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70 judgments found.
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May 1989
Conviction for selling above alleged maxima requires proof that maximum prices were lawfully fixed; absent such proof conviction quashed.
Civil procedure — Procedural
Evidence — Criminal evidence
— burden to prove legal fixation of maximum price
— conviction unsustainable without such proof
31 May 1989
Appellant’s prolonged failure to prosecute appeal after serving sentence warranted treating the appeal as abandoned and closing the file.
Criminal procedure — Appeal — Abandonment — Prolonged failure by appellant to prosecute appeal after serving sentence may justify closure of appeal file.* Court may close appeal where appellant is absent and shows no intention to pursue appeal
31 May 1989
Court granted bail on conditions, finding jurisdiction and rejecting speculative assertions of flight risk and interference.
Criminal law — Bail
— High Court jurisdiction where subject matter value is Tshs. 10,000,000 or more — Economic and Organized Crime Control Act jurisdiction/monetary threshold
— risk of absconding and interference with investigations — Speculative allegations require documentary support to justify refusal of bail
31 May 1989
A co‑accused’s voluntary cautioned statement can convict him, but cannot alone sustain convictions of others without corroboration.
Criminal law
— Burglary — recovery of stolen property — identification by marks on property
— Cautioned statement — admissibility and weight — voluntary admission by one accused can sustain that accused’s conviction
Land law — Possession of suspected stolen property — bona fide purchase defence may render conviction unsafe
31 May 1989
Appellate court quashed a robbery-with-violence conviction due to inconsistent evidence and prosecution declining to support the conviction.
Criminal law
— Appeal — safety of conviction — Where material inconsistencies and lack of corroboration create reasonable doubt, conviction unsafe
— sentencing — Quashing conviction
Criminal procedure — Role of prosecution on appeal — Prosecutor declining to support conviction indicative of inadequate proof
31 May 1989
Appellant's conviction for unlawful wounding upheld on credible single‑witness evidence and supporting medical report.
Criminal law
— Evidence on appeal — Credibility assessment — Implausibility of alternative explanation (injury from passing vehicle)
— Offences against the person — Conviction on single eyewitness testimony and corroboration by medical report
31 May 1989
A magistrate’s judgment reached on the merits after considering defence material is final; later proceedings setting it aside are nullities.
Civil procedure — judgment after close of plaintiff’s case — distinction between ex parte and final judgment — whether later proceedings setting aside a final magistrate’s judgment are nullities — correct remedy to challenge a final magistrate’s judgment is appeal to the High Court
30 May 1989
District court correctly found disputed land to be communal village land; appeal dismissed with costs.
Land law — communal village land — proof of communal ownership by long-term cultivation and planting (cocoa since 1930) — appellate review of district court factual findings
30 May 1989
Where time is of the essence, failure to pay the balance by the agreed date entitles the vendor to rescind and seek restitution and possession.
Civil procedure — Appeal — appellate reversal where lower court wrongly denied rescission right
Contract — sale of land/building — clause fixing payment date — when time is of the essence
29 May 1989
Company not required to give Rule 33 notice; late opposition affidavit excused where company was not served.
Civil procedure — Extensions of time — Granting of limited extension does not excuse continued non‑compliance without justification — Rule 35(1)
Company law — winding up — Notice and service requirements — Companies (Winding‑up) Rules 1929 (Rules 28, 33)
27 May 1989
Reported
Whether a rent tribunal had jurisdiction over parastatal-owned housing occupied by public servants employed by other public bodies.
Land law — Rent restriction act s.2(1)
— exemption limited to premises used by employees of the owning public body
— Ministerial power to exempt under s.2(1)(b) not exercised
— Staff Circulars do not expand statutory exemption
— Tribunal jurisdiction
26 May 1989
Reported
Land law — Land law -rent restriction — Whether the Regional Housing Tribunal has jurisdiction to entertain an application by the National Housing Corporation for increase ofrent — Whether National Housing Corporation exemptedfrom the provisions of the Rent Restriction Act, 1984
26 May 1989
Dispute over customary land falls within Primary Court jurisdiction; District Court trial without High Court leave is a nullity.
