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127 judgments found.
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October 2024
Application to set aside summary judgment dismissed; court found applicant aware of suit and had authorised employee's appearance.
Civil procedure
— Limitation period — Item 21 Part III Law of Limitation Act (60 days)
— Summary judgment — application to set aside
31 October 2024
Court granted extension where initial timely appeal was struck out, treating ensuing delay as technical.
Civil procedure — extension of time — application of Lyamuya criteria
Civil procedure — technical delay where a timely but incompetent appeal was struck out
— diligence versus negligence
— Fortunatus Masha principle
31 October 2024
Applicant established a prima facie ownership claim but not irreparable harm; court ordered maintenance of status quo pending trial.
Civil procedure — balance of convenience — Maintenance of status quo pending trial
Civil procedure — interim relief — Monetary compensation adequate may defeat claim of irreparable harm
Civil procedure — interlocutory injunction
— irreparable injury
— requirements: prima facie case
31 October 2024
Applicant’s 28-day unexplained delay and non-apparent illegality failed to justify extension of time; application dismissed.
Appellate practice — Appellate procedure — Extension of time
Appellate practice — Lyamuya factors
— account for each day, inordinate delay, diligence
— Counsel’s negligence generally not sufficient
— Prior uncontested extension in different proceedings not binding
31 October 2024
Application for extension of time dismissed: illegality not apparent on record and delay unaccounted for; costs to respondent.
Civil procedure — extension of time — requirements: account for each day of delay
31 October 2024
Appellate court upheld defamation finding, reduced general damages to TZS 4,000,000 and made no costs order.
Defamation — Appeal — liability
Defamation — assessment of damages — narrow publication reduces general damages
Defamation — elements: defamatory words, reference, publication and damage
— evidence of publication by witnesses
— Malice inferred from defendant’s conduct (abandoning DNA test)
31 October 2024
Appellate court upheld sexual‑offence convictions, finding age discrepancies and procedural issues non‑fatal to prosecution evidence.
Criminal law — statutory rape and unnatural offence — proof of age and penetration
Evidence
— Caution statement — admissibility and procedure
— victim’s testimony — credibility, unexplained delay in reporting, consistency with medical evidence
31 October 2024
Time spent pursuing a struck-out appeal is technical delay and may be excluded when granting extension to appeal.
Civil procedure
— advocate’s negligence — effect on extension applications — Minor/inadvertent omissions may be condoned in exceptional circumstances
— Extension of time to appeal — Technical delay (lost documents, bereavement, prior struck-out filing) can justify enlargement of time — Exclusion from delay computation
— Principles on extension of time — Lyamuya/Valambhia guidance — Accounting for each day of delay
31 October 2024
Appellant’s withholding of payment for an accepted consignment constituted breach; trial findings and burden of proof upheld.
Contract law — breach for non-payment — evidentiary evaluation of quality of goods
31 October 2024
Summary judgment granted for unpaid social security contributions and penalties after defendant failed to show triable issues.
Civil procedure — Summary judgment — Allegations in plaint deemed admitted — Order XXXV Rule 2(2) CPC
Employment law — Employer’s duty to remit statutory social security contributions — Liability for unremitted members' contributions and accumulated penalties — National Social Security Fund Act (Cap 50 R.E. 2018)
31 October 2024
A summary-procedure claim for unpaid social-security contributions was settled by consent judgment with instalment payments and enforcement on default.
Civil procedure — Consent judgment — court duty to record lawful settlement and incorporate terms
Civil procedure — Costs
— no order as to costs
— suit marked settled
Civil procedure — Enforcement — consent judgment forms basis for execution on default
Contract law — Social security — summary procedure
31 October 2024
Court granted leave for judicial review finding arguable case, timeliness, and sufficient interest to challenge Board's decision.
Administrative law
— Administrative action — Decision of Gaming Board of Tanzania — challenge to refusal to order payment by sports‑bet operator
— Natural justice — Alleged bias where same officers mediated and reconsidered a complaint
Civil procedure — Remedies — Leave to apply for prerogative orders (certiorari and mandamus)
Judicial review — leave to apply — Conditions for leave (arguable case, six‑month limitation, sufficient interest) — Emma Bayo test applied
31 October 2024
Court held that a claim in foreign currency does not oust jurisdiction and the plaint sufficiently stated the suit's value.
Civil procedure
— jurisdiction — claims in foreign currency — whether failure to convert USD to Tanzania Shillings ousts court's jurisdiction
— Pleading requirements — Order VII — adequacy of statement of value of subject matter
— Preliminary objections — competence and merit of objections
31 October 2024
Court recorded a lawful settlement as a consent judgment requiring defendant to repay water-bill debt by agreed instalments.
