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184 judgments found.
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January 2024
31 January 2024
31 January 2024
Non‑joinder of the Registrar of Titles is fatal where a suit challenges a registered transfer as fraudulent.
Land law
— Land law/procedure — Non‑joinder of necessary party (Registrar of Titles) — Effect on validity of judgment and right to be heard
— Transfer of title — Allegation of fraudulent registration — Requirement to implead Registrar of Titles and afford opportunity to be heard
31 January 2024
Decree of divorce granted; respondent awarded custody and Australian house; Tanzanian assets awarded to petitioner; Australian bank funds not divided.
Family law — custody — welfare of child and binding effect of parties’ Memorandum of Settlement
Family law — Divorce — irretrievable breakdown by separation/desertion
Family law — Relationship between Juvenile Court orders and High Court
— Maintenance and visitation
— Non-molestation/injunction on holding children
— settlement binding on parties though High Court not hierarchically bound
31 January 2024
Improper voir dire of the child victim rendered her testimony inadmissible, leading to quashing of the applicant's conviction.
Criminal law
— corroboration — lack of independent corroborative evidence renders conviction unsafe
— sexual offences — Evidence of child complainant — voir dire and promise to tell the truth
Evidence — Admissibility and evidential value of child’s testimony — omission fatal to prosecution case
31 January 2024
Applicant granted a 40-day extension because time to obtain the DLHT judgment copy is excluded from the limitation period.
Appellate practice — leave to appeal and extension of time
— Law of Limitation Act s19
— Time to obtain copy excluded from limitation period
31 January 2024
Whether a child witness’s promise to tell the truth and medical corroboration suffice to prove statutory rape and justify life sentence.
Criminal law
— Sexual offence (rape) — Competence and reception of child witness evidence under Evidence Act s 127(2) — Evidence Act s 127(2)
— sentencing — mandatory life sentence for rape of a child — Penal Code s 130(1)(2)(e) and s 131
Criminal procedure — Evidence — medical evidence corroborating child sexual offence — Weight and materiality of contradictions
31 January 2024
31 January 2024
Appeal dismissed: prosecution proved stealing by agent through witnesses and documentary exhibits; procedural defects non‑fatal.
Criminal law — Stealing by agent — elements: entrustment and failure to deliver proceeds — Witnesses and documentary exhibits
Criminal procedure — Charge particulars — omission of statutory subsection not fatal where relevant provisions and particulars stated — Penal Code s.273(b)
Evidence — Alibi — Uncorroborated alibi insufficient to overturn positive eyewitness identification — Failure to call corroborative witnesses and non‑objection to exhibits
31 January 2024
Unexplained delay and quantity discrepancies in mineral exhibits created reasonable doubt, leading to quashing of the conviction.
Criminal law — Possession offences — proof beyond reasonable doubt — Delay in charging and discrepancy in exhibit quantity
Criminal procedure — Amendment/substitution of charge — substituted charge renders former charge non‑existent
Evidence — chain of custody — Chain of custody and exhibit integrity — Inconsistency in seized quantity suggests possible tampering
31 January 2024
Sickness and lack of notice constituted sufficient cause to set aside an ex‑parte matrimonial decree under Order IX r.9 CPC.
Civil procedure — Setting aside ex parte judgment — Sufficient cause — Order IX r.9 Civil Procedure Code
31 January 2024
The appellant’s recognition by the victim and corroborated testimony sustained conviction; a late alibi failed to raise reasonable doubt.
Civil procedure — Procedure — date uncertainty
— charge of unknown date in a month
— minor contradictions on precise date not fatal
Criminal law
— Defence — alibi — late/afterthought alibi weak and incapable of creating reasonable doubt
— sexual offences — victim recognition as identification — recognition more reliable than dock identification where accused known to victim
Evidence — credibility and corroboration — victim’s unchallenged testimony and medical PF3 corroboration sufficient to prove sexual assault beyond reasonable doubt
31 January 2024
31 January 2024
Prosecution failed to prove murder where sole eyewitness’s delayed identification and a section 34B statement were unreliable or non‑compliant.
Criminal law — identification evidence — reliability and delay in reporting
Criminal law — Murder
Criminal law — section 34B Evidence Act
— acquittal where prosecution fails to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt
— burden of proof
— statutory requirements for statements of absent makers
31 January 2024
Appellant failed to prove respondent wilfully and unlawfully damaged property; court-auction purchaser not criminally liable.
Criminal law — Malicious damage to property
— Evidence that purchaser at court-supervised auction and eviction by court broker negates criminal liability
— procedural irregularities in execution/auction are civil/administrative issues, not criminalizing the purchaser
30 January 2024
Primary court may order distribution where an appointed administrator neglects duties; allegations of fraud require a Rule 9 revocation application.
