|
Citation
|
Judgment date
|
| December 1991 |
|
|
Appeal allowed and letters of administration revoked because administrator failed to file required inventory; fresh joint application ordered.
Probate and Administration — Grant of letters of administration — Appointment not invalid for undervaluation (s.86) — Revocation permitted where administrator willfully omits to exhibit inventory/accounts (s.49) — Proper administration requires fresh application where procedural requirements unmet.
|
30 December 1991 |
|
Ex parte judgment awarded for unpaid vehicle purchase balance after substituted service and proof of the sale agreement.
Contract law – Sale of goods/motor vehicle – unpaid purchase price; Civil procedure – substituted service by affixing summons; Ex parte proceedings and default judgment; Remedies – judgment for outstanding balance with interest and costs.
|
19 December 1991 |
|
|
19 December 1991 |
|
|
16 December 1991 |
|
|
11 December 1991 |
|
|
4 December 1991 |
|
The appellant lawfully resisted an unlawful seizure; reasonable cause to report assault defeats the respondents' malicious prosecution claim.
Local/ward development law – seizure of property – statutory procedure under Ward Development/Area Committees Act No.6 of 1969 – non-compliance invalidates seizure; Civil tort – malicious prosecution – reasonable and probable cause to report assault where seizure was unlawful; Evidence – admissibility of appellate criminal judgment in civil proceedings (held immaterial to outcome).
|
4 December 1991 |
|
|
4 December 1991 |
| November 1991 |
|
|
An appellate court must not disturb trial findings of fact based on credibility and a site visit without sufficient justification.
Civil appeal – appellate interference with findings of fact – trial court inspection of locus in quo – assessors’ observations – boundary tampering – credibility and balance of probabilities.
|
28 November 1991 |
|
|
28 November 1991 |
|
Gift of land upheld because psychiatric evidence and witness testimony showed the donor had capacity; appeal dismissed.
* Land law – validity of gifts; donor's mental capacity – psychiatric evidence preferred over non-psychiatric medical report; witnesses and continuous possession supporting gift. * Evidence – credibility and weight of medical reports and witness testimony. * Civil procedure – appellate review of facts where trial findings are supported by evidence.
|
22 November 1991 |
|
Dispute over existence/revocation of partnership is not within primary court’s jurisdiction and appeal dismissed.
Magistrates’ jurisdiction – civil debt arising out of contract – interpretation/rescission of partnership agreement – primary court lacks jurisdiction if matter requires legal interpretation or exceeds pecuniary limit (100,000/=).
|
21 November 1991 |
|
|
13 November 1991 |
|
Appellate court quashed unlawful suspended minimum sentences, substituted statutory minimum terms, and struck unsustainable convictions.
Criminal law – Minimum Sentences Act – conditions for exemption from mandatory minimum sentences – lawfulness of suspending or departing from minimum sentences – appellate revision and substitution of statutory sentences; convictions unsustainable where accused not properly charged or tried on counts.
|
13 November 1991 |
|
|
11 November 1991 |
|
|
6 November 1991 |
| October 1991 |
|
|
Defective charge particulars and absence of handwriting expert did not defeat overwhelming evidence proving cheque-related forgery and theft.
Criminal law – forgery, uttering false documents and theft by public servant – evidential sufficiency without handwriting expert; defects in charge curable under section 38 Criminal Procedure Act where no prejudice or failure of justice.
|
31 October 1991 |
|
Whether an unattested, inconsistent document constituted a valid will and justified removal of co-administrator.
Probate and administration – validity of wills – attestation and genuineness – multiple unattested papers cannot constitute a valid single will; intestacy – appointment of co-administrators; appellate intervention – limits on disturbing Primary Court findings of fact.
|
30 October 1991 |
|
|
30 October 1991 |
|
|
24 October 1991 |
|
|
23 October 1991 |
|
Failure to record assessors’ opinions under s.7(2) Magistrates' Courts Act renders Primary Court proceedings a nullity; retrial ordered.
* Civil procedure – custody disputes – whether custody should be disturbed where natural mother (custodian) is not a party to the suit. * Service – proof of service of notice of District Court hearing. * Magistrates' Courts Act s.7(2) – mandatory recording of assessors' opinions; failure renders proceedings a nullity and justifies retrial. * Law of Marriage s.125 – best welfare principle to guide custody cases.
|
23 October 1991 |
|
Appellant failed to prove entitlement to two acres; original owner’s allocation of one acre upheld and appeal dismissed.
