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
7,148 judgments

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7,148 judgments
Citation
Judgment date
December 2022
Court restrained the respondent from implementing its communique or effecting the merger pending determination of leave.
Judicial review — interim injunction pending leave — Law Reform Act Cap.310 and GN. No.324/2014 (Rule 5(6)) — preservation of status quo — oral chamber application permissible (Order XLIII r.2 CPC) — Atilio v. Mbowe principles not prerequisite for interim relief.
30 December 2022
Whether DLHT was barred by res judicata and whether respondent proved ownership on the balance of probabilities.
Land law – res judicata – whether prior primary court or appellate decisions barred subsequent DLHT proceedings; Evidence – ownership of land – standard of proof on balance of probabilities; Value of documentary exhibits – building permit/site plan versus sale agreement and neighbours’ oral evidence; Appellate review – interference only for misdirection or non‑direction of evidence.
30 December 2022
Failure to file the mandatory CMA F.10 notice under Regulation 34(1) renders a labour revision application incompetent.
Labour procedure – Revision applications – Regulation 34(1) GN. No. 47/2017 – Mandatory requirement to file CMA F.10 notice of intention to seek revision – Non‑compliance fatal; overriding objective cannot cure express mandatory procedural rules.
30 December 2022
30 December 2022
Eyewitness evidence and corroborated cautioned statements established common-intention murder; identification parade defects bore no prejudice to conviction.
Criminal law – murder – visual identification and credibility of eyewitness – cautioned statements and retracted confessions – corroboration – identification parade procedural compliance – doctrine of common intention – alibi evidence.
30 December 2022
30 December 2022
30 December 2022
30 December 2022
Application to extend time to restore a revision was struck out for lack of territorial jurisdiction; proper registry was Dar es Salaam.
* Civil procedure – territorial jurisdiction – proper registry for restoration of proceedings; effect of establishing a new sub-registry on territorial competence.* Law of Limitation – application for extension of time – whether ignorance or uncertainty as to proper registry excuses filing in wrong registry.* Judicial administration – transfer and management of case files between district/sub-registries and consequences for locus of proceedings.
30 December 2022
Wrong citation of appeal provision is not fatal; extension granted where delay was reasonably explained and uncontradicted.
Extension of time to appeal – criminal cases from Primary Courts – correct provision: s.25(1)(a) Magistrates Courts Act – wrong citation not fatal where court has jurisdiction – evidence required in affidavit and failure of counter-affidavit to rebut.
30 December 2022
Leave granted to challenge GN No.597/2022 designating villagers' agricultural land as grazing area for procedural impropriety.
Judicial review — leave to apply — tests for leave (arguable case, six‑month limitation, sufficient interest) — procedural impropriety and illegality — participatory requirements in land‑use designation — Government Notice No. 597/2022 — Kimbo grazing programme — village land use programme/by‑laws.
29 December 2022
29 December 2022
29 December 2022
Applicants showed a prima facie dispute but failed to prove irreparable harm or favourable balance of convenience for injunctions.
Civil procedure — Interim injunctions — Principles: prima facie case, irreparable harm, balance of convenience; Corporate governance — validity of internal constitutional amendments and powers of NEC; Relief sought — suspension of leadership, restraint of asset disposal, ordering of Extra Ordinary General Meeting.
28 December 2022
Applicant charged with high‑value economic offences granted bail subject to substantial security and strict conditions.
* Criminal procedure – Bail – Economic and Organized Crime Control Act, Cap. 200 – Sections 36(4) and 36(5) – Bailability of economic offences; * High‑value economic offences – security quantification and stringent conditions for bail; * Conditions – cash or title deed security, sureties, surrender of travel documents, mandatory attendance; * Unopposed bail application – court’s discretion to grant with enhanced safeguards.
27 December 2022
Failure to frame or decide a counterclaim and use of an unstamped document nullified the trial judgment; retrial ordered.
Civil procedure — counterclaim treated as cross-suit — courts must frame issues covering both suit and counterclaim; failure to do so vitiates judgment. Evidence — documentary evidence must be cleared and read; unstamped instruments inadmissible under the Stamp Duty Act. Banking/microfinance — lack of licence affects remedies but does not necessarily absolve borrower of principal repayment. Interest — commercial interest and court rate governed by Order XX Rule 21. Conflict of interest — allegation against witness must be proved to disqualify testimony.
