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54 judgments found.
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January 1995
Whether identification and factual sufficiency supported an armed-robbery conviction, and whether misdirected reasoning required quashing a false-pretences conviction.
Criminal law
— identification evidence — Contradictory eyewitness statements — Appeal court will not interfere where contemporaneous eyewitnesses overwhelmingly support trial court’s findings
— Obtaining Money by False Pretences — Requirement of proof of active participation or concerted action — conviction unsafe where evidence points to sole responsibility of co-accused
— Robbery with violence — Armed attack and exchange of fire — sufficiency of evidence to sustain conviction
Criminal procedure — Appellate review — Misapplication of facts or reasoning by trial magistrate can lead to quashing of conviction
31 January 1995
Reported
Under the applicable customary law, malicious prosecution requires lack of reasonable and probable cause; malice is not necessary.
Customary law — malicious prosecution — ingredients to be ascertained from trial court record — malice not required
31 January 1995
Appellate court affirmed malicious prosecution finding for lack of reasonable and probable cause and upheld damages.
Customary law
— appellate duty to take judicial notice under s37
— damages — appellate restraint on interfering with reasonable awards
— ingredients to be ascertained from trial court record
Tort
— Malicious prosecution — ingredients — burden of proof
— reasonable and probable cause — insistence on arrest despite contradictory evidence
31 January 1995
Customary law — Tort — Malicious Prosecution — Ingredients of the tort
Tort — Tort- malicious prosecution — Whether the ingredients of a tort in common law is the same as in customary law
31 January 1995
30 January 1995
27 January 1995
Appellant failed to prove title; village conciliation and independent witnesses established respondents' ownership.
Customary law — Customary/village allocation — allocation by village authority can confer superior right to develop land against later claimants
Evidence — Witness credibility — Interested witnesses
Land law — ownership dispute — proof on balance of probabilities
25 January 1995
Appellant failed to prove title; respondents established ownership by inheritance, independent evidence and village conciliation.
Land law — ownership by inheritance
— evidentiary weight of interested relatives versus independent witnesses
— proof on balance of probabilities
— relevance of prior judgment where identity of the land is uncertain
— village conciliation evidence as proof of local demarcation and title
25 January 1995
Medical report under s.240 admissible without maker; no mandatory corroboration; custodial sentences reduced for first offenders.
Criminal law
— admissibility and procedural handling of PF3 (medical report) — Medical report admissible without maker where signature genuine and no timely objection
— appellate interference only where sentence is manifestly excessive, based on wrong principle, or relevant factors were ignored — Excessive custodial sentence — Appellate intervention justified for first offenders, youthful accused, and prolonged trial delays
— corroboration requirement — No automatic requirement to corroborate prosecution witnesses where their evidence is consistent and sufficient
20 January 1995
Conviction for obtaining cattle by false pretences quashed where evidence showed a consensual transaction without fraudulent intent.
Criminal law — property offences — Obtaining goods by false pretences — Intention to defraud essential
18 January 1995
Appellate court set aside a suspended sentence for corruption, prioritizing deterrence and public interest and imposing immediate custodial punishment.
Criminal law — Corruption — Offer of bribe to induce forbearance of prosecution — Sentencing for economic offences under s.59, Economic and Organized Crime Control Act
18 January 1995
Appeal allowed: conviction for possession/receiving a stolen alternator quashed for want of sufficient, non‑conclusive evidence.
Civil procedure — Appeal — Crown declining to support conviction due to insufficient evidence — appellate court acceptance and quashing of conviction
Criminal law — Receiving/possession of stolen property — sufficiency of evidence
Evidence — accused’s account and intoxication — reasonable doubt where prosecution fails to corroborate material facts
18 January 1995
Reported
Criminal law — Criminal practice and procedure — Charge of murder — How withdrawn
18 January 1995
Late‑night possession of mattress linked to recent burglary justified conviction; statutory minimum sentence upheld.
Criminal law
— Minimum Sentence — Minimum statutory sentence upheld on appeal — Minimum Sentences Act
— possession of stolen property — possession soon after robbery as evidential link — Penal Code s 312(b)
17 January 1995
13 January 1995
Appeal dismissed: conviction for stealing upheld on identification and circumstantial evidence; five-year minimum sentence affirmed.
