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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 2019 |
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Conviction quashed where sole child visual identification was unsafe despite statutory promise to tell the truth.
Criminal law – attempted rape – child witness evidence – Evidence Act s127(2) promise to tell truth – visual (virtual) identification is weakest evidence – identification unsafe where night/distant light – conviction quashed where sole material evidence unreliable.
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16 December 2019 |
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Extension of time refused for unexplained delay, unsupported financial hardship, and unparticularized allegation of illegality.
Extension of time – requirement of sufficient cause; delay in obtaining judgment copy; financial hardship not a sufficient ground; must account for each day of delay; allegation of illegality must be particularized and preferably apparent on the record; diligence required even where illegality alleged.
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16 December 2019 |
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Land Court had jurisdiction over alleged unlawful eviction, but plaint struck out due to advocates' conflict of interest.
* Land law – jurisdiction – interference with possessory rights and lease covenants – Land Court jurisdiction to grant declarations and remedies.
* Civil procedure – preliminary objections – consideration of pleaded facts and claimed reliefs to determine jurisdiction.
* Professional conduct – conflict of interest – advocate/firm previously representing adverse parties; confidential information – striking out plaint and restraining representation.
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16 December 2019 |
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Failure to obtain leave to file out of time renders the revisional application time‑barred despite mis‑citation or prior struck‑out filings.
* Civil procedure – revision – enabling provision: section 44(1)(b) Magistrates Courts Act is proper basis for High Court revision. * Limitation – computation and exclusion of time: section 21(2) Law of Limitation Act excludes time spent prosecuting another proceeding but is not an enabling provision. * Procedural competence – mis‑citation of enabling subsection not necessarily fatal. * Leave to file out of time – mandatory requirement; prior struck‑out application does not dispense with leave. * Time‑bar – revisional applications must comply with the 60‑day rule under item 21, Part III, First Schedule to the Law of Limitation Act.
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16 December 2019 |
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Application for revision was struck out as time-barred; wrong citation was not fatal but leave to file out of time was not obtained.
Civil procedure – revision jurisdiction; Magistrates' Courts Act s.44(1)(b) as enabling provision; Law of Limitation Act s.21(2) as exclusion/compute-of-time provision; wrong citation of enabling provision not necessarily fatal; applications filed out of time require leave; struck-out prior application does not dispense with leave requirement.
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16 December 2019 |
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Towing a broken-down vehicle before the statutory period and imposing extrajudicial fines is unlawful; agent exceeding mandate bears liability.
Roads & Traffic — breakdown and statutory parking allowances — towing before statutory time unlawful; extrajudicial fines and repossession charges ultra vires; agency and scope of authority — principal liable only where agent acts within mandate; admissibility of electronic evidence — authenticity and chain of custody required; special vs general damages — documentary proof required for specific losses.
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16 December 2019 |
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The appellant injured at work awarded general damages despite prior workers' compensation; trial decision set aside.
Employment/work injury – burden of proof in civil cases – absence of documentary evidence not fatal where injury is undisputed; general damages discretionary and presumptive; workers' compensation does not preclude additional tortious damages.
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13 December 2019 |
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Applicant's demand guarantees unenforceable for lack of consideration; applicant breached underlying facility terms — suit dismissed.
* Commercial law – demand guarantees (payment bonds on demand) – URDG 2010 v. national law – governing law selected as Tanzanian law subject to URDG where consistent. * Contract law – consideration/premium and perfection of securities required to render guarantees enforceable. * Suretyship – variation, failure to perfect securities or creditor/debtor breaches discharge surety. * Remedies – beneficiary's claim under an unconditional-seeming demand bond can fail where underlying contractual and evidential conditions are not met.
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13 December 2019 |
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Armed robbery not established but appellants convicted for possession of recently stolen property; sentence reduced to three years.
* Criminal law – Armed robbery – requirement to prove weapons used or threatened; proof lacking where no weapon recovered and no in-incident identification. * Identification – failure to identify robbers during the incident weakens armed robbery charge. * Possession of recently stolen property – section 312(1)(b) – finding warranted where accused found shortly after offence with stolen items and proper chain of custody. * Criminal procedure – judgment must state issues, evaluation and reasons; absence may justify rehearing on appeal. * Sentence – substitution of conviction permits resentencing appropriate to the lesser offence.