Land law – allocation/gift of customary land – proof of quantity granted – credibility of oral evidence – appellate review of Primary Court’s factual finding.
|
17 October 1991 |
|
Identification made at night under adverse conditions plus a corroborated alibi created reasonable doubt, leading to acquittal.
Criminal law – identification evidence – reliability of visual identification made at night from varying distances amid gunfire and panic; corroborated alibi by police undermining prosecution case; benefit of doubt where identification is doubtful and guilt not proved beyond reasonable doubt.
|
2 October 1991 |
|
Circumstantial evidence proved arson beyond reasonable doubt; alibi lacked statutory notice and sentence reduced to statutory limit.
Criminal law – Arson – Circumstantial evidence sufficiency – Burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt; Alibi – statutory notice requirements, s.194(4)-(6) Criminal Procedure Act 1985; Sentencing – subordinate court powers, s.170(1)(a) Criminal Procedure Act 1985; Appeal – conviction upheld, sentence reduced.
|
1 October 1991 |
| September 1991 |
|
|
Restoration/compensation was unlawful where ownership and identity of the restored timber were not established (sizes differed).
Criminal law – destruction of evidence (s.109) – restoration of property – requirement to prove ownership and identity of items before ordering restoration or compensation; appellate restoration quashed where exhibit showed different measurements.
|
30 September 1991 |
|
Appellants’ convictions quashed due to inadequate/prohibited evidence and a prior dismissal that rendered subsequent proceedings void.
Criminal procedure – dismissal under s.225(5) Criminal Procedure Act – effect of dismissal (functus officio) – subsequent proceedings null and void; Evidence – hearsay inadmissibility; documentary evidence – originals versus photocopies; handwriting expert opinion – need for corroboration; remedy on appeal where convictions resulted from nullified proceedings.
|
30 September 1991 |
|
Conviction for theft quashed where prosecution failed to prove accused removed vehicle parts and relied on uncalled witness.
Criminal law – Theft – Proof beyond reasonable doubt – Insufficiency of uncorroborated evidence and hearsay from an uncalled witness – Conviction unsafe and quashed.
|
25 September 1991 |
|
An appeal filed over a year after judgment in breach of s.361(a) Criminal Procedure Act was struck off as time‑barred.
* Criminal procedure – Appeal time limits – Section 361(a) Criminal Procedure Act – Notice of appeal filed more than a year after judgment – Appeal struck off as hopelessly time‑barred.
|
24 September 1991 |
|
|
24 September 1991 |
|
|
19 September 1991 |
|
Two convictions quashed for insufficient evidence; three convictions upheld based on reliable daylight identification and facilitating conduct.
Criminal law – cattle theft – identification evidence in broad daylight – sufficiency of evidence – conviction cannot rest on suspicion – facilitation by ordering retreat – appellate review of credibility and safety of conviction.
|
18 September 1991 |
|
A magistrate may dismiss charges where repeated prosecution failures to produce witnesses or material justify acquittal.
Criminal procedure – power to dismiss under section 222 (and sections 230/225(5)) – prosecution's failure to produce witnesses or police file – adjournments and non-appearance – discretionary acquittal for want of prosecution.
|
16 September 1991 |
|
A defendant must apply to the Primary Court under Rule 30 to set aside an ex parte Primary Court judgment; District Court nullification was improper.
* Civil procedure – Primary Court ex parte judgment – Proper remedy to set aside an ex parte Primary Court decision is by application to the Primary Court under Rule 30 of the Primary Court Civil Procedure Rules; District Court lacks competence to nullify Primary Court judgment which it did not give. * Limitation/overtaken proceedings – setting aside an executed decree may be time-barred or overtaken by events. * Interim relief – granting injunctions after nullifying substantive proceedings raises procedural concerns.
|
16 September 1991 |
|
|
16 September 1991 |
|
Recent possession plus corroborative permits and admissions established guilt for cattle theft; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – Theft – Recent possession – Identification and admissions – Documentary corroboration (vibali) and official stamp linking accused and co-accused to stolen cattle – Circumstantial evidence sufficient to convict.
|
16 September 1991 |
|
Admission of copied accounting documents contrary to Evidence Act and failure to prove theft beyond reasonable doubt led to quashing of convictions.