27 December 2022
Court dismissed revision of mediator's condonation ruling, affirming CMA's power to grant condonation for amicable-settlement efforts.
Labour law – jurisdiction of CMA over disputes involving religious institutions; condonation of delay – Rule 31 GN No. 64/2007; amicable settlement as good cause; interlocutory mediator rulings not revisable – Rule 50 GN No. 106/2007; procedural competence for revision of arbitration awards.
27 December 2022
Appellant's appeal was within time and an undated Memorandum did not invalidate the appeal; objections overruled.
• Civil procedure — Preliminary objections — computation of time to appeal — filing period runs from service/supply of judgment (s.19 Law of Limitation Act). • Civil procedure — Competency of appeal — undated Memorandum of Appeal — filing and registry stamping and signature render appeal competent; court may allow insertion of date. • Appeals — procedural objections — overruled for want of merit.
27 December 2022
Warrantless search (non-emergency) breached safeguards; conviction quashed and sentence set aside.
Criminal procedure – Search and seizure – Requirement of search warrant under s.38(1) Criminal Procedure Act and Police General Orders No.226 – Emergency exception – Protection of constitutional right to dignity and privacy – Unlawful search vitiates conviction.
23 December 2022
Applicant’s appeal against grievous harm conviction dismissed; prosecution proved unlawful act and identity beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Grievous harm – Elements: unlawful act and identity – Production of weapon not essential; cautioned statement admissibility requires specific legal objection; PF3 admissible without maker’s testimony; credibility and corroboration determine sufficiency of evidence.
23 December 2022
Application for status quo over disputed land dismissed as prematurely determining ownership.
Land law – interlocutory relief – maintenance of status quo vs status quo ante; Civil Procedure Code s.95 and inherent powers; prohibition on interlocutory orders that effectively determine ownership; prevention of abuse of court process.
23 December 2022
Application for status quo dismissed because it sought current occupation, risking premature determination of ownership.
* Civil procedure – interlocutory relief – maintenance of status quo v status quo ante – distinction and effect on substantive ownership dispute. * Abuse of process – limits of section 95 CPC and inherent powers to prevent miscarriage of justice without deciding merits. * Interim orders – cannot be used to reallocate possession or determine ownership pending appeal.
23 December 2022
An uncontested petition (published with no caveat) warrants appointment of an administrator and issuance of letters of administration.
* Probate law – Intestate estate – petition for letters of administration – publication and absence of caveat renders petition non-contentious – appointment of administrator – directions for inventory and hearing.
23 December 2022
Applicant appointed administrator of an uncontested intestate estate; letters to issue, inventory due, hearing scheduled.
* Probate and Administration – intestate estate – appointment of administrator after publication where no caveat filed – petition deemed non-contentious. * Issuance of letters of administration – court may grant letters where petition unopposed. * Procedural requirements – publication in newspaper and Government Gazette; inventory filing deadline; scheduling of hearing.
23 December 2022
The appellant's statutory rape conviction upheld: unchallenged victim testimony, medical evidence and confession proved penetration and age.
Criminal law – Statutory rape (s.130 Penal Code) – proof of age and penetration – consent immaterial if victim under 18 – minor variance in age inconsequential – victim’s unchallenged testimony corroborated by medical evidence and confession – absence of alarm or bruises not fatal to prosecution.
23 December 2022
District Court’s revision without hearing parties violated audi alteram partem and was quashed and remitted for rehearing.
* Probate law – Revisional jurisdiction – District Court’s power under section 22(1) & (3) Magistrates' Court Act – requirement to afford a hearing before making orders that alter parties’ rights; failure to hear vitiates revisional proceedings. * Natural justice – audi alteram partem – mandatory in revisional proceedings affecting rights. * Remedy – quashing of revision order and remittal for de novo hearing by another magistrate.
23 December 2022
Extra-judicial and caution statements, plus injury pattern and conduct, supported conviction where visual identification was unreliable.
Criminal law – Murder – Unnatural death established by post-mortem; Visual identification in darkness – caution on reliability; Extra-judicial and caution statements – admissibility when not objected to; Malice aforethought inferred from weapon, multiple wounds to vulnerable parts, motive and post-offence conduct.
23 December 2022
Omission to cite the specific enabling rule rendered the extension application incompetent; the oxygen principle could not cure the defect.