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12 December 2019 |
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Appearing before another judge, without notifying the court or arranging representation, is not sufficient cause to set aside an ex‑parte order.
* Civil Procedure – Order IX Rule 13 – Setting aside ex‑parte decree – Requirement to show summons not duly served or being prevented by sufficient cause.
* Appearance and professional obligations of advocates – duty to notify court or arrange alternative representation when unable to attend.
* Non‑appearance – attending another judge’s court does not automatically constitute sufficient cause to vacate an ex‑parte order.
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12 December 2019 |
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Conviction for uttering a false document quashed where prosecution relied on suspicion, not proof of knowledge.
* Criminal law – Uttering false document – must prove knowledge and intent beyond reasonable doubt; suspicion insufficient.
* Circumstantial evidence – requires cogent, irresistible inference pointing only to accused; mere opportunity or passage of document through hands insufficient.
* Evidence evaluation – irrelevant facts (e.g., payments) cannot substitute for direct proof of knowledge or intent.
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12 December 2019 |
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Extension of time to appeal refused where applicant failed to account for every day of delay and omitted reasons from affidavit.
Extension of time – discretionary relief – applicant must account for every day of delay – reasons must be pleaded in supporting affidavit – oral assertions insufficient – application dismissed.
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12 December 2019 |
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Alleged negligent HIV testing requires proof of departure from accepted testing protocols and causation; appeal dismissed.
* Medical negligence – HIV screening – Alleged false positive – Need to prove departure from accepted testing protocols and causation
* Medical evidence – Role of testing protocols, rapid test kits, and confirmatory methods in conflicting HIV test results
* Civil procedure – Evaluation of evidence – appellate review of trial magistrate’s factual findings
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12 December 2019 |
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Appellate court quashed conviction where visual identification was unsafe and delay plus hearsay undermined prosecution.
Criminal law – Visual identification of suspects; identification parades as collateral evidence; requirement to give contemporaneous description of suspect; unexplained delay between offence and arrest undermining prosecution; hearsay from uncalled informant inadmissible.
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12 December 2019 |
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Failure to state points for determination and to specify convictions under section 312 renders the trial judgment a nullity; quashed and set aside.
Criminal procedure — Judgment requirements — section 312(1) and (2) CPA — points for determination and form of conviction; Judgment defect — non-compliance renders judgment nullity; Revisional powers — section 44(1) Magistrate Courts Act; Remedy — quash and set aside judgment and sentence; fresh judgment or retrial.
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11 December 2019 |
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A matrimonial dispute wrongly filed as a civil suit is a nullity for want of jurisdiction.
Law of Marriage Act – forum and form of proceedings – matrimonial disputes must be instituted as petitions in the Matrimonial Cause Registry; jurisdiction includes appropriate registry; proceedings tried in wrong registry are nullity; jurisdictional defects may be raised at any stage (including on appeal).
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11 December 2019 |
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Failure to file ordered submissions and non‑appearance justified dismissal for want of prosecution; appeal dismissed, costs waived.
* Civil procedure – dismissal for want of prosecution – failure to file written submissions and non‑appearance at hearing; mandatory effect of Order IX Rule 8 (Civil Procedure Act). * Probate – claims to distribution of estate raised but rendered academic by procedural dismissal. * Abuse of court process – non‑compliance with court orders justifying dismissal.
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10 December 2019 |
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Appeal dismissed for want of prosecution where appellant failed to comply with court directions and file submissions.
Civil procedure – Want of prosecution – Failure to file written submissions and non-compliance with court order – Failure to file equates to non-appearance – Order IX Rule 8 Civil Procedure Act mandatory dismissal – Probate matter; substantive heirship issues not considered due to procedural default.
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10 December 2019 |
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Appeal allowed: six‑month conditional discharge increased to concurrent custodial terms for park entry and weapon possession.
Criminal law – Sentencing – Whether a conditional discharge was manifestly too lenient for unlawful entry into a national park and possession of a weapon; sentencing principles (mitigation for first offenders, deterrence, reformative and public interest objectives); appellate enhancement of sentence and issuance of warrant where accused absent but validly served.
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10 December 2019 |
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Appellant successfully challenged an unduly lenient conditional discharge for wildlife offences; court imposed custodial sentences.
* Wildlife offences – Sentencing – Conditional discharge held unduly lenient – appellate enhancement to custodial terms. * Sentencing principles – deterrence, reform, victim and public interest. * Procedure – service by publication and ex parte disposal.
