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
17 judgments

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17 judgments
Citation
Judgment date
November 2013
Appeal allowed: ex parte judgment set aside due to procedural inconsistency and failure to consider relevant circumstances.
Civil procedure – ex parte judgment – application to set aside – inconsistency in trial court orders (ex parte hearing vs. issuing summons) – failure to consider advocate’s inability to attend due to traffic – remittal for inter partes hearing.
26 November 2013
Court reduced arbitrator's 18‑month compensation to the 12‑month statutory minimum and ordered nine years' severance pay.
Labour law – unfair termination – procedural fairness – compensation under section 40(1)(c) – minimum 12 months' remuneration; Labour law – severance pay under section 42 – entitlement after continuous service – court's power under Rule 55(2) to grant statutory relief not claimed at CMA; appellate revision – correction of excessive arbitral awards.
21 November 2013
Reliability of identification parades and voluntariness of a retracted confession supported convictions; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – Armed robbery – Identification parades – Reliability of in‑court / parade identifications where witnesses saw accused in daylight prior to parade. Criminal procedure – Confessional/caution statements – Retraction and voluntariness – Trial court’s duty to assess voluntariness and effect of excluding confession. Evidence – Sufficiency of prosecution evidence and effect of non‑call of certain witnesses on safety of conviction.
20 November 2013
A review cannot substitute for an appeal; court functus officio and the review application was rejected as incompetent.
Civil procedure – Review – scope limited to discovery of new and important evidence or error apparent on face of record – Review cannot be used as substitute for appeal – Court functus officio regarding its own decision – application held incompetent.
20 November 2013
Review application failed where grounds were appealable, not new evidence or error apparent; Court held review incompetent.
Civil Procedure – Review under Order XLII Rule 1 – Review limited to new evidence or error apparent on face of record – Not a substitute for appeal – Court functus officio regarding its earlier ruling.
20 November 2013
Review application dismissed as incompetent because issues raised were appellate, not review grounds, and court was functus officio.
Civil procedure – Review under Order XLII – Review limited to discovery of new evidence or error apparent on face of record – Court functus officio – Competency of review where grounds are appellate (nullity, lack of jurisdiction, misdirection).
20 November 2013
Lack of evidence of a weapon warranted substituting armed robbery convictions to burglary and reducing sentences.
Criminal law – Armed robbery vs burglary – requirement of proof of weapon or threat for armed robbery – where no evidence of arms, conviction may be substituted to burglary – appellate substitution of conviction and reduction of sentence.
18 November 2013
18 November 2013
Armed robbery conviction substituted to burglary where no evidence of a weapon; sentence reduced to 15 years.
Criminal law – Burglary v. Armed robbery; requirement of proof of weapon for armed robbery; substitution of conviction where evidence fits lesser offence; identification and arrest shortly after offence.
18 November 2013
Application struck out: incompetent for improper citation and barred by res judicata.
Labour procedure – applicability of Civil Procedure Code (Order XLI) to execution/referential matters in the Labour Court; need for proper citation and amended pleadings. Civil procedure – competence of an application where purported leave to amend is not reflected by a filed amended application. Res judicata – finality of judgments in lower courts and on appeal prevents relitigation in another forum. Procedural compliance – requirement for notice of representation under Labour Court Rules (Rule 44).
15 November 2013
Application struck out for being filed late and for failure to file a notice of representation.
Labour procedure — preliminary objection — extension of time and compliance with Court order — notice of representation required under Rule 44(2) — representation at CMA does not automatically extend to High Court.
15 November 2013
Sleeping on duty amounted to misconduct but dismissal was procedurally unfair; limited monetary reliefs awarded, no statutory compensation.
Labour law – Misconduct – Sleeping on duty by security guard; Procedural fairness – Termination – Employer’s duty to follow disciplinary procedure and consider lesser sanctions (Rule 12(4)(a),(b) GN No.42/2007); Remedies – payment of terminal benefits, unpaid leave, repatriation and limited overtime; Compensation under s.40(1)(c) excluded where misconduct established.
15 November 2013
Application dismissed as premature—disciplinary process not completed and CMA had not determined the dispute, so court lacked jurisdiction.
Labour law – jurisdiction – premature filing – requirement to exhaust workplace disciplinary process before CMA determination – revision to High Court only after CMA decision (s.86 ELRA).
15 November 2013
Conviction quashed where it relied on hearsay and involved a land-ownership dispute pending in civil proceedings.
Criminal law – Malicious damage to property – conviction cannot rest on hearsay where the declarant did not testify; Criminal procedure – improper forum – criminal court should not determine disputed land ownership pending in civil proceedings; Evidence – hearsay inadmissibility undermines conviction.
11 November 2013
The applicant's summary dismissal was unlawful due to procedural breaches and insufficient proof of misconduct; awarded 12 months' pay.
Labour law – unfair termination – procedural and substantive fairness under Employment and Labour Relations Act 2004 and GN 42/2007 (Code) Jurisdiction – cause of action deemed to arise on date of dismissal letter Evidence – burden to prove misconduct; senior management responsibility can negate employee culpability Remedy – reinstatement may be refused where delay and partial fault exist; compensation as alternative remedy
8 November 2013
Bank and central bank held jointly responsible for delayed remittance; plaintiff awarded half of the penalty interest.
Banking law – duty to externalize foreign payments – duty to remit customer deposits abroad without undue delay Administrative/monetary policy – foreign-exchange shortage and approval committee affecting externalization Liability apportionment – bank and central bank held jointly responsible for delayed externalization Contractual finance – levy and payment of penalty interest by third-party associate (evidence: bank and IFC correspondence) Remedies – partial reimbursement of penalty and costs awarded
4 November 2013
Bank and central bank held jointly responsible for delayed remittance; defendant ordered to reimburse half the IFC penalty.
Banking law – obligation to externalize customer foreign‑currency deposits; Central bank approvals and forex shortages affecting remittance; Liability for delayed externalization and apportionment of responsibility; Proof by bank correspondence and IFC acknowledgement of payment.
4 November 2013