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86 judgments found.
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October 1992
Appellate court disturbed concurrent findings after finding misapprehension of evidence and declared appellant lawful owner of disputed land.
Land law — ownership and possession — evaluation of oral evidence, site visit and sketch map — appellate interference with concurrent findings of fact where there is misapprehension or miscarriage of justice — burden and proof on balance of probabilities
30 October 1992
Convictions for robbery quashed where identification was unreliable and prosecution failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — Robbery with violence — Identification evidence
— appellate review where trial court failed properly to analyze identification and give benefit of doubt
— reliability where arrest occurred distant from scene and after pursuit
30 October 1992
Revocation and subdivision of a granted right of occupancy without compliance with s.10 Land Ordinance is unlawful; original title remains valid.
Land law — squatter occupation of unsurveyed land — grant and revocation of right of occupancy
30 October 1992
Appeal allowed: convictions quashed where prosecution evidence was contradictory and defence raised reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — burden of proof and benefit of the doubt — evaluation of prosecution versus defence evidence
— appellant entitled to acquittal where contradictions and delays undermine prosecution case
— conviction on lesser offence unsafe where trial court failed to properly assess evidence
30 October 1992
Accused found legally sane and guilty of murder (malice aforethought); convicted and sentenced to death by hanging.
Civil procedure — Procedure — witness competency and procedural irregularities — court disregarded some witness evidence but still convicted on remaining evidence
Criminal law — Insanity
— defence of insanity rejected
— psychiatric and medical evidence held accused sane
Criminal law — Murder — malice aforethought — repeated, deliberate blows with a weapon constitute malice despite provocation
Evidence — admissibility of extra‑judicial and cautioned statements — statements admitted and relied upon to corroborate guilt
30 October 1992
Attachment of a non‑party's property is invalid absent proof the property belongs to the judgment debtor or proper joinder of the responsible person.
Civil procedure — execution and attachment — legitimacy of attaching property of a non‑party to satisfy a decree against another person — Requirement to show seized property belongs to judgment debtor and proper joinder of person responsible
30 October 1992
Attachment of a non‑party’s cattle set aside where the appellant was not joined and no evidence showed he was liable or the cattle belonged to the judgment debtor.
Civil procedure — Attachment of property
— Attachment of non‑party’s property to satisfy judgment against another
— proof required that attached goods belong to judgment debtor or that non‑party is legally liable
30 October 1992
Convictions quashed where identification and possession evidence failed to link the appellants to the robbery.
Criminal law
— Visual identification — night‑time identification
— possession of stolen property — Inference of guilt
Criminal procedure — Appeal — safety of conviction where identification and possession evidence are weak
30 October 1992
29 October 1992
Summary dismissal ousts civil court jurisdiction under the Security of Employment Act; dispute belongs to labour remedies.
Civil procedure — Nullity — proceedings and judgments of a court without jurisdiction are nullities
Labour law — jurisdiction — Summary dismissal- Whether the court can split suit into compartments so as to exclude claims based on summary dismissal — Security of Employment Act s.28
29 October 1992
Appellant's diamond-theft conviction quashed for insufficiency of evidence and procedural gaps undermining chain of custody.
Criminal law — theft of diamonds — proof beyond reasonable doubt — conviction quashed
28 October 1992
Appeal dismissed where appellant obtained insurance compensation by falsely representing himself as property owner.
Criminal law — Obtaining Money by False Pretences — Representation of ownership to receive insurance compensation — Credibility of witnesses and trial court’s factual findings — Appellate deference to primary fact-finding
28 October 1992
Appeal dismissed: conviction for obtaining insurance compensation by false pretence upheld on credibility and ownership findings.
Criminal law — Obtaining Money by False Pretences — Representation of ownership to receive insurance compensation — Credibility of witnesses and trial court’s factual findings
Evidence — Witness credibility — Court inspection of scene and trial court’s factual findings — Appellate deference to trial court findings
28 October 1992
Repeal did not bar prosecutions begun under the old Exchange Control law; district criminal cases ordered transferred for trial.
Criminal procedure
— Application of general rule in Interpretation of Laws and General Clauses Ordinance — repeal does not affect investigations or proceedings
— repeal and transitional provisions — Whether repeal of statute extinguishes prosecutions
— Review — High Court’s discretion to hear revision
— Transfer of criminal cases — interest of justice
27 October 1992
Application for extension of time to seek review was refused: applicant failed to show sufficient cause for delay, application dismissed.
