High Court of Tanzania

This is the second level in the Judiciary justice delivery hierarchy. It has both appellate and original powers on civil and criminal matters. It also hears appeals from the Courts of Resident Magistrate, the District Courts, and the District Land and Housing Tribunals in exercise of their original, appellate and/or revisional jurisdiction. The High Court is divided into Zones and specialized Divisions. 

Physical address
24 Kivukoni Road, P O Box: S.L.P. 9004
567 judgments

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567 judgments
Citation
Judgment date
July 2021
High Court dismissed application to examine judgment debtor because a notice of appeal divested the court of jurisdiction.
Execution — Order XXI Rule 40 — Examination of judgment debtor/corporate officer to discover assets; Civil Procedure Code s.68(e) — interlocutory orders — limits where appeal pending; Jurisdiction — effect of notice of appeal on High Court’s jurisdiction; Functus officio — applicability when no prior examination order made.
30 July 2021
30 July 2021
Conviction for obtaining money by false pretences quashed where prosecution failed to prove intent to defraud beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – obtaining money by false pretences – essential requirement of proof of false representation and intent to defraud; Evidence – unstamped documents admissible in criminal proceedings under Stamp Duty Act s47(1)(d); Procedure – recalling witnesses discretionary under section 214 Criminal Procedure Act; Appeal – conviction unsafe where intent not proved beyond reasonable doubt.
30 July 2021
Applicant failed to show good cause for delay; CMA rightly dismissed condonation and the revision is dismissed.
Labour law – condonation/extension of time – "good cause" standard – applicant must account for delay; Lyamuya factors applicable in labour matters; custody excuses must be specifically accounted for.
30 July 2021
Three-hour illness-related absence did not justify termination; court ordered reinstatement for unfair substantive and procedural dismissal.
Labour law – unfair dismissal – substantive and procedural fairness – absenteeism due to illness. Employment and Labour Relations Act (ELRA) and GN.42/2007 – guidelines on misconduct, warnings and appropriate sanctions. Evidence – medical records confirming sickness; lack of proven written warnings. Remedy – reinstatement under section 40(1)(a) where dismissal is substantively and procedurally unfair.
30 July 2021
High Court restored administrator and ordered completion of estate distribution, finding District Court wrongly revoked appointment.
Probate/estate administration – revocation of administrator – whether incomplete distribution and unsigned inventory justify revocation; appellate intervention against disruptive substitute orders. Civil procedure – appellate review of lower court orders – quashing excessive or chaotic remedies where targeted directions to complete duties suffice. Distribution of estate – requirement to physically hand over shares and lodge complete inventory with court.
30 July 2021
High Court lacks jurisdiction to grant bail before committal; District Court is competent for bailable offences.
Criminal procedure – Bail pending trial – Jurisdiction of High Court at committal stage – Subordinate court’s power under section 148(1) CPA to admit accused to bail for bailable offences triable by High Court – Application struck out as incompetent.
30 July 2021
Extension of time refused where defective notice of intention to appeal amounted to no notice and reasons were insufficient.
Criminal procedure – Extension of time – Notice of intention to appeal – Competence and proper title of notice – A wrongly titled notice treated as no notice. Procedural law – Overriding Objective – Not applicable to mandatory jurisdictional or foundational requirements. Extension of time – Requirements: account for all delay, non-inordinate delay, diligence, and compelling point of law. Precedents – DPP v. Sendi Wambura; Farijala Shaban Hussein – prescribed format for notice to High Court from subordinate courts.
30 July 2021
Failure to explain defence rights and to evaluate defence vitiated conviction; retrial ordered.
Criminal procedure – arraignment – charge read and plea entered in accordance with s228–229 – arraignment valid. Criminal procedure – evaluation of evidence – trial court must analyze and evaluate defence evidence; mere summary insufficient. Criminal procedure – right to defence – obligation to explain s231(1)(a),(b) rights at close of prosecution where a case is made. Evidence – PF3 (medical report) not read in court – susceptible to expungement. Remedy – fundamental procedural irregularities warrant retrial; conviction quashed and sentence set aside.
30 July 2021
Application to inspect committal record dismissed as charges were terminated and no irregularity was found.
Criminal procedure – inspection of committal court record; committal court jurisdiction and advisory role; preliminary objection; nolle prosequi – application overtaken by events.
30 July 2021
Court allowed appeal, set aside tribunal decision and declared the appellant lawful owner based on possession and evidentiary shortcomings.