Probate law
— Duties of administrator
— Probate procedure — court powers to decide partition/distribution where administrator neglects duties
30 January 2024
Appeal dismissed: appellant failed to prove ownership or trespass; tribunal’s site visit and evidence assessment upheld.
Civil procedure — Land administration
— reservation by TANROADS affects title/possession issues
— role of site plans and statutory authorities
Civil procedure — locus in quo visits — measurement only necessary where parties specify dimensions and contest requires it
Evidence — admissibility and weight of documentary evidence (Exhibit A1) — tribunal may discredit documents after evaluation
Land law — ownership and encroachment — burden of proof on claimant to prove size and boundaries of disputed land
30 January 2024
30 January 2024
Courts – jurisdiction – labour court – jurisdiction to interpret an organisation’s constitution – whether the Labour Court had jurisdiction to interpret an organization’s constitution – Employment and Labour Relations Act, sections 53 and 94(1)
30 January 2024
Fresh suit after retrial order was improper, time‑barred, and the District Court lacked pecuniary jurisdiction.
Civil procedure — nullity of proceedings — Nullity and retrial
Jurisdiction — Pecuniary jurisdiction — Specific damages determine jurisdiction (Order VII r.1(i))
Limitation law — Limitation of actions — Law of Limitation Act, Item 1 Part I
30 January 2024
An appeal is incompetent where the appellant’s name differs from the trial record, nullifying appellate proceedings.
Civil procedure — Appeals — consistency of parties — Correct identification of parties required for a competent appeal
Criminal law — Criminal appeal — Parties’ names — Whether discrepancy between name in trial judgment and name used in appeal is fatal — Incompetence of appeal
30 January 2024
Trial without DPP's required consent for economic offences is a nullity; retrial ordered with credit for time served.
Criminal law — Jurisdiction to try economic offences — Validity of DPP certificate under s12
Criminal procedure — Jurisdiction of subordinate courts to try economic offences
— Proceedings nullity
— retrial in interests of justice (Fatehali Manji)
30 January 2024
An incurably defective charge sheet precludes ordering a retrial; appeal dismissed.
Appellate practice
— Appellate review — affirmation of refusal to order retrial where charge is defective
— Retrial — availability of retrial only where charge properly exists before the court
Criminal procedure — Charge sheet — incurably defective charge — lumping of counts, lack of separate particulars, omission of subsections
30 January 2024
30 January 2024
Applicant failed to show good cause for extension of time and did not account for the one-year delay.
Administrative law — Authorities
— Fortunatus Masha
— Lyamuya Construction
— Omary Ibrahim
Civil procedure — extension of time — ignorance of law and counsel’s mistakes not good cause
Civil procedure — Technical delay principle
— Fortunatus Masha distinguishes competent-but-struck-out appeals from appeals filed out of time
— not applicable where prior appeal was filed late
Limitation law — Limitation of actions — dismissal of time-barred applications
30 January 2024
A suit refiled after withdrawal without leave is incompetent; trial and appellate proceedings were nullified.
Primary Courts — Withdrawal of proceedings — Rule 16(3) Primary Courts Civil Procedure Rules — Effect of withdrawal without leave — Prohibition on refiling identical claim without leave; incompetency and nullification of subsequent suit.
30 January 2024
Appellant failed to prove title; tribunal properly evaluated evidence, recusal and locus‑in‑quo claims unsupported; appeal dismissed.
Civil procedure
— Assessors — duty to summarise facts and record assessors' opinions before judgment
— locus in quo — procedural requirements for site visits: presence of parties, witnesses and advocates
Land law — proof of title — burden on claimant and requirement of strict proof in land disputes
30 January 2024
30 January 2024
Failure to record witness evidence in narrative form and to sign it invalidates proceedings and mandates retrial.
Land disputes — recording of evidence
30 January 2024
Applicants’ claims for overtime and project payments dismissed for failure to produce agreements or supporting evidence.
Civil procedure — Admissibility of new evidence on revision — Documents not tendered at the CMA ordinarily not admissible
Evidence — Evidence of contract — Failure to tender contract to prove participation in special projects
Labour law — overtime/extra duty claims — Requirement of an employer-employee agreement for overtime — Employment and Labour Relations Act s19(3)
30 January 2024
An appellate court cannot grant a temporary injunction to restrain execution of a decree; a stay of execution is the proper remedy.
Appellate practice — Appellate jurisdiction — appellate court lacks power to grant injunctions restraining execution of lower court decrees
Civil procedure — Execution of decree
— decree-holder may execute peacefully without prior court order
— injunction not substitute for stay of execution
Civil procedure — Temporary injunction — injunction maintains status quo pending determination, stay of execution is proper remedy after decree
30 January 2024
Where a tort claim requires deciding lease validity or rent arrears, land courts (not ordinary courts) have jurisdiction.