* Labour procedure – extension of time – requirement to cite specific enabling provision (Rule 56(1) Labour Court Rules) – omission renders application incompetent. * Jurisdictional principle – court’s power derives from statute; parties must move court by citing the law conferring the power. * Procedural doctrine – the oxygen principle cannot cure failure to cite mandatory enabling provisions. * Outcome – application struck out; merits not considered; no order as to costs (labour matter).
23 December 2022
Court granted interim status quo restraining seizure or sale of vehicles pending determination of the main suit.
Interim relief – Maintenance of status quo – Preservation of assets subject of pending suit – Third-party agent engaged after suit – Abuse of process and delay not shown – Balance of convenience and potential prejudice.
23 December 2022
22 December 2022
22 December 2022
22 December 2022
22 December 2022
22 December 2022
Applicant failed to prove exceptional circumstances or overwhelming appellate prospects to justify bail pending appeal.
* Criminal procedure – Bail pending appeal – Discretionary remedy under s.368(1)(a)(i) – Requires unusual or exceptional circumstances and overwhelming chance of success on appeal; * Evidence – Illness must be proven by medical evidence; * Appeal grounds – Must be apparent on face of record, not matters of factual disposition; * Balance of liberty versus administration of justice.
22 December 2022
22 December 2022
22 December 2022
22 December 2022
Whether execution of a labour award should be stayed pending revision where withholding funds prevents irreparable loss to the applicant.
Labour law – stay of execution – Rules 25(1)-(9) Labour Court Rules – balance of convenience – irreparable harm – pending revision – withholding court-held funds – costs each party to bear.
22 December 2022
22 December 2022
Equivocal plea improperly taken and recorded; conviction set aside and retrial ordered to secure fair plea-taking.
Criminal procedure — Plea taking — Equivocal/ambiguous plea — Requirement to state substance of charge and record plea in accused's words (s.228 CPA) — Failure to comply renders conviction defective — Retrial ordered (s.388(1) CPA).
22 December 2022
22 December 2022
22 December 2022
22 December 2022
22 December 2022
An unequivocal guilty plea establishing all elements precludes appeal on conviction; five-year sentence upheld as lawful.
Criminal law – Plea of guilty – Requirements for an unequivocal plea (s.228(2) CPA; Michael Adrian Chaki principles) – Facts must disclose all elements – No obligation to tender exhibits after admission – Appeals against convictions on guilty plea barred except as to sentence (s.360(1) CPA) – Sentence within statutory limits.
21 December 2022
Primary courts have exclusive power to execute judgments by attaching bank accounts; district court’s execution without jurisdiction is void.
Magistrates Courts (Civil Procedure in Primary Courts) Rules – Rule 56 – Execution of money awards – Attachment of bank accounts – Jurisdiction of Primary Court vs District Court; Misapplication of Rule 56; Attachment procedure — Primary Court to inform bank directly; Proceedings without jurisdiction are nullities.
21 December 2022
Non-compliance with s.214 CPA in magistrate succession nullifies trial; retrial denied and appellant released.
* Criminal procedure – Change of trial magistrate – Compliance with section 214(1) CPA – Reasons for change must be recorded and communicated to accused; non-compliance nullifies proceedings. * Succession of magistrate – Promotion without change of duty station not ordinarily sufficient ground for reassignment. * Retrial – Not automatic after nullification; ordered only if interests of justice require.
21 December 2022
Appeal dismissed: search lawful, chain of custody and exhibits properly admitted, conviction and 30-year sentence upheld.
Criminal law — narcotics trafficking — emergency (warrantless) searches under Criminal Procedure Act — chain of custody for physical exhibits — admissibility of documents and statements under section 34B Evidence Act — sufficiency of chargesheet — sentencing jurisdiction under Drugs Control and Enforcement Act.
21 December 2022
Failure to involve assessors in finding the accused had a case to answer vitiated proceedings; conviction quashed.
Magistrates' Courts Act — paragraph 35(6): duty to read and certify witnesses' evidence (including cross/re‑examination) — non‑compliance fatal only if prejudice shown; Magistrates' Courts Act s.7(2): assessors must be involved in findings on any issue — failure to involve assessors vitiates proceedings; discretionary remedy — retrial vs quash where accused has already served substantial custody.
21 December 2022