Land law – boundary/possession dispute; evidence of long possession and locus in quo inspection; effect of demarcation and parties' admissions on ownership determination; setting aside erroneous tribunal award.
30 July 2021
Improper tendering of exhibits by the prosecutor led to expungement and quashing of the appellant's conviction.
Criminal law – Evidence – Tendering of exhibits – Prosecutor cannot act as both prosecutor and witness when tendering exhibits. Criminal law – Evidence – Expunction of improperly tendered exhibits – effect on chain of evidence and proof beyond reasonable doubt. Procedure – Appeal – When fundamental exhibits are expunged, conviction may be quashed for failure to prove case.
30 July 2021
A land recovery claim is time-barred if instituted more than 12 years from actual encroachment, not from later discovery.
Land law – Limitation: item No.6 Customary Law (Limitation Proceedings) GN 311/1964 – 12-year limitation for recovery of land – cause of action accrues at actual encroachment, not on later discovery – time-barred claims – quashing of lower tribunals' proceedings.
30 July 2021
Applicant charged with economic offences granted bail subject to substantial monetary security, sureties, surrender of travel documents and reporting.
Economic and Organised Crimes Act (Cap 200) – Bail under ss.29(4)(d), 36(1), (5) and (6). Charges: forgery, stealing by servant, occasioning loss to specified authority. Bail is discretionary though offences are bailable; respondent’s non‑opposition considered. Principle of sharing where multiple accused; substantial monetary/security conditions appropriate. Surety, bond and passport surrender requirements; verification by Resident Magistrate.
30 July 2021
Appeal dismissed: maintenance order upheld and custody awarded to respondent based on child’s best interests and evidence of care.
Child law – maintenance – consideration of income and social inquiry reports when fixing maintenance; burden on person asserting facts within personal knowledge (Evidence Act ss.112,115). Child law – custody – best interests principle (Law of the Child Act s.39) paramount; preference to primary caregiver shown by evidence. Family procedure – informal Social Welfare Office agreements not binding where court intervention is sought and one party rejects terms.
30 July 2021
Petition for letters of administration dismissed for failure to prove exhausted heirs, surety/security, reliable family minutes and deceased's identity.
Probate — Letters of administration — Qualification of petitioner — Exhaustion of nearer heirs before appointing siblings; compliance with Probate Rules on surety and administrator’s bond; adequacy of family meeting minutes and signatures; proof of identity (deed poll) where deceased used multiple names.
30 July 2021
Court granted joint letters of administration to family nominees, imposing inventory and accounting obligations.
Probate and administration – Grant of letters of administration – Appointment of interested family members nominated at family meeting – No objections filed. Limited letters of administration – Transition to full grant – Accounting for acts done under limited grant. Duties of administrators – Inventory within six months and accounts within one year; court may extend time. Costs of probate proceedings borne by petitioners.
30 July 2021
Victim’s credible testimony, medical corroboration and appellant’s admissions upheld statutory rape conviction despite expunged exhibits.
Criminal law – Rape – statutory rape where victim is a child – admissibility of PF3 and caution statement – requirement to read documentary exhibits in court – expunged improperly admitted documents – defective charge sheet curable under section 388(1) CPA – victim’s testimony and medical evidence as corroboration – appellant’s admissions as confirmatory evidence.
30 July 2021
Court granted 14-day extension to file notice of appeal due to prison transfer and no opposition by the respondent.
Criminal procedure — Extension of time to file notice of intention to appeal — Delay attributable to prison transfer — Absence of respondent's counter-affidavit and acquiescence by State Attorney — Extension granted for 14 days.
30 July 2021
Revision application dismissed as time-barred; a reply to a petition does not cure nonappearance to prevent ex parte judgment.
Limitation — Law of Limitation Act (Item 21, Part III) — sixty (60) days aggregate limitation for revision applications — time-bar. Civil procedure — revision versus appeal — revision not a substitute for appeal where a party failed to appear; reply to petition of appeal does not prevent ex parte judgment. Competency — preliminary objection on time bar and non-party's standing to seek revision.
30 July 2021
Applicant failed to account for delay and alleged illegality was not apparent on the record; extension of time refused.
Extension of time (s.11(1) AJA) – good cause and accounting for each day of delay; illegality as sufficient cause – must be apparent on the face of the record; settled law on inheritance rights of children born out of wedlock; res judicata and prior omnibus application.
30 July 2021
Application for reference dismissed for being filed outside court‑granted time without leave, under the Law of Limitation.
Limitation of actions – compliance with court‑granted time limits – filing outside the prescribed period without leave – mandatory nature of procedural time rules; Article 107A not a basis to ignore limitation; dismissal under s.3(1) Law of Limitation Act.