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10 December 2019 |
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Primary court mischaracterized a customary marriage as presumed and failed to evaluate evidence; judgment set aside for retrial.
* Family law – customary marriage v. presumption of marriage – proper characterisation of marriage for divorce jurisdiction.
* Civil procedure – duty of trial court to evaluate and analyse evidence and to resolve framed issues – failure renders judgment invalid.
* Magistrates’ Courts practice – role and signing by assessors does not cure substantive failure to evaluate evidence.
* Remedy – judgment declared a nullity and matter ordered retried de novo before another magistrate and different assessors.
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10 December 2019 |
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Appeal restored where missing summons in court file created reasonable doubt about service.
Criminal procedure — Restoration of appeal dismissed for want of prosecution — Service of summons — Missing summonses from court file — Registry irregularity — Benefit of the doubt — Restoration ordered.
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10 December 2019 |
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Applicant granted bail subject to a Tsh.10,000,000 security (or certified title deed), surrender of travel documents, two sureties, and travel restrictions.
Bail — grant where respondent does not object; conditions: Tsh. 10,000,000 cash or certified title deed of equivalent value, surrender of travel documents, two reliable sureties, restriction from travelling outside Dar es Salaam without trial court's written permission.
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10 December 2019 |
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Applicant declared lawful owner of ten excavators; transfers by respondents were ineffective and applicant awarded damages and costs.
• Ownership dispute – proof of title by consignor/consignee documents and balance of probabilities
• Transfer of title – no valid sale/transfer; nemo dat quod non habet (one cannot give better title than one has)
• Restitution and unjust enrichment – recovery where transferee lacked good title
• Remedies – declaration of ownership, damages and costs
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10 December 2019 |
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Prolonged cohabitation creates presumption of marriage; unproven hearsay claims fail and Tabata house divided 60/40 in favour of the appellant.
Family law – Matrimonial property – Presumption of marriage from prolonged cohabitation; burden of proof under Evidence Act; hearsay inadmissible to establish existence of property; contributions of money versus labour in distribution of matrimonial assets; adjustment of division where historical purchase price no longer reflects current value.
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6 December 2019 |
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Failure to secure and read assessors' opinions and to give reasons for departure renders the tribunal's judgment a nullity.
Land procedure – assessors’ role – Regulation 19(2) and s.23 of Land Disputes Courts Act – assessors’ opinions must be given and read in presence of parties; chairman must give reasons if differing; failure renders judgment a nullity; retrial ordered.
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6 December 2019 |
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Delay in receiving District Court copies does not justify extension of time to file a High Court appeal from a Primary Court matter.
Magistrates' Courts Act s25 – appeals from District Court in revision/appellate jurisdiction (originating from Primary Court) – petition to be filed in District Court within 30 days – District Court to dispatch records to High Court; delay in supply of ruling/drawn order by District Court not sufficient cause for extension of time; Civil Procedure Code attachment requirements do not apply where Magistrates' Courts Act governs.
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5 December 2019 |
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An executing court cannot substitute the judgment debtor or alter parties; a company name change does not permit execution-stage substitution.
Execution — limited role of executing court; cannot go behind or vary a decree; Order 21 r10(2) mandatory; r15 allows only remedial correction not substitution of decree debtor; Companies Act s31 (change of name) does not authorize altering parties in execution without court order; substitution of parties requires court order.
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5 December 2019 |
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Employer's unilateral summary termination without disciplinary hearing cannot avoid statutory notice, severance and contractual gratuity awards.
Employment law – unfair termination – procedural fairness – employer must conduct disciplinary hearing before invoking summary termination; payment in lieu of notice statutory and calculated on basic salary; severance payable after 12 months continuous service even for fixed-term contracts; contractual gratuity payable if contract provides gratuity by months worked on summary termination; court will not award unpleaded relief not pursued before arbitrator.
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5 December 2019 |
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Application dismissed due to defective affidavit, a non-bailable money laundering count, and applicants' failure to file submissions.
Criminal procedure – affidavit objections – legal argument and undisclosed sources in affidavit; Non-bailable offences – money laundering under s.148(5)(a)(iv) C.P.A. (as amended) bars grant of bail; Prematurity – bail application at committal stage; Procedure – failure to file written submissions amounts to want of prosecution leading to dismissal.