Evidence — Documentary evidence — Secondary evidence — Copies of accounting records (cash receipts and bank paying-in slips) improperly admitted contrary to sections 66 and 67 of the Tanzania Evidence Act No.6/1967; Criminal law — Proof beyond reasonable doubt — Convictions unsustainable where prosecution fails to exclude other responsible persons; Remedies — Convictions and sentences quashed; compensation order set aside.
|
9 September 1991 |
|
Whether letters of administration were properly granted and whether the purported will was legally valid.
* Probate and administration – letters of administration – whether Primary Court properly granted letters to applicant or merely appointed an heir – appellate correction of primary court error. * Validity of purported will – requirement of signature, date and attestation – unsigned/undated document ineffective. * Intestacy and clan distribution – effect of heir's non-attendance at clan elders' meeting on entitlement. * Appeal – second appeal lacking merit; appellate court's power to reverse erroneous primary court appointments.
|
4 September 1991 |
|
Primary court’s factual finding that a deceased’s allocation vested land ownership in the plaintiff was restored; appellate reversal quashed.
Land law – ownership of customary land – proof of title and bequest; weight of oral and documentary evidence; appellate interference with trial court’s factual findings; credibility and site inspection.
|
4 September 1991 |
|
|
3 September 1991 |
| August 1991 |
|
|
A conviction based solely on a co-accused's implicating statement is unsafe without independent corroboration.
* Evidence – Confession/implication by co-accused – Section 33(2) Evidence Act 1967 – conviction cannot be founded solely on co-accused's statement without independent corroboration.
* Criminal procedure – sufficiency of evidence – no case to answer where reliance is on uncorroborated co-accused confession.
* Appeal – unsafe conviction – quash and set aside where conviction rests on uncorroborated implicating statement.
|
28 August 1991 |
|
|
28 August 1991 |
|
|
28 August 1991 |
|
Appeal allowed where evidence failed to prove breaking-in and identity of stolen books; one related appeal struck off as time-barred.
* Criminal law – Office breaking and stealing – proof of breaking-in – requirement for evidence of forcible entry or credible reporting to police.
* Criminal law – Identification of stolen property – necessity of specific identification linking property recovered to the theft.
* Appeals – competence – late filing of appeal resulting in striking off.
|
28 August 1991 |
|
|
28 August 1991 |
|
Where land ownership is disputed and prior decisions are not produced, theft prosecutions may be null and retried only after ownership is established.
* Criminal law – Theft – prosecution in respect of crops taken from land subject to prior civil/customary disputes – requirement to produce prior determinations of ownership before criminal trial. * Civil procedure/land law – Temporary injunction preserves status quo; does not confer title on non-parties. * Defence – bona fide claim of right arising from unresolved ownership dispute can defeat theft charge. * Relief – retrial ordered; prior proceedings quashed where material ownership determinations absent.
|
20 August 1991 |
|
Plaintiff proved claim for two cattle; corroborated evidence upheld and appeal dismissed with costs.
Property recovery – movable property (cattle) – sufficiency and corroboration of evidence – appeals: appellate court will not overturn trial findings where plaintiff’s evidence is strongly corroborated and defendant’s denial lacks merit.
|
15 August 1991 |
|
Court dismissed the applicant’s appeal, holding provocation inapplicable and confirming conviction, sentence and compensation for grievous harm.
Criminal law – Assault causing grievous harm; defence of provocation; admissibility of PF3 medical form; sufficiency of evidence to uphold conviction and compensation.
|
14 August 1991 |
|
|
13 August 1991 |
|
Alibi inadmissible for lack of statutory notice, but prosecution’s failure to prove ownership and delivery sustains acquittal.
Criminal law – stealing by agent – alibi – non-compliance with s.194(5)–(6) Criminal Procedure Act deprives alibi of weight; prosecution must still prove ownership and delivery of goods beyond reasonable doubt; absence of receipts, records or credible witnesses may render the prosecution case doubtful.
|
12 August 1991 |