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
238 judgments

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238 judgments
Citation
Judgment date
December 2018
Suit struck out as time-barred, lacking mandatory 30-day notice and for suing the wrong party (District Executive Director).
* Limitation law – tort – cause of action in 2009 – item 6, Part I, Law of Limitation Act (three-year limitation) – claim time-barred. * Local Government (District Authority) Act s.190(1) – requirement of 30-day statutory notice of intention to sue a local authority – non-compliance is a fatal procedural defect. * Civil procedure – proper party to sue – District Council (legal person) v. District Executive Director (official) – wrong party sued leads to dismissal/striking out.
21 December 2018
A refund claim for land purchase money due to non-delivery of possession is contractual and within the trial court's jurisdiction.
Jurisdiction — land disputes v contractual claims; sale of land — refund of purchase price; definition of land dispute as ownership or occupation; ordinary civil court competent to hear contractual claims relating to land sale.
21 December 2018
19 December 2018
19 December 2018
19 December 2018
18 December 2018
Court held it had jurisdiction under Order XXI r.62 to hear a suit challenging execution despite prior appellate declaration.
* Civil procedure — Execution proceedings — Order XXI r.62 CPC — Party against whom an execution order is made may institute suit to establish rights to disputed property. * Res judicata and precedent — Prior appellate declaration of ownership does not automatically bar a fresh suit under Order XXI r.62 where the objector was not party to earlier proceedings. * Jurisdiction — High Court entitled to hear substantive suit arising from execution objections; preliminary objection overruled.
18 December 2018
14 December 2018
13 December 2018
12 December 2018
A bank supplying incorrect credit-bureau data must rectify it and may be liable for losses caused by its failure.
* Credit reporting – duty to ensure correctness and to rectify inaccurate entries – bank’s responsibility when it supplies data to credit bureau. * Negligence – failure to correct credit information amounts to negligent handling of customer’s credit status. * Evidence – use of section 122 Evidence Act to infer facts from parties’ conduct and correspondence. * Damages – recoverability where adverse credit reports cause inability to obtain finance. * Liability allocation – inability to shift responsibility to Bank of Tanzania/CRB where bank supplied data and admitted error.
6 December 2018
5 December 2018
4 December 2018
November 2018
Court quashed federation disciplinary decisions for breach of natural justice and failure to comply with Ethics Code formalities.
Judicial review – certiorari – procedural fairness and natural justice in disciplinary proceedings; compliance with TFF Ethics Code (rules 56, 57, 58, 69) – validity of decision (signatures, composition, date, grounds); affidavit verification and jurat formalities.
30 November 2018
An appeal missing the decree required by Order XXXIX r.1(1) CPC is incompetent and is struck out with costs.
Civil procedure — Appeal — Memorandum of appeal must be accompanied by a copy of the decree — Order XXXIX r.1(1), Civil Procedure Code (Cap 33 R.E.2002) — Noncompliance renders appeal incompetent — Appeal struck out with costs.
27 November 2018
The applicant's application to register arbitral awards under section 17 was granted; awards ordered registered as court decree.
Arbitration – Registration of arbitral awards under section 17 of the Arbitration Act; proof of payment of court fees; registration by Deputy Registrar to form part of court decree.
27 November 2018
27 November 2018
Advocate's negligent advice does not justify extension of time; alleged illegality must appear on the face of the record.
Matrimonial property — application for extension of time to appeal — discretion to extend time — negligence of counsel not sufficient excuse — illegality as ground for extension only if on the face of the record — duty to account for all periods of delay (Lyamuya).
26 November 2018
26 November 2018
Appellant failed to prove breach of a film-production contract; the appeal is dismissed and no costs awarded.
Contract law – breach of contract – proof on balance of probabilities – credibility of witnesses – ambiguity in contract terms – failure to complete performance due to lack of funds – remedy: appeal dismissed, no costs.
26 November 2018
Closure notice stopped new orders but did not cancel prior orders; appellant failed to prove post-closure deliveries or unpaid pre-closure invoices.
Contract — effect of notice of closure on pre-existing purchase orders; burden of proving delivery — requirement for delivery notes or receiving officers; evidential value of adverse party's documents; pleadings binding parties; assessment of oral testimony where original documents lost.
26 November 2018
26 November 2018
23 November 2018
21 November 2018
20 November 2018
19 November 2018
15 November 2018
Taxing officer reduced instruction fee, allowed statutory attendance and proven disbursements, taxing total to TShs.4,438,000.