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4 December 2019 |
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Applicant’s challenge to execution dismissed because the Ward Tribunal judgment remained valid after the appeal was time-barred.
* Civil procedure – execution of lower tribunal judgment – effect of appeal struck out as nullity – original decision remains enforceable. * Appeals – filing time limits and consequences of an appeal filed out of time. * Extension of time – requirement to show sufficient cause to revive an appeal. * Revision suo moto – court review of records and discretionary allocation of costs.
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4 December 2019 |
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High Court granted bail under EOCCA and CPA with cash/title deed security, sureties, passport surrender and reporting conditions.
Criminal procedure – Bail pending trial under EOCCA s.36 and CPA s.148(1)(5); High Court jurisdiction where alleged value exceeds Tshs.10 million; bail conditions including cash deposit/immovable property, sureties, surrender of travel documents and reporting obligations.
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4 December 2019 |
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Leave to appeal refused where supporting affidavit lacked annexures and did not disclose arguable grounds of general importance.
* Appellate Jurisdiction Act, s.5(1)(c) – leave to appeal – requirement of arguable grounds or issue of general importance.
* Affidavit evidence – annexures – documents relied upon must be attached to substantiate allegations.
* Leave to appeal – threshold: sufficient grounds, point(s) of principle for Court of Appeal, and reasonably clear injustice.
* Respondent concession does not cure failure to meet statutory threshold for leave.
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4 December 2019 |
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Improper voire dire (child sworn before competence determined) and insufficient corroboration on identity rendered the conviction unsafe; retrial ordered.
Criminal law – Unnatural offence (s.154 Penal Code) – Charge framing; Evidence — child witness (pre-2016 law) — voire dire competence inquiry must precede swearing and be recorded; Unsworn child evidence requires corroboration; Medical evidence may corroborate penetration but not necessarily identity; Procedural defect rendering conviction unsafe — remittal for retrial.
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4 December 2019 |
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Voir dire must precede swearing of a child witness; procedural failure rendered conviction unsafe and case remitted for retrial.
Criminal law – Unnatural offence (s.154 Penal Code): distinction between s.154(1)(a) (offence) and s.154(2) (penalty for under-10 victims); Evidence Act – voir dire for child witnesses of tender years: must be conducted before oath and findings recorded; Unsworn child evidence requires corroboration; Medical evidence corroborates penetration but not necessarily identity of perpetrator; Unsafe conviction remitted for retrial.
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4 December 2019 |
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Failure to identify exhibits and a broken chain of custody undermined the prosecution; convictions were quashed.
* Criminal law – Unlawful possession of narcotics – necessity for witness identification of physical exhibits before admission. * Evidence – Chain of custody – requirement to document seizure, storage and transfer of exhibits to establish provenance. * Procedure – Discrepancy between search warrant inventory and witness account may vitiate prosecution case. * Standard of proof – prosecution must prove identity and continuity of exhibits beyond reasonable doubt.
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4 December 2019 |
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Failure to identify exhibits and a broken chain of custody vitiated the drug possession convictions.
Criminal law – possession of narcotics – identification of exhibits – witnesses must physically identify objects tendered as exhibits; Evidence – chain of custody – chronological documentation of seizure, custody, transfer and analysis required; Criminal procedure – discrepancies between search warrant and oral testimony can create reasonable doubt; Burden of proof – prosecution must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
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4 December 2019 |
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Omission to cite jurisdictional provision can be cured, but failure to attach the impugned decision renders a judicial review application incompetent.
Judicial review – jurisdiction to grant prerogative writs – omission to cite JALA s.2(2) – curable irregularity; Civil procedure – judicial review rules – requirement to annex impugned decision (Rule 11) – failure to attach renders application incompetent; Evidence – affidavits and annexures as the evidential basis in judicial review proceedings.
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4 December 2019 |
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A sentence imposed without a formal conviction is a nullity; the appellant’s case remitted for conviction.
* Criminal procedure — Judgment content — Conviction is prerequisite to sentence — Judgment must specify offence and statutory provision — Judgment lacking explicit conviction is a nullity.
* Criminal procedure — Multiple counts — Separate convictions required or clearly articulated for each count.
* Remedy — Setting aside defective decision and remitting for proper conviction.
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4 December 2019 |
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A judgment that sentences an accused without recording conviction is a nullity and must be set aside and remitted.