Civil procedure
— law of limitation — application for extension of time to institute review or to set aside decree — court has discretion to extend prescribed period
— Procedure — preliminary objections based on prescription — distinction between a direct review application and an application under the Law of Limitation to extend time
— Review — ex parte judgment allegedly obtained on perjured affidavit — limitation period runs from when applicant became aware of decree and proceedings
27 October 1992
A next‑friend suit is incompetent unless the protected person has been adjudged or found by court inquiry to be of unsound mind.
Civil procedure
— Inquiry into mental capacity and appointment of next friend — Requirement of prior adjudication or court inquiry under Order XXXI, Rule 15 — Mental Diseases Ordinance/Criminal Procedure Act
— Res judicata — Miscellaneous application not necessarily a final suit — When it does not constitute conclusive adjudication of insanity
27 October 1992
The appellant's late appeal was struck out as time-barred; leave granted to seek extension by chamber application with affidavit.
Criminal law — Criminal appeals — statutory time limits (notice within 10 days; petition within 45 days) — appeal out of time requires chamber application and affidavit showing good cause — remedy: strike out with leave to apply for extension
27 October 1992
Court ordered transfer of two criminal cases to the Resident Magistrate Court, Mbeya in the interest of justice.
Criminal procedure — transfer/change of venue of pending criminal proceedings — exercise of judicial discretion in the interest of justice
27 October 1992
Sale valid where seller authorized and transaction recorded before owner's death; appellate court restored trial decision.
Land law — Validity of sale — Authority of seller
26 October 1992
Sale upheld where seller had authority and transaction preceded owner’s death, removing land from the estate.
Land law — Land sale — authority of vendor
26 October 1992
Convictions quashed where production computations were based on a post-transfer test and did not prove theft.
Criminal law — Sufficiency of evidence in theft conviction — Reliance on post-transfer production test — Relevance of evidence
Criminal procedure — Misdirection by trial judge — Materiality of misdirection to safety of conviction
Evidence — Documentary evidence — improper admission vitiates reliance on exhibits — Computations based on irrelevant standard inadmissible
26 October 1992
The appellant's conviction under s.305(3) was quashed for lack of intent to defraud or concealment.
Criminal law — concealment/sale/removal of property after judgment — intent to defraud creditors
— conviction quashed
— elements not established
26 October 1992
Conviction for theft set aside where unreliable, uncorroborated audit evidence and procedural defects created reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — Theft by clerk or servant
— contradictions in key witness evidence undermining prosecution case
— procedural fairness in stock-taking and audit
— Reliance on single auditor’s evidence
26 October 1992
District Magistrate’s revision was procedurally defective; judgment quashed and primary court order to refund purchaser upheld.
Civil procedure
— Irregular judgment — decision delivered without record and in absence of parties — quashed
— Procedural fairness
— remedy — quashing of revision and upholding primary court order to refund purchase price
— revision competence — improper parties and wrong mode (criminal/civil revision anomaly)
Family law — Matrimonial property — sale by one spouse to third party — contest in divorce/property division proceedings
26 October 1992
Convictions for cattle theft were quashed where accomplice evidence and identifications were inadequately assessed.
Criminal law
— Appeal and revision — High Court may,
— corroboration — Evidence of accomplice
— Theft — identification of stolen property — Production of exhibits not always necessary where distinctive marks and witness evidence establish ownership
26 October 1992
Conviction overturned where prosecution relied on inconsistent uncorroborated watchman (accomplice) evidence and ignored accused's credible defence.
Appellate practice — Appellate review — Setting aside convictions where evidence is inconsistent or insufficient to support guilt beyond reasonable doubt
Criminal law — Burglary and stealing — accomplice testimony and corroboration — Requirement of corroboration and proof beyond reasonable doubt
26 October 1992
Failure to obtain and follow statutory permission for a private prosecution rendered the trial a nullity and the conviction unsafe.
Criminal procedure — Private prosecution
26 October 1992
The court granted leave to appeal and stayed the security-for-costs deposit, allowing an oral application under the court’s discretion.