Criminal law
— Theft — Identification evidence — Reliability and circumstances of identification
— sentencing — Statutory minimum sentence — Five years imprisonment upheld as appropriate
10 January 1995
An employee dismissed from service is not entitled to employer-paid subsistence or transport payments after dismissal without legal basis or proof.
Employment law — dismissal — entitlement to subsistence allowance and transport after dismissal — no authority for employer to pay subsistence or refund transport to an ex-employee
5 January 1995
Failure by a taking‑over magistrate to inform accused of right to recall witnesses renders the trial a nullity and convictions quashed.
Criminal law — succession of magistrate (s.214 CPA) — Taking‑over proceedings and duty to inform accused of right to recall witnesses under s214(2)(a) CPA — Non‑compliance vitiates jurisdiction and renders trial nullity
Criminal procedure — retrial discretion — not ordered to allow prosecution to fill gaps or to avoid undue prejudice to accused — Consideration of time served and fairness in ordering retrial
1 January 1995
Interim injunction dismissed where application was incompetent as to Commissioner for Lands and respondents’ interests were intertwined.
Civil procedure — Interim injunction — Competence and necessary parties — Application incompetent as to Commissioner for Lands
Land law — Certificate of Occupancy — Interim restraint on revocation — Relief not granted where respondent improperly before court
1 January 1995
Appellate court erred in overturning trial credibility findings; contentious possession prevents prescription.
Land law — Title dispute — credibility of witnesses — appellate interference with trial judge's credibility findings only where misdirection or unreasonableness shown
1 January 1995
Appeal dismissed where prosecution failed to prove tax evasion in Tanzania and export evidence entitled respondent to refund.
Evidence — Documentary evidence — Sufficiency of export entry forms and official letters to rebut prosecution case
Jurisdiction — Cross-border tax allegations — Foreign non-payment of tax does not establish domestic tax offence
Tax law — Tax offences — alleged fraudulent evasion of VAT and occasioning loss to a specified authority involving substantial sums
1 January 1995
Robbery convictions upheld; first appellant's 30‑year sentence reduced to 15 years for unproved prior conviction.
Criminal law — Robbery
— admissibility and weight of recovery of stolen property
— alibi notice
— Evidence and credibility of complainant and court orderlies
— offences committed while in police custody
Criminal law — sentencing — proof of prior convictions and parity between co‑accused
1 January 1995
Long separation and children’s best interests justify divorce and custody; matrimonial appeals follow a special procedure.
Family law — Child custody — Best interests principle
— child interviews, children's expressed wishes, parents’ income and accommodation
— Civil Procedure Code technicalities (O.39 R.1) inapplicable
Family law — Divorce — Irretrievable breakdown — prolonged separation (nine years) and party’s refusal to resume cohabitation as evidence
Family law — Procedural fairness — magistrate’s duty to hear parties and interview children
1 January 1995
Conviction for receiving stolen property quashed where prosecution failed to prove identity, possession, or knowledge beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — Receiving stolen property — Proof of identity of stolen items — Possession and knowledge — Mere suspicion insufficient
1 January 1995
Appeal allowed: inconsistent evidence and improper exhibit procedure defeated store‑breaking conviction; recent possession insufficient without reasonable explanation.
Criminal law — store‑breaking and stealing
— admissibility and formal tendering of exhibits
— appellate intervention where trial findings inconsistent or unsupported by evidence
— application and limits of doctrine of recent possession
— sufficiency of evidence
1 January 1995
1 January 1995
An issued right of occupancy supersedes a mere council offer; offer issued while prior title subsisted is invalid.
Land law — Evidence — duty to call administrative witnesses
Land law — procedural irregularity — court's sua sponte order for production of presidential command
Land law — title priority
— right of occupancy
— Validity of offers issued while prior title subsists
1 January 1995
Appellate court holds quashing trial proceedings for non‑inspection of land was excessive; long occupation may establish customary proprietary rights.