* Criminal procedure – judgment requirements – conviction is prerequisite to sentence – sentencing without recording conviction renders judgment a nullity. * Criminal procedure – multi-count indictments – necessity to specify conviction for each count and the statutory provision. * Authorities: Sam Sempemba & Another v Republic; Ramadhani Masha v Republic.
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4 December 2019 |
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Circumstantial evidence and a retracted confession established participation in a fatal assault, but lack of malice reduced the offence to manslaughter.
* Criminal law – Murder vs. manslaughter – requirement to prove death, identity and malice aforethought; reduction to manslaughter where death arises from a fight.
* Evidence – Circumstantial evidence and retracted cautioned statements: need for corroboration and conditions for reliance.
* Criminal Procedure – Alibi defence and section 194 CPA: requirement of prior notice and effect of failure to give notice.
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3 December 2019 |
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Applicant failed to account for delay; plea of illegality insufficient without diligence, application dismissed with costs.
Application for extension of time – incumbent must account for each day of delay – plea of illegality may suffice but is subject to diligence – procedural time limits (Order VIIIA/VIIIB) enforceable; striking out appropriate where limits expire without extension.
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3 December 2019 |
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Statutory‑compliance objections under s.17 and s.15 require factual proof and cannot be disposed of as preliminary points of law.
* Civil procedure – preliminary objection – timing under Order 8 Rule 2 – objection held timely when raised after amended pleadings and at earliest opportunity.
* Civil procedure – preliminary objection – Mukisa Biscuit test – objection must be a pure point of law not requiring factual proof.
* Specified Sisal Estates (Acquisition and Regrant) Act, s.17 – requirement to lodge statements by specified date; factual proof required to establish compliance.
* Village Land Act, s.15 – confirmation of allocations 1970–1977; application requires factual determination of allocation history.
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3 December 2019 |
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Circumstantial evidence, a voluntary cautioned statement and identification corroboration established joint liability for murder.
Criminal law – murder – circumstantial evidence; confession (cautioned statement) – voluntariness, retraction and need for corroboration; visual identification and identification parade; MPESA/mobile tracing as corroborative evidence; common intention and joint liability.
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2 December 2019 |
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2 December 2019 |
| November 2019 |
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Ownership of the land must be determined before liability for cut trees; unsigned, incomplete tribunal judgments may be quashed and remitted.
* Land law – ownership as prerequisite to liability for damage to trees grown on disputed land – trees follow ownership of land unless competing proprietary right established. * Civil procedure – appellate quashing of proceedings without directing remittal is insufficient; dispute must be finally determined or properly remitted. * Tribunal practice – ward tribunal judgments must address pleaded issues (ownership, trespass) and be signed by all members.
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29 November 2019 |
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An equivocal reply to material facts is not an unequivocal guilty plea; convictions and consecutive sentences based on it are unsafe.
Plea-taking – equivocal plea (‘it is true’) does not constitute an unequivocal plea of guilty and requires a full trial; Sentencing – concurrent versus consecutive sentences for offences in same transaction; Revisionary powers – quashing unsafe conviction and ordering release where appropriate; Defective/missing record – appellate reliance on available typed proceedings.
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29 November 2019 |
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Where eyewitness identification is contradictory and parade documentation absent, identity is not proved beyond reasonable doubt.
* Criminal law – Armed robbery – Identity – Visual identification at night – contradictions in eyewitness testimony and failure to tender identification parade register (PF.186) undermine reliability.
* Criminal procedure – Admissibility of cautioned statements – statements admitted after inquiry but cannot cure weak primary identification.
* Evidence – Unsworn testimony and procedural irregularities – defects may cause doubt to be resolved for the accused.
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29 November 2019 |
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Illegality may justify extension only if the applicant shows diligence and accounts for each day of delay.
Civil procedure – Extension of time under s.11(1) AJA – Illegality as ground for extension – Illegality subject to demonstration of diligence – Applicant must account for each day of delay (Lyamuya; Principal Secretary v Devram Velambhia; Etiennes Hotel; Elias Msonde).
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29 November 2019 |
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Court lacks jurisdiction to set aside an interim arbitral ruling; petition premature and struck out with costs.
* Arbitration Act – setting aside awards – Court may set aside a final arbitral award filed under the Act but not interim rulings; premature filing bars jurisdiction.
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29 November 2019 |