Legal profession — Advocates’ duties — Duty to advise court on applicable law — Failure to object at trial does not necessarily preclude appellate challenge
26 May 1989
A purchaser who acquired a house from a beneficiary in lawful possession keeps title despite later annulment of the will.
Land law — Property law
— bona fide purchaser
— transfer by beneficiary
— trespass and possession
25 May 1989
Appeal dismissed: prosecution failed to prove abusive-language charge beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — abusive language — charge
— burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt
— credibility and evaluation of competing witness accounts
Criminal procedure — Appeal against acquittal — appellate court’s review of trial court’s factual findings and assessment of evidence
24 May 1989
Appeal dismissed; acquittal upheld because prosecution failed to prove abusive language beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — Charge of using abusive language — Sufficiency of prosecution evidence — Credibility assessment — Triviality of complaint and prosecutorial discretion
24 May 1989
Applicant’s appeal dismissed; trial court’s credibility findings and rejection of alibi upheld; conviction and sentence sustained.
Criminal law — alibi
— rejection of bus tickets as unreliable
— variation of compensation order to immediate effect
Criminal law — Theft by agent
Criminal law — witness credibility — relatives as witnesses
23 May 1989
Appellant's duress defence failed; eyewitness identification and prompt police action sustained robbery convictions and seven‑year sentences.
Criminal law — Defence of compulsion/duress
— appeal dismissed
— concurrent custodial sentences
— factual evaluation
Criminal law — Robbery with violence
— Eyewitness identification in broad daylight
— prompt reporting and immediate police pursuit and arrest
23 May 1989
Reported
Civil practice and procedure — Right to sue — Whether a female who has attained the age of majority can sue or be sued in her own name
23 May 1989
Reported
An administrator lacks standing once estate assets descend to an adult heir, who may sue in her own name without a guardian.
Civil procedure
— Adult female capacity — woman of full age may sue in her own name
— locus standi of administrator — administrator’s role ends on descent to heir
— Procedural error — lower courts erred in permitting administrator to litigate after estate vested in heir
23 May 1989
Administrator lacked locus standi after estate vested in heir; an adult female has full capacity to sue in her own name.
Civil procedure — Locus standi — Heir versus administrator
Family law — procedural capacity to sue — Majority — Adult female's capacity to sue — Law of Majority Ordinance (Ch 431) s.2
Land law — recovery of possession — Action for possession of land
23 May 1989
Applicants failed to show sufficient cause to set aside the judgment; judgment was on the merits and application dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure — Order IX r.13(1): setting aside ex parte judgment
— distinction between ex parte judgment and judgment on merits where defendant filed defence and plaintiff adduced evidence
— remedy by appeal where judgment is on merits
— sufficiency of cause
23 May 1989
Appeal dismissed; evidence proved appellant's dangerous driving causing multiple deaths and injuries; convictions and sentences upheld.
Criminal law — Traffic offence
— appellate review of conviction, sentence and driving disqualification
— credibility of eyewitnesses and sketch map
— dangerous driving causing death and bodily injury
— vehicle inspection report disproving pre-accident defects
23 May 1989
Whether the applicant caused a fatal collision by dangerous driving; court affirmed conviction and rejected brake‑failure defence.
Evidence — credibility and corroboration — Eyewitness identification and consistent accounts support conviction
Road traffic law
— Mechanical-defect defence — Reliance on post‑accident vehicle inspection report showing no pre‑accident defects
— evidentiary requirement for findings of careless/dangerous driving — Liability where a vehicle crosses into oncoming lane and collides on a steep road
23 May 1989
Appeal allowed: complainant’s inconsistent account and compatible alternative explanation defeated proof of assault; convictions quashed.
Criminal law
— Assault — burden of proof and reasonable doubt
— detention on reasonable suspicion — being on a railway line at odd hour may justify temporary detention
— witness credibility — inconsistencies and implausible conduct
19 May 1989
Reported
Company law — winding up — Opposition to winding up — English Companies
19 May 1989
Reported
Whether Rule 33 applies to the company and whether an ex‑parte extension rendered an opposing affidavit valid.
