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43 judgments found.
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December 1998
Taxation may be sought by an advocate or client, but a large instruction fee award was set aside for lack of salary evidence.
Legal profession — Advocates — Taxation of costs
28 December 1998
Whether s.9(3) C.A.P. 390 bars an administrator's proprietary/partnership claim — court held it does not.
Civil procedure — Preliminary objections — when characterization of claim as tortious may be rejected as far‑fetched
Limitation law — Limitation of actions — six‑month limitation for torts surviving against the estate of a deceased person — scope and applicability
16 December 1998
Civil procedure — From the district court of arusha at arusha in criminal case no. 67 of 1997) c criminal practice and procedure -preliminary hearing -admission of a retracted cautioned statement and other disputed items as exhibits during preliminary hearing — Whether procedure was proper
14 December 1998
Additional evidence on appeal admissible only if necessary for judgment; clan minutes excluded and application denied.
Civil procedure
— Appeal
— not to cure weaknesses by introducing fresh evidence — Clan meeting minutes held unnecessary and excluded
7 December 1998
November 1998
Civil procedure — From the district court of arusha in civil appeal no. 9 of 1996)
Evidence — Witness — Court witnesses — Circumstances
3 November 1998
October 1998
19 October 1998
Failure to consider defence ownership evidence and admission of inadmissible statement rendered trespass conviction unsafe.
Criminal law — Trespass
— Conviction unsafe where trial court failed to consider defence evidence of ownership
— improperly admitted hearsay evidence
— insufficiency of prosecution proof of ownership
19 October 1998
September 1998
Civil procedure — Probate and administration
— Government Notice Number 320 of 1996
— Jurisdiction of primary courts — Whether Primary courts have jurisdiction where the estate consists of registered land — Government Notice Number 320 of 1996
4 September 1998
August 1998
Taxing officer reduced unnecessary/duplicative transport claims and excessive drafting fees, taxing total costs at Shs 85,800.
Civil procedure — Taxation of costs
— assessment of necessity and reasonableness of transport, court-attendance and drafting charges
— duplication of items and reduction of excessive drafting fees
28 August 1998
28 August 1998
Allegations that plaintiffs practiced witchcraft are imputations of a criminal offence and make slander actionable per se.
Defamation — Slander — general rule
— exceptions where imputation of a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment is actionable per se
— imputations of witchcraft
24 August 1998
Taxing officer reduced the applicant's claimed appellate counsel fee and taxed costs at shs. 272,450.
Civil procedure — Appeals — Weight of counsel's submission and research in assessing taxable fees
Civil procedure — Costs — Taxation of costs
— reduction where work largely consisted of a short submission despite useful research
— Whether claimed counsel fee reasonable
Civil procedure — Costs — Unopposed items — Items not opposed are taxed as presented
21 August 1998
Appeal dismissed: prosecution proved robbery with violence beyond reasonable doubt; defective alibis properly discounted.
Criminal law
— Criminal procedure act — alibi requirements
— Robbery with violence — elements and proof beyond reasonable doubt
Evidence — credibility assessments of prosecution and defence witnesses
19 August 1998
Acquittal of a security guard for theft and failure to prevent it upheld; negligence alone does not establish the offence.
Criminal law — alternative charge of failing to prevent felony
— negligence not sufficient for mens rea
— requirement of knowledge or reason to know
Criminal law — store-breaking and stealing
18 August 1998
Custodial sentence for reckless driving quashed; fine substituted and driving licence cancelled with two-year disqualification.
Criminal law — mandatory cancellation and disqualification of driving licence under s.27(1)(a) of the Road Traffic Act — duty of court to address licence disqualification even if not argued by counsel
Criminal law — reckless driving causing collision — sentence
— custodial term quashed for first offender
— substitution with fine or imprisonment in default
18 August 1998
Appellate court quashed weak neglect convictions, upheld the robber’s conviction, and substituted a 30-year minimum sentence.
