenue Officer compounding offences without following laid down regulations, i.e., admission of the payer in writing - Order unlawful. |
25 November 1983 |
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Reported
Compounding under Business Licensing and Hotel Levy Acts invalid without written admission; fines set aside.
Business Licensing Act; Hotel Levy Act – compounding of offences – statutory requirement of written admission – compounding without written admission invalid – fines set aside – revisional jurisdiction.
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25 November 1983 |
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24 November 1983 |
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Convictions quashed for lack of evidence linking appellants to theft; sentences set aside and immediate release ordered.
Criminal law – Theft and conspiracy – sufficiency of evidence; store not broken and only one accused held keys; conviction cannot rest on suspicion alone; illegal sentencing where value exceeds statutory threshold.
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23 November 1983 |
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Appellants' challenge to identification failed; convictions and statutory five-year sentences were upheld.
Criminal law – robbery – identification evidence – reliability of eyewitness identification where lamps were lit and witnesses in adjacent room – prior knowledge and ability to identify – appeals against conviction and statutory minimum sentence.
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23 November 1983 |
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An auditor's admission of responsibility and corroborative audit evidence can sustain a theft conviction despite missing bank documents.
Criminal law – Theft by public servant – proof of ingredients of statutory offence; Evidence – non-production of primary documents (bank statements, paying-in slips) and whether adverse inference under section 122 Evidence Act should be drawn; Evidentiary value of audit reports and witness testimony prepared from information supplied by accused; Admission of responsibility by accused and its weight in establishing guilt.
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21 November 1983 |
Criminal Law - Provocation - Effect of intoxication. Criminal Law - Intoxication - Whether drunkenness may occasion a mistaken belief that a person is entitled to exercise the right of self-defense |
21 November 1983 |
Criminal Practice and Procedure - Bail - Surety failing to produce accused in Court - What court to do. |
21 November 1983 |
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Reported
The accused’s drunken mistake of fact and lack of murderous intent reduced murder to manslaughter; three‑year sentence imposed.
Criminal law – homicide – distinction between murder and manslaughter – role of intoxication in negating mens rea. Criminal law – provocation – lawful rescue cannot constitute legal provocation. Criminal law – self‑defence – reasonable mistake of fact (including drunken misconception) may negate murder. Evidence – post‑mortem opinion by possibly unqualified person requires corroboration. Procedure – information should adequately specify place of offence.
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21 November 1983 |
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Intoxication and a reasonable mistake of fact reduced a murder charge to manslaughter; three-year sentence imposed.
Criminal law — murder v. manslaughter; intoxication and mens rea; provocation (lawful defence of another cannot be provocation); self-defence based on reasonable mistake of fact; adequacy of particulars in information; caution as to post-mortem evidence by possibly unqualified person.
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21 November 1983 |
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Reported
A surety should not be summarily imprisoned for an accused's non-attendance without being given time to produce the accused.
Criminal procedure – surety – failure to produce accused – whether magistrate may summarily imprison surety without affording opportunity to produce the accused. Criminal procedure – preferred remedy for surety’s default is forfeiture of bond or sale of property, not immediate imprisonment. Revisionary jurisdiction – s. 329 Criminal Procedure Code – setting aside unlawful custodial sentences.
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21 November 1983 |
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Conviction unsafe where applicant's identification was doubtful and prosecution selectively failed to charge others; escape charge unsupported.
Criminal law – Identification evidence – Reliability of eyewitness identification; Selective prosecution and its effect on safety of conviction; Insufficiency of evidence for an escape-from-custody charge; Appellate intervention to quash unsafe convictions.
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16 November 1983 |
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Appellants' cattle-theft convictions upheld; appellate court reduced the first appellant's sentence from eight to five years.
Criminal law – Theft – Possession of stolen property and identification evidence – Sufficiency of witness testimony to sustain conviction – Sentence review – appellate reduction of excessive term.
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16 November 1983 |
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16 November 1983 |
Criminal Practice and Procedure - Person pretending to be a victim of police activities - Whether proper to charge him with impersonating a police officer. |
15 November 1983 |
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Appellants' unverified receipts failed to rebut third‑party evidence; appeal dismissed and District Court judgment upheld.
Civil recovery of stolen goods – claim for cattle and offspring – proof of ownership and delivery of offspring required; Evidence – credibility of documentary receipts – lack of stamp or corroboration renders receipts unreliable; Weight of third‑party testimony about payment of replacement cattle; Appellate review upholding district court’s variation where no evidence of offspring delivery.
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13 November 1983 |
Administrative Law - Deportation - Whether the President has the power to deport a person from Tanzania Mainland to Zanzibar. Statutory Interpretation - Territory - the President to deport a person from any part of the Territory to any other part of the Territory - Meaning of Territory - Section 3, Interpretation and General Clauses Act, 1972. |
12 November 1983 |
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Reported
Habeas corpus may test executive deportation orders; presidential deportation to Zanzibar under Tanganyika Ordinance was ultra vires.
Criminal procedure – habeas corpus – scope to challenge executive detention despite statutory bar on appeals; statutory interpretation – "Territory" defined as Tanganyika – President’s deportation order to Zanzibar ultra vires; constitutional powers – sections 11(1) and 94(1) do not authorize deportation from Tanganyika to Zanzibar.
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12 November 1983 |
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The court dismissed the applicants' challenge to rent increases, finding the tribunal properly applied principles and considered comparable rents.
Rent law – determination of standard rent – whether tribunal properly exercised discretion in fixing rent by reference to comparable local rents – scope of appellate interference with tribunal findings of fact and discretion.