Civil procedure — Procedural non‑compliance — Judicial discretion under s.95 Civil Procedure Code to permit belated notice of filing an affidavit in opposition
Company law — winding up
— Applicability of Rule 33 notice requirement to the company — Companies (Winding‑up) Rules 1929, Rule 33
— Service of petition under Rule 28 and filing affidavits in opposition under Rule 35 — Effect of non‑service and excusing belated filing
19 May 1989
Identification parade lawfully conducted; eyewitness ID reliable, so conviction and sentence affirmed.
Criminal law — identification evidence
— appellate review of credibility findings
— delay between event and identification
— eyewitness reliability
— Lawful conduct of identification parade
19 May 1989
Appeal alleging defective identification parade and unreliable single‑witness ID dismissed; trial court credibility findings upheld.
Criminal law
— Identification parade — proper conduct and weight of parade identifications
— Single witness identification — Sufficiency where conditions favourable and short interval between event and ID
19 May 1989
Valuation did not alter an accepted, fully paid sale; plaintiff’s rescission claim dismissed.
Contract law — sale of property
— parties’ intention and formation of contract
— rescission of sale after delay
— whether independent valuation becomes contractual term
19 May 1989
Circumstantial evidence and accused's silence insufficient to sustain conviction for store-breaking and theft.
Criminal law
— burden of proof — Accused not required to prove innocence
— Circumstantial evidence — Requirement that proved facts exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence
Criminal procedure — Conviction safety — convictions quashed where identification unsafe
19 May 1989
Application to set aside ex parte judgment and for leave to defend dismissed as time‑barred (no extension sought).
Civil procedure — Ex parte judgment — application to set aside and for leave to defend — time limits
— application filed after one year held time-barred
— no extension sought
19 May 1989
Appellant found to have committed adultery; appeal dismissed and damages increased to TSh30,000.
Family law — Adultery damages — condonation — evidence of steps taken (complaints, parish council, police) — appellate review of procedural fairness — assessment and variation of quantum of damages for adultery
18 May 1989
Insufficient and unreliable identification evidence led the court to quash arson convictions for lack of proof beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — identification evidence — Reliability of eyewitness identification — Proof beyond reasonable doubt
17 May 1989
Conviction quashed where prosecution failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt and magistrate wrongly shifted burden to the accused.
Criminal law — burden and standard of proof
— duty of prosecution to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt
— insufficiency of evidence regarding alleged use of missing receipt books and verification of reported theft
— trial magistrate improperly shifting burden to accused
16 May 1989
Traditional tribunal exceeded jurisdiction by ordering seizure of brideprice cattle; presiding chairman held liable and ordered to refund them.
Customary law — Customary/traditional tribunals — jurisdictional limits
— Baraza la Jadi lacked power to order refund of brideprice or seize cattle
— presiding chairman liable where he ignored official directive
— seizure unlawful
15 May 1989
District court misapplied civil standard of proof; primary court correctly found attached animals belonged to judgment‑debtor.
Appellate practice — abuse/misdirection of discretion — Misapplication of standard of proof on appeal
Civil procedure — Objection to attachment — Ownership dispute over attached property — Objection to attachment decided on balance of probabilities
15 May 1989
Court convicted the accused of murder but, finding factual uncertainties and investigative omissions, imposed a 15‑year sentence.
Criminal law — Investigative omissions (failure to call police sketch drawer and manager) and omissions in sketch plan
— effect on prosecution case
— Post‑shooting utterances and inference of intent
— Sentence mitigation
Criminal law — Murder — Plea of self‑defence — Credibility of conflicting accounts and weight of eyewitness evidence
13 May 1989
Appeal dismissed: divorce proceedings were void, no proof of inheritance/cohabitation, and bridewealth refund not due under customary law.
Civil procedure
— improper trial practice may invalidate consent judgments
— recorded admissions in Primary Court unreliable where defendant did not sign
Customary law
— inheritance/culital cohabitation claims
— Local customary law (declaration) order 1963 s.62 — no refund of bridewealth where widow returns to parental home and lives as a widow
Family law — Matrimonial proceedings — nullity for non‑compliance with statutory prerequisites for divorce — certificate requirement from marriage/conciliation board
12 May 1989
An appeal based on a party sued in the wrong capacity is for the trial court to remedy; appeal dismissed, plaintiff to refile in correct capacity.