Civil procedure — Appeal — quashing of trial proceedings for failure to visit locus in quo — remedy of quashment versus remittal
Land law — customary tenure
— long occupation and cultivation as evidence of proprietary rights
— possession/occupation
1 January 1995
Cohabitation of two years raises a rebuttable presumption of marriage; domestic quarrels alone do not rebut it.
Civil procedure — Precedent — Francis Leo
Evidence — Evidentiary burden — to rebut presumption, proof that no marriage ceremony recognized under the Law of Marriage took place (or lack of capacity) is required
Family law — Cohabitation — presumption of marriage after two years’ cohabitation — presumption is rebuttable but not automatically defeated by domestic quarrels
1 January 1995
A justified private arrest can become false imprisonment if suspects are detained elsewhere without prompt delivery to police; torture and joint tortfeasor liability upheld.
Criminal procedure
— Civil wrongs — false imprisonment — constructive and actual detention
— Evidence — PF3 medical reports and witness testimony proving torture
— private arrest and People’s Militia powers — lawfulness of arrest
— Remedies — damages for unlawful detention and torture
— Tort — joint tortfeasors and liability for acts of torture
1 January 1995
Workers' contractual claims against a non-performing asset transferred to LART must be filed with the LART Tribunal.
Trust law — Loans and advances realisation trust act — non-performing assets — employees' contractual/vested interests — proper forum to raise claims arising from receivership
1 January 1995
Court allowed withdrawal of appeal and faulted the trial magistrate’s improper use of conditional discharge in sentencing.
Criminal law
— Appeal procedure — Withdrawal of appeal — Court’s power under Criminal Procedure Act s 373(1)
— Compensation order — Enforcement by distress and its effect on appeal withdrawal
— sentencing — Conditional discharge — Improper invocation of Penal Code s 25(7) and correct procedure under the Criminal Procedure Act
1 January 1995
Uncorroborated, inconsistent circumstantial evidence failed to prove guilt; conviction quashed and appellants acquitted.
Criminal law
— Burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt — unexplained inconsistencies raise reasonable doubt
— Charge framing — Appropriateness of s 296(1) (factory breaking and stealing) for alleged facts
— Circumstantial evidence — Corroboration and requirement that facts irresistibly point to accused — Judicial caution required
1 January 1995
Long, uninterrupted occupation and development can confer title by prescription; failure to pay filing fees does not strip jurisdiction if appeal otherwise timely.
Appellate practice — Appellate review — reluctance to disturb concurrent findings of fact by lower courts regarding occupation and ownership
Civil procedure — appeal timing and court fees
— appeal may be entertained if otherwise in time
— non‑payment of filing fees does not automatically deprive court of jurisdiction
Land law — Operation Vijiji allocations and title — long, continuous occupation and cultivation may give title by prescription
1 January 1995
Division of matrimonial assets before a court pronounces and grants a divorce decree is improper; lower courts' decisions quashed.
Civil procedure — Appeal — appellate court erred in confirming Primary Court’s division of assets
Family law — Divorce — Only a court may dissolve a marriage
1 January 1995
1 January 1995
1 January 1995
Whether an interlocutory injunction can be sought absent a pending suit and whether s87 notice applies to a franchise contract.
Administrative law — Corporations — Section 87(1)(a), Act No. 11 of 1977 — Notice requirement before commencing proceedings against the Corporation
Civil procedure — interlocutory injunction — Application under Order XXXVII Rule 1(a) — Requirement of a pending registered suit for interlocutory relief
Contract law — franchise agreement — Whether performance amounts to act in pursuance of a public duty under s.87(1)(a)
1 January 1995
Whether the Union Parliament validly amended Union-related constitutional provisions and whether such amendments required treaty renegotiation.
Constitutional law
— Amendment procedure (Article 98(1)(a) v. 98(1)(b)) — Acts and schedules — Acts of Union
— Constitutional procedure — Special Constitutional Court — Convening requires demonstrable dispute between the Union Government and the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar
International law — Law of Treaties — Acts of Union as constitutional schedule — Justiciability and amendability of Articles of Union by Union Parliament
1 January 1995
Constitutional law — Constitutional procedure — Legality of Constitutional Amendments
1 January 1995
Applicants must seek leave for a representative suit and any interim injunction in the competent Resident Magistrate's Court.