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9 November 1983 |
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Appellate court quashed a trial acquittal and convicted the respondent for corrupt transaction on evidence from a marked-money sting, sentencing three years.
Criminal law – Corruption – Conviction under Prevention of Corruption Act s.3(1) & (3) on evidence from a sting using marked notes and eyewitnesses. Criminal law – False pretence (Penal Code s.302) – not established where complainant initiated payment seeking ‘help’. Appeal – appellate intervention where trial magistrate misdirected in law despite supported findings of fact. Sentence – statutory minimum under Minimum Sentences Act applied.
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8 November 1983 |
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Failure to write or complete a trial judgment (s171 C.P.C.) is a failure of justice; conviction quashed and retrial ordered.
Criminal procedure – Section 171(1) C.P.C. – requirement for written judgment to state points for determination, decision and reasons – non‑compliance amounts to failure of justice. Criminal procedure – Incomplete or unwritten judgment – equivalent to failure to write judgment and incurable irregularity – conviction quashed. Appeal – Where conviction quashed – retrial may be ordered where in the interests of justice (availability of exhibits, known whereabouts, portion of sentence served).
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8 November 1983 |
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Reported
Sentencing without a recorded, reasoned judgment breaches section 171 CrPC; conviction quashed and retrial ordered.
Criminal procedure – requirement to write judgment – section 171 Criminal Procedure Code – points for determination, decision and reasons – failure to record conviction – incurable irregularity – failure of justice – conviction quashed; retrial ordered.
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8 November 1983 |
Criminal Practice and Procedure - Judgment incomplete - Conviction not entered - S. 171, Criminal Procedure Code, Cap 20 - Failure of justice - Whether to order retrial. |
8 November 1983 |
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Appellant's theft conviction upheld despite interested witnesses and lack of direct proof of missing property.
Criminal law – Theft by servant – conviction based on evidence of interested witnesses – corroboration not required where witnesses are not accomplices but caution warranted; flight as corroborative circumstance; identification of property by type and circumstantial inference; absence of direct proof of missing property not fatal to prosecution.
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7 November 1983 |
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7 November 1983 |
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Appeal dismissed: circumstantial evidence, flight and recovered cash proved the appellant’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Burglary and theft – Circumstantial and eyewitness evidence – Whether such evidence proved guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Criminal procedure – Appeal – Evaluation of alibi and accused’s explanation for possession of money. Evidence – Flight and recovery of cash as corroborative factors in establishing guilt.
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7 November 1983 |
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Appeal allowed for insufficient evidence of encroachment or tree destruction; village authority to fix permanent boundary.
Land dispute — alleged encroachment and destruction of trees; sufficiency of evidence to prove destruction and boundary trespass; adequacy of court site inspection without plan; role of village authority in resolving boundary/path disputes.
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7 November 1983 |
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Circumstantial evidence and recovered items with matching serial numbers established guilt; alibi rejected and appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – Burglary and theft – Circumstantial evidence – Sufficiency of circumstantial chain linking accused to disposal of stolen property – Recovery and identification of stolen items by serial/ledger numbers – Credibility of alibi.
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6 November 1983 |
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Circumstantial evidence and recent possession linked the appellant to stolen machinery; alibi rejected and conviction affirmed.
Criminal law – circumstantial evidence – chain of circumstances must point irresistibly to accused's guilt – doctrine of recent possession applied. Criminal evidence – identification of property – recovered stolen machines identified by serial/marking numbers matching police records. Criminal procedure – alibi – inconsistent and uncorroborated alibi rightly rejected by court.
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6 November 1983 |
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The applicant unlawfully attached the respondent's cattle; owner not liable for a relative’s debts.
Property attachment — requirement to prove seized chattels belong to the named suspect; burden of proof on seizing party; liability for relatives' debts — none; unlawful attachment and restoration of property.
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5 November 1983 |
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Trial court improperly shifted burden to accused and convictions based on loose accounting were quashed.
Criminal law – burden of proof – accused not required to "shake" prosecution case or prove defence on balance of probabilities; insufficiency of evidence where prosecution relies on imperfect accounting records; acceptance of oral evidence of payments where documentary proof absent.
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5 November 1983 |
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Conviction must rest on independent evidence; unsupported co‑accused allegations cannot sustain conviction.
Criminal law – sufficiency of evidence – conviction cannot be based on uncorroborated allegation by co-accused; unlawful possession admissions; identification of stolen property by serial number; appellate review of factual findings.
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4 November 1983 |
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Assault conviction upheld on strong identification and medical evidence; robbery convictions quashed for insufficient, uncorroborated evidence.
Criminal law – identification evidence – positive on-the-spot identification by civilians corroborated by immediate arrest and medical reports – sufficient for assault conviction. Criminal law – robbery with violence – reliance on single uncorroborated witness and lack of police investigation renders conviction unsafe. Exercise of revisional powers – quashing of co-accused's conviction where prosecution case is inadequate.
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4 November 1983 |
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A rent tribunal cannot grant an increase larger than that sought; the court substituted the requested 50% increase.
Rent law — Rent tribunal powers — Whether a tribunal may award an increase beyond that applied for — Appellate correction of tribunal orders granting excessive relief.
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4 November 1983 |
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Appellant’s failure to provide address justified ex parte proceedings; credible police evidence upheld corruption conviction.
Criminal law – Corruption – Offering a bribe to a police officer – Credibility of police witnesses; Criminal procedure – Duty of appellant to provide address for service – Failure to notify change of address – Appeal may proceed ex parte; Appellate review – Where lower court’s credibility findings are reasonable, conviction will be upheld.
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4 November 1983 |
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4 November 1983 |