Civil procedure — misjoinder and capacity — Correct forum for resolving misjoinder is trial court — Appellate court cannot order joinder/release where trial court never considered the issue — Plaintiff should refile against proper capacity
12 May 1989
Reported
Civil practice and procedure — Assessors — Assessor absent during part of proceedings — On return assessor appraised of what transpired during absence — Assessor allowed to advise Tribunal on verdict
Land law — Landlord and tenant
— Jurisdiction — Scope of jurisdiction of the Housing Appeals Tribunal to entertain cases from the Regional Housing Tribunal
— Rent Restriction — Jurisdiction — Whether High Court can hear appeals originating from the Housing Appeals Tribunal
12 May 1989
Reported
Appeals Tribunal acted ultra vires by deciding non-appealed matters; Regional Tribunal should have granted extension to set aside dismissal.
Land law — Appeals Tribunal powers
— extension of time to set aside dismissal
— limits
— procedural irregularity of member’s absence
— remittal to Regional Tribunal
— ultra vires acts by Appeals Tribunal
Land law — Rent Restriction Act s.43 — High Court jurisdiction on points of law
12 May 1989
Conviction for robbery quashed where night-time visual identifications by torchlight were unreliable and uncorroborated.
Criminal law — Robbery — Visual identification by torchlight — generally weak and unsafe if relied on alone
11 May 1989
Appeal allowed: respondent lacked standing and prior suit precluded a fresh claim for dowry refund; refund not allowable where marriage issues exist.
Civil procedure
— Locus standi — whether a litigant has status to sue in dowry refund proceedings
— Procedural fairness — allegation of trial magistrate's bias considered but appeal disposed on other grounds
— Res judicata — issue finally determined in prior suit bars fresh suit on same subject matter (Soni Civil Suit No.100A/85)
Family law — dowry/dower refund — where there are issues to the marriage, refund of dowry is not permissible (Jalomole v Sila (1970))
10 May 1989
Appeal against conviction pleaded guilty dismissed; record upheld and six-year burglary sentence confirmed.
Criminal law — Appeal
— credibility of post-conviction assertions
— reliance on record of lower court proceedings
Criminal law — Burglary — Minimum Sentences Act applicability — statutory minimum sentence where value of stolen property prescribed
Criminal law — Conviction on plea of guilty — appellate competence
10 May 1989
Appeal dismissed: circumstantial and identification evidence proved cattle theft beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law
— Circumstantial evidence — Sufficiency to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt
— Criminal appeal — safety of conviction
— identification evidence — single witness identification
10 May 1989
Under Mfyakyusa customary law the first son inherits homesteads; appellant’s land claim was also time-barred.
Customary law — Customary law (mfyakyusa) — inheritance
— Allocation of homestead land by sole heir and role of clan advice
— Factual assessment of sketch plan as to proportion of land occupied
— in polygamous families the eldest/first son inherits the deceased father's homesteads
Customary law — Limitation — proceedings barred after 12 years
10 May 1989
Primary Court’s fair distribution of matrimonial assets restored; appellate reversal overturned for relying on outdated jurisprudence.
Family law — Matrimonial assets — distribution on divorce
— appellate court erred by applying outdated jurisprudence
— modern multifactorial approach to asset division applies
— Primary Court award
10 May 1989
Court varied intestate cattle distribution, awarding larger share to firstborn who cared for the homestead.
Succession law — Intestacy — Distribution of livestock among heirs — Effect of dowry and firstborn's care on shares
10 May 1989
A co-accused's confession requires independent corroboration; jumping bail alone is insufficient corroboration.
Criminal law
— Corroboration by post-offence conduct (escape) — Whether jumping bail can constitute sufficient corroboration to sustain conviction
— confession and corroboration — Whether confession of co‑accused requires corroboration under s 33(2) Evidence Act — Evidence Act s 33
9 May 1989