Criminal law
— Minimum Sentences Act — application of statutory minimum where a lethal weapon used in robbery
— neglect to prevent a felony (s.383 Penal Code) — sufficiency of evidence
— Robbery with violence — identification evidence and alibi
— sentencing irregularities — correction on appeal
11 August 1998
July 1998
On a second appeal the court is confined to points of law absent misdirection; no misdirection found, appeal dismissed.
Civil procedure
— Appeals — Second appeal limited to points of law unless there are misdirections or non-directions on evidence by the first appellate court
— Res judicata — Prior independent appellate judgment does not operate as res judicata where issues and determinations are unrelated
Evidence — Findings of fact on appeal — High Court will not disturb first appellate court’s factual findings absent misdirection or non-direction
30 July 1998
High Court refused to revise a magistrate's sentence absent miscarriage of justice or demonstrable error in sentencing.
Criminal law
— Revision — Exercise of revisional jurisdiction — Whether High Court should interfere with magistrate's sentence absent miscarriage of justice
— Assault occasioning actual bodily harm — First offender — Judicial discretion and limits to interference
29 July 1998
June 1998
Labour law — Order to reinstate an employee given by a competent authority — Whether the employer has option not to reinstate — Options available to the employee
19 June 1998
Civil practice and procedure
— Declaratory judgment — When a declaratory judgment may be given
— Pleadings — Whether proper
Damages — General damages — Whether proper
Defamation — Tort- defamation — Newspaper article originating from the defendant mentioning the plaintiff by name as a director who lost his job, and stating that he was negligent and a party to a financial loss suffered by the defendant — Whether defamatory
Labour law — Abolition of post by employer
— Legal basis thereof
— Whether such abolition terminates contract of service with the incumbent ofthe post abolished
Natural justice — Principles of natural justice — The right to be heard
17 June 1998
Attachment of a residential house belonging to non-parties was improper and the attachment was ordered lifted.
Civil procedure
— Affidavits — verification sufficient to admit evidence despite omission of drafter’s name
— Attachment/Execution — Attachment of residential property — Third-party ownership — Remedy to set aside attachment
— Order VIII r.13 CPC — Reply to defence may be filed without leave
5 June 1998
Re-allocation of a village plot without notice breached the occupant's right to be heard; primary court decision restored.
Land law — Village land allocation — Validity of allocation where land is in prior possession of another — Right to be heard and procedural fairness
3 June 1998
Conviction quashed where night-time identification and failure to call investigating officer rendered evidence inadequate.
Criminal law
— identification evidence — insufficiency and unreliability
— proof of breaking and stealing — conviction quashed for inadequate evidence
1 June 1998
1 June 1998
May 1998
The appellant failed to prove ownership of the disputed goat due to unreliable, inconsistent identification evidence.
Land law — identification evidence
— appellate interference with trial court findings
— inconsistencies in descriptions and absence of animal in court
Land law — Property/disputed chattel — proof of ownership of animal
20 May 1998
Recent possession and identifying marks on recovered items can sustain a theft conviction absent convincing contrary evidence.
Criminal law — Theft — Identification of stolen goods — Marks and witness identification as evidence of provenance — Recent possession doctrine as basis for conviction
18 May 1998
Arbitration — Arbitrator's Award — Amount awarded by arbitrator negotiated downwards by decree holders' advocates — Whether proper
Legal profession — Holding Out
— Advocate holding out before judgment debtor as still representing decree holder and negotiates downwards the decretal amount in full settlement of the award and receives payment from judgment debtor on behalf of decree holder — Whether judgment debtor entitled to rely on such holding out by the advocate
— Advocate holding out before judgment debtor p as still representing decree holder — Whether judgment debtor entitled to rely on such holding out by the advocate
12 May 1998
April 1998
16 April 1998
Long possession presumes ownership; respondent failed to rebut, so trial court’s ownership finding restored.
Land law
— appellate interference unwarranted where presumption unrebutted
— long occupation raises presumption in favour of occupier
— mere assertion of invitee/licensee status insufficient to displace presumption
— onus on challenger to rebut
— possession and presumption of ownership
6 April 1998
6 April 1998
Appellant’s absence for mourning was not an excusable delay; restoration refused and appeal dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure — Restoration of proceedings — good cause for non-appearance — Court’s discretion to refuse restoration where delay is unjustified and prejudicial to administration of justice
3 April 1998
March 1998
The applicant’s appeal is allowed; the Primary Court lacked jurisdiction over statutory water-rights dispute, making its proceedings a nullity.