Jurisdiction — what constitutes a land matter — Whether questions of lease validity and rent arrears are land matters for land courts under Part 9 of the Land Act
Land law — Tenancy — Whether questions on existence/validity of lease and outstanding rent fall under Part 9 Land Act (Cap 113 R.E.2019)
Tort — Trespass to land — Ordinary courts may hear torts where no determination of tenancy is required
30 January 2024
30 January 2024
30 January 2024
29 January 2024
Appellant's non‑payment and wrongful termination claims rejected; appeal dismissed with costs.
Contract law — Contract formation — contractual terms may be established by documents plus oral evidence
Evidence
— proof of payment — reliance on petty cash vouchers and bank pay‑in slips
— summons of witnesses — Admissibility of bank officer testimony and bank documents where the bank is not a party — s 80 TEA
29 January 2024
Ill health alone, supported only by an outdated medical report, does not justify bail pending appeal without current, reliable evidence.
Criminal law — Bail pending trial v. bail pending appeal
— different principles
— prior bail and undertakings alone insufficient
Criminal procedure — Bail pending appeal — Discretionary privilege requiring special, exceptional or unusual circumstances supported by reliable evidence
29 January 2024
29 January 2024
Appellate court quashed tribunal decision: cost award improper, adverse possession misapplied, appellant proved ownership on balance of probabilities.
Civil procedure — Costs — order for payment to non-party relief without specific prayer or taxation — Advocates Remuneration Order and role of taxing officer
Land law
— adverse possession — cannot be invoked where not pleaded and where possession was with permission or arises from family distribution
— proof of ownership — burden of proof and evaluation of evidence on first appeal — re-evaluation of the entire record
29 January 2024
Appellant failed to prove spouse consent was coerced; tribunal's ex parte proceedings and evidence assessment were upheld.
Land law
— Evidence — burden of proof on person alleging coercion
— Mortgage of matrimonial home — spouse consent
— procedural compliance — Regulation 12 GN No.174/2003
— Right to be heard — ex parte proceedings and default
29 January 2024
Court found mutual breach: landlord entitled to reconciled rent; tenant awarded modest general damages for unlawful lock‑out.
Contract law — Breach of Lease Agreement
— Lawful re‑entry versus unlawful lock‑out
— notice requirement
Damages
— general damages may be awarded for disturbance
— proof and assessment
Land law — Lease — Recovery of rent arrears — Proof by invoices, receipts and exchange rates
29 January 2024
29 January 2024
29 January 2024
The applicant proved purchase, payment and possession, entitling transfer and injunction; the respondent's trespass established.
Contract law — Contract formation
— defective written agreement but parties' conduct and communications can establish valid sale
— deposit to advocate's firm for conveyance as evidence of transfer intent
— proof of payment and possession can substitute formal defects
Contract law — trespass to fenced and cultivated land — remedy by injunction, damages and transfer order
29 January 2024
Recusal denied: allegations of administrator misconduct do not establish judicial bias and probate remedies require proper statutory procedure.
Civil procedure
— Forum shopping — abuse of process
— Probate jurisdiction — limited to estate administration, maintenance of children outside probate
— Recusal — standard for judicial bias and appearance of bias
— Suo motu intervention — court cannot bypass statutory procedure to punish administrators
28 January 2024
27 January 2024
Mediator exceeded mediation mandate by arbitrating and issuing an award, rendering CMA proceedings and award a nullity.
Labour law — Mediation — mediator has no mandate to arbitrate or determine points of law
Labour law — Procedural irregularity — mediator assumed arbitrator powers and issued award during mediation
Labour law — Remedy
— CMA proceedings and award declared nullity, quashed and set aside
— fresh filing permitted
26 January 2024
Fixed-term contract expired automatically; no reasonable expectation of renewal, but severance pay is payable after 12 months’ service.
Contract law — Social security — CMA lacks jurisdiction over NSSF contributions
Employment law
— Fixed-term contract — automatic termination on expiry absent objective basis for expectation of renewal
— Reasonable expectation of renewal
Labour law — Labour procedure — Non-renewal of fixed-term contract is not necessarily procedurally unfair
26 January 2024
Court nullified probate proceedings for failing to record attendees and prove the named executor’s incapacity.
Probate law — Will and appointment of executor — Revision — requirement of evidence to displace named executor — procedural irregularity vitiating probate proceedings
26 January 2024
Constitutional law — Basic Rights — Right to Appeal — Whether right to appeal is a constitutional right
Criminal procedure — Appeal — Time to Appeal — Whether time to appeal starts running after the deliverance of the judgment or after obtaining copies of Judgment
26 January 2024