Civil procedure
— Leave to appeal — criteria where mixed questions of law and fact make appeal arguable
— Order XLIII r.2 CPC — competence of oral applications versus requirement for chamber summons supported by affidavit
— Stay of execution — staying security-for-costs order pending appeal
Commercial law — Bankruptcy — residence of petitioning creditors — whether petitioning creditors are resident abroad for purposes of Bankruptcy Rules and liability to provide security for costs
23 October 1992
The High Court held that where an offence is triable only by the High Court, trials in Primary and District Courts are nullities and the appeal was dismissed.
Civil procedure — Criminal jurisdiction — scope of inferior courts’ jurisdiction — offences triable only by the High Court under section 214 of the Penal Code — proceedings in Primary and District Courts held to be nullities where jurisdiction lacking
23 October 1992
23 October 1992
Application to revoke administrator dismissed where applicant had consented and failed to prove misappropriation.
Succession law
— letters of administration — Effect of prior written consent to grant of letters of administration
— Revocation of administrators — Whether alleged misuse of estate warrants revocation
— revocation of grant of administration — Burden to prove misconduct or misappropriation
22 October 1992
Conviction for unlawful possession quashed for inadequate proof of ownership and improper sentencing under the Minimum Sentences Act.
Criminal law — Possession offences — proof of ownership and identification
— alternative convicting on unlawful possession where theft not proved
— insufficiency of vague identifying features
Criminal law — sentencing — improper application of Minimum Sentences Act to non‑scheduled offence (ultra vires)
22 October 1992
Applicant’s ownership of a shamba proved by neighbour evidence; appellate reversal was erroneous.
Land law — title dispute over rural shamba — credibility and boundary evidence of neighbours — relevance of local crop registration lists to proof of ownership — appellate review of factual findings
22 October 1992
Convictions unsafe where suspect and stolen-goods identification were unreliable and prosecution failed to prove ownership beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — identification evidence — Visual identification and fleeting sighting — Insufficiency where identification is uncertain
Criminal law — Proof of ownership
— Convictions unsafe where identity and property ownership not proved beyond reasonable doubt
— Ordinary, unmarked shop goods insufficient to prove complainant’s ownership
21 October 1992
Primary Courts lack jurisdiction over claims to land held under a right of occupancy; such proceedings are void and quashed.
Land law — Right of occupancy — jurisdiction
— Primary Courts have no jurisdiction to determine claims to land held under a right of occupancy
— proceedings so entertained are void and subject to being quashed
21 October 1992
Conviction quashed for unreliable identification, defective search evidence, and lack of proof beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — visual identification and identification parade — requirement of prior description
Criminal procedure — searches and seizures — Compliance with CPA s.38(1) & (3): warrant and independent witness requirement
Evidence — Doctrine of recent possession — Recent possession and sufficiency
21 October 1992
Applications for leave to appeal out of time dismissed as frivolous and without prospects of success.
Criminal procedure — Application for leave to appeal out of time — delay alleged due to prison conditions and late supply of judgment copies — court may refuse extension where appeal is frivolous or has no prospects
21 October 1992
21 October 1992
20 October 1992
Whether a right to commit private nuisance can be acquired by prescription as an easement; court certified that point for appeal.
Environmental law — Environmental/neighbor disputes — whether pit latrines and their effects constitute actionable private nuisance
19 October 1992
19 October 1992
Failure of primary court assessors to sign the judgment as mandated renders that judgment a nullity and warrants nullification.
Civil procedure — Primary Courts — Government Notice No. 2 of 1988 — Non‑compliance renders judgment a nullity
Land law — Land — Possession and title — village allocations during villagization — interim occupation pending fresh determination
16 October 1992
16 October 1992
16 October 1992
15 October 1992
Appeal allowed: adultery claim failed for lack of proof of customary marriage and was time-barred under limitation rules.
Family law — Adultery/compensation — proof of customary marriage
— cohabitation versus customary marriage
— proof of rites and bride-price
Family law — limitation of actions — three-year bar
15 October 1992
15 October 1992
15 October 1992
Resident Magistrate’s Court properly executed Housing Appeals Tribunal decree; revision of attachment/prohibitory orders dismissed with costs.
Administrative law — Review — Whether Magistrate’s orders made under wrong provision vitiate enforcement orders
Civil procedure — Execution — Resident Magistrate’s Court as executing court for Housing Appeals Tribunal decrees — Power to issue prohibitory and attachment orders
Land law — Housing law — Enforcement of tribunal orders
— execution for sums due
— reinstatement versus compensation
15 October 1992
15 October 1992