Appellate practice — Appellate review
— dispositive jurisdictional defect renders trial a nullity
— other appellate errors need not be determined
Civil procedure — jurisdiction — Primary Court lacked jurisdiction to determine dispute over use/ownership of water well where rights are statutory rather than purely customary
Limitation law — Limitation — clerical error in plaint date — witness evidence showed cause of action within the limitation period
27 March 1998
Court upheld robbery conviction based on reliable eyewitness identification despite prosecution's reluctance to support appeal.
Criminal law — Robbery — Identification evidence — Conviction based on visual identification
Appellate practice — Appeal procedure — Prosecution refusal to support conviction — Court may affirm conviction if evidence proves guilt beyond reasonable doubt
23 March 1998
Appellants' robbery convictions affirmed based on reliable eyewitness identification and corroborating evidence.
Criminal law — Robbery — Identification evidence — Prior acquaintance, torchlight, proximity and immediate naming/arrest support reliable identification
Criminal procedure — Appeal — Appellate court’s deference to lower court credibility findings — When credibility and identification should not be disturbed on appeal
23 March 1998
Reported
Natural justice — The right to be heard-Initiating procedure and the right to be heard — Advocate suspended from practice pending reference to the High Court- Whether the advocate was entitledto a hearing before beings uspended
17 March 1998
February 1998
Action dismissed with costs after applicants failed to prove a co‑plaintiff’s death or nominate a legal representative for continuation.
Civil procedure
— Death
— Procedural compliance — consequences include dismissal for want of prosecution/clarity. Right to sue — whether survives to surviving co‑plaintiff depends on compliance with Order XXII provisions
17 February 1998
A final High Court judgment on land ownership prevents reopening the same ownership dispute; appeal dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure — res judicata/issue estoppel — finality of litigation — prior High Court judgment on land ownership bars relitigation of same subject matter
10 February 1998
January 1998
Failure to record a conviction before sentencing is an incurable procedural defect nullifying proceedings and requiring retrial.
Criminal procedure
— Guilty plea — admission following detailed recitation of facts — qualification immaterial where facts disclose offence
— Mandatory requirement — omission an incurable irregularity invalidating proceedings
— Reassignment of magistrate — no prejudice where accused aware of circumstances
— Territorial jurisdiction — limits of district and resident magistrates
26 January 1998
Transfer of criminal trial denied where court failed to weigh prosecution’s inconvenience and witness costs against accused’s convenience.
Criminal procedure — Transfer of trial — Counsel’s residence not decisive
26 January 1998
Delay in medical report and date discrepancy do not defeat conviction where witnesses corroborate; compensation order set aside.
Criminal law — assault causing actual bodily harm — proof by eyewitness and medical evidence
Criminal procedure — Credibility — delay and minor contradictions not necessarily fatal where corroboration exists — Trial court’s preference for corroborated witnesses and unchallenged incriminating statements
Damages — Sentence and compensation
— Appellate variation of compensation order
— speculative awards may be set aside
16 January 1998
An appeal based on a notice filed by a Regional Crime Officer is invalid and the appeal is struck out.
Criminal procedure — Notice of Intention to Appeal — Validity of notice filed by Regional Crime Officer — Delegation of DPP’s powers under s.92 Criminal Procedure Act — Investigating officers not empowered to file appeal notices
13 January 1998
1 January 1998
Speculative allegations of judicial bias without particulars do not justify disqualification or change of venue; appeal, not revision, is the proper remedy.
Civil procedure — Revision vs appeal
— interlocutory rulings challengeable on appeal
— revision not to be used to circumvent appellate remedies or delay trial. Credibility and conduct of applicants relevant when assessing bias allegations
Criminal procedure — change of venue — allegations of judicial bias
1 January 1998