* Advocates Remuneration Order 2015 – taxation of advocates’ costs; reasonableness of instruction (brief) fees; * Allowable attendance fees – schedule/rule 3(o) (TShs.50,000 per attendance); * Proof of disbursements – receipts and nexus; * Taxing officer’s discretion – Orders 10(1) and 12(1)–(2); * Authorities on brief fees: consideration of work, difficulty and importance of the case.
13 November 2018
13 November 2018
October 2018
31 October 2018
31 October 2018
31 October 2018
31 October 2018
31 October 2018
A monetary claim may survive death, but failure to substitute the deceased’s legal representative within 90 days causes abatement.
Civil procedure – substitution of deceased party – Order XXII r.4(1),(3) Cap 33 R.E.2002; Limitation Act Item 16 Part III – 90‑day period to apply for legal representative; Survival of monetary claims – s.9(1) Law Reform (Cap 310); Abatement where no timely application; Court raising abatement suo motu.
30 October 2018
30 October 2018
30 October 2018
Failure to join the Treasury Registrar after statutory vesting rendered the suit incompetent and required striking out.
* Public law – Vesting order (GN. 203 of 2014) – Transfer and vesting of residual functions, assets and liabilities in Treasury Registrar – Effect on capacity to be sued. * Civil procedure – Non-joinder of necessary party – Requirement to join Treasury Registrar where entity ceased to exist. * Government Proceedings Act – Section 6(2) – Statutory 90-day notice to Attorney General before suing the State – Compliance precondition to joinder. * Remedy – Striking out suit for failure to comply with statutory notice and for non-joinder of necessary party.
29 October 2018
26 October 2018
25 October 2018
25 October 2018
Applicant’s unexplained delay and unsupported reliance on counsel’s negligence do not justify extension of time to set aside the judgment.
* Limitation of actions – extension of time under s.14(1) Law of Limitation Act – requirement to show sufficient or reasonable cause. * Civil procedure – applicant must account for each day of delay when seeking enlargement of time. * Negligence of counsel and asserted denial of hearing (audi alteram partem) are not automatically sufficient grounds for extension without adequate explanation.
25 October 2018
Failure to apply for leave to depart an expired speed track results in striking out of the suit.
Civil Procedure — Order VIII A Rule 4 — Scheduling Conference (speed track) — departure or amendment requires prior leave of court — party must apply before expiry — costs normally on party benefiting from amendment — failure to apply leads to striking out.
25 October 2018
Where evidence shows joint contribution, a matrimonial house is divisible equally; lower courts misapprehension warranted correction.
Matrimonial property – Joint efforts – Contribution includes financial and domestic efforts – Second appeal standard for interference with concurrent findings – Equal division of jointly acquired matrimonial house.
25 October 2018
25 October 2018
24 October 2018
A joint affidavit sworn without co-deponents' consent and across differing religions is incurably defective, warranting striking out the application.
Affidavit — joint affidavit — competence — requirement of consent/endorsement by co-deponents — religious conformity of joint deponents — preliminary objection on point of law — striking out for incurably defective affidavit.
22 October 2018
Plaintiff entitled to withheld contractual sums and Tsh 10,000,000 damages; no order as to costs.
* Contracts — payment for completed public works — entitlement to withheld sums upon certificate of handing over; * Retention — legitimacy and sufficiency of retention to secure remedy for alleged defect; * Evidence — weight of Regional Engineer's recommendation; * Remedies — damages awarded in lieu of claimed market-value uplift and interest; * Procedure — ex parte judgment where defendants abscond and fail to prosecute their defence.
19 October 2018
A suit re-litigating issues already disposed by a prior order is barred by res judicata and is an abuse of process.
* Civil procedure – res judicata – prior court order disposing the same controversy bars relitigation. * Civil procedure – functus officio – court cannot rehear matters already finally disposed. * Civil procedure – abuse of process – litigant’s conduct and admissions may justify dismissal. * Remedies – execution/enforcement or appeal are proper routes after a final order, not fresh adjudication.
19 October 2018
The plaintiff's claim that the bank unlawfully sold mortgaged property failed; sale was lawful and suit dismissed with costs.
* Mortgage enforcement – power of sale and auction sale of mortgaged property * Notice under contract – validity of notices to alternative addresses * Default – effect of non-payment and review clause not excusing repayment * Special damages – requirement of strict proof for claimed business losses * Lawfulness of sale – compliance with advertisement and recovery procedures
19 October 2018