30 July 2021
Taxing officer’s blanket dismissal of a costs bill under the one‑sixth rule was quashed; court awarded assessed costs totaling Tshs. 1,599,000.
Advocates' Remuneration — Taxation of costs — Order 48 one-sixth rule — Taxing officer’s discretion — Exercise of discretion in special circumstances — Award of instruction fees, transport and disbursements.
30 July 2021
Appeal cannot be decided without original record; conviction quashed and discharge granted, retrial allowed with time served deducted.
Criminal law – Criminal appeal – Missing or destroyed trial records – Appeal cannot be determined on merits without original record – Record reconstruction – Appropriate remedies: quash conviction and sentence, discharge, but allow retrial de novo with time served deducted.
30 July 2021
Bail granted to applicant charged with possession of Government trophy, subject to half-value deposit, two sureties, and travel restrictions.
Criminal procedure – Bail – Applicant charged with unlawful possession of Government trophy under Wildlife Conservation Act and EOCCA – Bail granted where prosecution does not oppose. Bail conditions – cash deposit equal to half the value of alleged trophies or title deed with government valuer’s report; two sureties each executing bond; surrender of travel documents; restriction on travel outside jurisdiction. Enforcement – Resident Magistrate to ascertain compliance.
30 July 2021
The applicant's rape conviction was upheld as the victim's testimony and medical report proved penetration beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — Rape — Element of penetration — Penetration however slight is sufficient and may be established by victim’s testimony and medical report (PF3). Evidence — Victim's direct testimony in sexual offences can ground conviction, especially where corroborated by medical evidence. Evidence — Weak or unpersuasive defence and failure to cross-examine material points may amount to admission. Burden of proof — Burden remains on the prosecution; conviction must be on strength of prosecution case, not weakness of defence.
30 July 2021
Appellants’ purchases exceeded approved budget and violated procurement rules, constituting abuse of office and occasioning loss; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – Abuse of office (s.96 Penal Code) – elements: public employment; willful arbitrary act; prejudice to employer – Procurement and cooperative rules breach – Occasioning loss to specified authority (EOCCA) – appellate re-evaluation of evidence – Prosecutorial impartiality raised on appeal but not substantiated.
30 July 2021
Summary judgment granted where defendant, served by publication, failed to file defence; TSh 416,000,000 awarded with 7% interest.
Order XXXV summary procedure – service by publication – failure to file written statement of defence – allegations deemed admitted – summary judgment for unpaid loan; decretal interest and costs.
30 July 2021
30 July 2021
30 July 2021
Appellate court upheld tribunal’s land allocation decision and found no merit in failing to visit the locus in quo.
Land law – allocation of village/refugee land – whether a two‑acre plot formed part of a claimed fifteen‑acre holding; locus in quo – discretionary site visits by trial tribunals; appellate review – sufficiency of evidence and discretionary procedural steps.
30 July 2021
Applicant failed to account for delay or show illegality; extension of time refused and application dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure – Extension of time – Applicant must account for each day of delay; negligence generally not good cause. Civil procedure – Extension of time – Alleged illegality must appear on the face of the record and relevant decision should be produced. Civil procedure – Discretionary relief – Applicant must place sufficient materials before the court to enable exercise of discretion.
30 July 2021
Appeal allowed: true owner’s sale to the appellant conveyed title; earlier sale by a non-owner was void.
Land law – sale and transfer of land – vendor’s title – a person who is not the owner cannot pass good title; sale by owner to later purchaser valid; unproven agency and clan ownership allegations insufficient to defeat owner's sworn sale evidence.
30 July 2021
A bona fide purchaser who buys from an agent in apparent authority is protected; the principal must seek remedy against the agent.
Contract/Agency – authority of agent – contracts entered by an agent bind the principal (Law of Contract Act Cap 345). Property/Movables – bona fide purchaser for value – purchaser in good faith without knowledge of fraud is protected. Evidence – evaluation of contracts and conduct to determine apparent authority and good faith. Remedies – principal’s remedy against dishonest agent is claim for unpaid purchase money, not recovery from innocent purchaser.
30 July 2021
Second appeal dismissed: concurrent factual findings upheld; appellant failed to prove assault and did not produce key evidence.
Criminal procedure – second appeal – duty of appellate court to respect concurrent findings of fact; Time limitation – appeal lodged within statutory thirty days; Evidence – failure of complainant to produce PF3 and medical report and voluntary closure of case; Witness identity – permissible record-based linking of differently recorded names.