Civil procedure — Representative suits — Application for leave to sue on behalf of others
— Civil Procedure Code
— Competent forum and jurisdiction
1 January 1995
Conviction quashed where prosecution’s circumstantial evidence failed to prove dangerous driving beyond reasonable doubt.
Civil procedure — Administrative consequence — cancellation/disqualification of driving licence
Criminal law — Road Traffic — dangerous/reckless driving causing death
— reliance on circumstantial evidence and absence of eyewitness evidence
— whether prosecution proved act or omission constituting dangerous driving beyond reasonable doubt
Criminal procedure — defective or unsupported charge — benefit of doubt where prosecution fails to prove essential elements
1 January 1995
Convictions quashed because plea was not an unequivocal, element-by-element admission; imprisonment set aside and licence disqualification reduced.
Road traffic law — Road traffic offences — plea of guilty — requirements of section 228 CPA — conviction unsafe if plea not unequivocal
Road traffic law — sentencing
— disqualification from holding driving licence reduced
— imprisonment set aside
1 January 1995
Acquittal upheld where prosecution failed to prove elements and causal responsibility for public authority loss.
Criminal law — occasioning loss to a specified authority
— alibi notice requirements
— burden of proof
— elements and causation
— material contradictions in prosecution evidence
— sufficiency of prosecution case
1 January 1995
Appellate court affirms robbery conviction; confession admissible, victim need not be corroborated, 30-year sentence upheld.
Criminal law
— Robbery — conviction affirmed where complainant's credible account, alarm response and identification supported verdict
— Sentence — Use
Criminal procedure — Admissibility of confession
— confession admissible
— no trial-within-a-trial required where accused raised no timely objection
Evidence
— corroboration — victim's uncorroborated testimony may suffice under s.143 Evidence Act
— Medical evidence — properly admitted when tendered by prosecuting witness and showed injuries
1 January 1995
Circumstantial evidence can sustain a dangerous‑driving manslaughter conviction; custodial sentence must meet statutory minimum and licence disqualification.
Criminal law — Road Traffic
— Causing death by dangerous driving — Eyewitness evidence and sketch plan indicating speed and impact distances
— Duty to report accidents — Twelve‑hour reporting period
Road traffic law — sentencing — statutory minimum imprisonment and mandatory disqualification/cancellation of driving licence
1 January 1995
Circumstantial evidence upheld conviction for causing death by dangerous driving; statutory minimum sentence mandatory.
Criminal law — sentencing — statutory minimum for causing death by dangerous driving — mandatory cancellation and disqualification of licence
Road traffic law — Road traffic
— causing death by dangerous driving — circumstantial evidence sufficient to convict absent eyewitnesses
— duty to report accidents
1 January 1995
Court upheld two convictions based on recovered stolen property but quashed third appellant's conviction for lack of evidence.
Criminal law
— accomplice evidence — requirement of corroboration — Requirement for corroboration when purchaser of stolen goods implicated the accused
— Burglary and stealing — Identification and recovery of stolen property — sale of stolen goods as evidence linking accused to theft and burglary
1 January 1995
Appellate court correctly upheld respondent’s ownership based on auction purchase and over 30 years’ uninterrupted possession.
Civil procedure — Appeal — appellate court may quash Primary Court judgment where evidence supports contrary finding
Land law — ownership — proof of purchase at public auction and long uninterrupted possession support title
1 January 1995
Conviction quashed where prosecution failed to prove who forged bank rubber stamp and s69 Evidence Act was inapplicable.
Criminal law — Forgery — Rubber stamp impressions
— Applicability of section 69 Evidence Act to stamp impressions
— expert evidence limitations
Criminal law — Theft by public officer — Acquittal where link between accused and misappropriation is unproven
Criminal procedure — Burden of proof — Conviction unsafe where prosecution fails to prove identity of perpetrator beyond reasonable doubt
Evidence — Proof of identity — Expert comparison of impressions cannot alone identify the forger
1 January 1995