30 July 2021
Whether the applicant needed leave to re-file an appeal struck out; court held leave unnecessary absent fraud or mistake.
Civil procedure – extension of time – re-filing an appeal after it was struck out – leave not required unless withdrawal induced by fraud or mistake – advocate negligence not determinative.
30 July 2021
A person without letters of administration has no locus standi to sue on behalf of a deceased landowner; proceedings must be quashed.
Land law — locus standi — representation of deceased — letters of administration required; Procedure — Ward Tribunal jurisdiction — suits by non-administrators are incompetent; Appellate review — quash proceedings instituted by person lacking locus standi; Interpretation — section 18(1) Cap. 216 applies only where represented person is alive.
30 July 2021
Applicant must share proceeds of sold matrimonial asset; wage‑loss compensation excluded from s.114 division.
Family law – Division of matrimonial assets under section 114 Law of Marriage Act; entitlement to proceeds from sale of matrimonial asset disposed without consent; loan repayment burden of proof; compensation for personal loss (wage-loss) not part of s.114 division and should be pursued separately under s.56.
30 July 2021
Temporary injunction granted to restrain respondents from farming disputed land due to prima facie case and risk of irreparable soil damage.
Land — Interim injunction — Prima facie case; Irreparable harm to land/soil; Balance of convenience; Preservation of status quo pending trial; Applicant need not forecast final success at interlocutory stage.
30 July 2021
Applicant failed to account for each day of delay; extension to file appeal out of time denied.
Extension of time – application to file notice of appeal out of time – requirement to show good cause and account for every day of delay; medical incapacity as ground for extension; alleged illegality must be apparent on the face of the decision.
30 July 2021
30 July 2021
Court affirmed CMA award where employee was effectively summarily dismissed without attendance records, warnings or disciplinary hearing.
Labour law – unfair dismissal – procedural fairness – requirement to produce attendance records, warnings and disciplinary procedure before dismissal; employer identity and attribution between related companies; admissibility of documents and effect on labor proceedings.
30 July 2021
Convictions quashed where victim's inconsistent testimony and absence of DNA linkage created reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – burden of proof – prosecution must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Evidence – credibility of complainant – inconsistent statements and delay in reporting may render testimony unreliable. Forensic evidence – necessity of DNA profiling to link accused to pregnancy in paternity/impregnation cases. Conviction safety – where key witness credibility is doubtful and no forensic linkage exists, conviction may be quashed.
30 July 2021
30 July 2021
Applicant granted 14-day extension to appeal because defective judgment/decree (requiring rectification) constituted good cause.
Extension of time – application under s.41(2) Land Disputes Courts Act and s.14(1) Law of Limitation Act – requirement of "good cause" per Lyamuya guidelines. Civil Procedure – Order XXXIX Rule 1(1) – mandatory attachment of judgment and decree to petition of appeal. Defective documents/variance between judgment and decree – rectification as justification for delay. Illness/hospitalisation cited as contributing factor to delay.
30 July 2021
Tenant failed to prove payments or counterclaims; landlord awarded outstanding rent, eviction costs, interest and costs.
Landlord and tenant – rent arrears – burden of proof on alleged payments and set-offs – absence of pleaded counterclaim – entitlement to eviction costs and decretal interest.
30 July 2021
Alleged illegality and technical delay justified extension of time to file revision; applicants given 30 days to apply.
Extension of time – Rule 56(1) Labour Court Rules – discretion to extend where good cause shown; technical delay (struck-out application) – illegality of CMA award as good cause under Valambhia principle; labour matter – no costs ordered.
30 July 2021
An application seeking the same relief as a pending counterclaim is unmaintainable as res subjudice and was struck out.
Civil procedure – Preliminary objections – Res subjudice – Application seeking identical relief to pending counterclaim – Section 8 Civil Procedure Code – Abuse of court process – Striking out application with costs.
29 July 2021
Additional vendor evidence from a site visit overturned the District Tribunal’s finding and restored the Ward Tribunal’s ownership decision.
Land law – ownership dispute – role of locus in quo and vendor’s testimony – reception of additional evidence under section 42 Land Courts Act – effect of affidavit of service on ex parte proceedings.
29 July 2021
Applicant granted 21-day extension for one-day delay due to credible travel-related explanation; no costs.
Extension of time; sufficient cause; one-day delay not inordinate; applicant’s travel/financial difficulties and arrival after court hours accepted as explanation; exercise of court’s discretion; no costs.
29 July 2021