Civil procedure — Consent judgment
— Lawful Deed of Settlement reduced into court judgment and decree
— parties’ repayment schedule and costs agreement incorporated and enforced
Contract law — Contract/recovery — Water-bill debt recomputation and instalment repayment plan made executable by court order
31 October 2024
After veil-lifting, directors may be committed as civil prisoners if the decretal sum is unpaid and show-cause is impractical.
Civil procedure — Execution — Civil imprisonment
Civil procedure — Lifting corporate veil
— directors’ personal liability for company debts
— Subsistence allowance obligation
— Waiver of show-cause hearing where summoned persons cannot be traced and matter heard ex parte
30 October 2024
Court granted extension to file bill of costs due to rectification delays and e‑filing difficulties, finding good cause.
Civil procedure — • Electronic filing (e‑CMS) difficulties
— Costs to follow the event
— Delay accounted for and not inordinate
— preparation time and accounting for delay
Civil procedure — extension of time — Bill of costs
Civil procedure — Technical delay — errors in judgment copy and rectification requests
30 October 2024
Adoption granted where applicant met statutory requirements and the adoption was held to be in the child’s best interests.
Family law
— Child adoption — Registration and name change following adoption — Sections 69 and 70 of the Law of the Child Act
— Law of the child act — Best interests of the child paramount — Sections 56, 59 and 75
30 October 2024
Employment consent and club sponsorship agreement authorized sponsor group's commercial use of the player's image; claim dismissed.
Intellectual property law — Image rights — employment contract consenting to employer's use of player's image for publicity and commercial activities
Intellectual property law — Sponsorship and marketing agreements
— Consent as a defense to privacy/image-rights claims
— contractual grant of promotional rights to sponsor and its group (subsidiaries/sister companies)
30 October 2024
Court granted extension to file appeal after finding "good cause" and reasonable accounting for delay.
Criminal procedure — obligation to account for each day of delay — technical delay and failure to file notice of intention to appeal — discretion to grant extension where delay is reasonably explained
30 October 2024
Petition struck out for suing individual office‑holders instead of the incorporated Board of Trustees, a necessary party.
Civil procedure — Political parties — Proper party to be sued
29 October 2024
Applicant failed to show a triable issue or reasonable defence to non-remittance claims; application for leave to defend dismissed.
Civil procedure — Summary suit
Contract law — Labour/social security — Non-remittance of statutory employee contributions — deductions from wages but failure to remit
29 October 2024
Amendment substituting a different government-owned property without fresh 90-day notice renders the suit premature and struck out.
Administrative law — Government proceedings act s.6(2) — statutory 90-days notice of intention to sue the Government Civil Procedure Code Order VI r.17 — scope of amendments to pleadings
28 October 2024
28 October 2024
Whether the minister lawfully made and supervised election regulations despite applicants' claims of bias and implied repeal.
Administrative law
— Judicial review — ultra vires subordinate legislation — Local Government
— Natural justice — appearance of bias and duty to recuse — Whether ministerial political affiliation disqualifies exercise of statutory electoral functions
Election law — Electoral commission — Transfer of supervisory powers to INEC — Whether s 10
28 October 2024
Court quashed proceedings where magistrate suo motu ordered multiple unexplained amendments to the plaint, ordering rehearing without costs.
Civil procedure — amendment of pleadings
Civil procedure — Order VI r.17 CPC
— Court may allow amendments but ordinarily on party's application
— no costs where court-initiated irregularity
— revisional jurisdiction
— suo motu amendment by presiding officer improper
28 October 2024
Conviction quashed where trial court failed to evaluate defence evidence despite sufficient particulars in the charge.
Criminal law — Charge particulars — omission of date/time not fatal where time not essential
Criminal procedure — evaluation of evidence — duty to assess defence evidence and analyse credibility
Evidence — Child witness — compliance with section 127 Evidence Act and case law
25 October 2024
Ex‑parte judgment enforcing a breached refund contract: principal, commercial and post‑judgment interest, damages and costs.
Civil procedure — ex parte/default judgment — Right to be heard, defective service vitiates judgment and requires rehearing — Entry of judgment in defendants' absence
Contract law — breach of contract — Acknowledgment of Debt — Proof on balance of probabilities and remedies (commercial interest, post‑judgment interest and damages)
25 October 2024
25 October 2024
25 October 2024
Court apportioned the matrimonial house 70/30 after finding pre‑marital acquisition and respondent's contributory improvements.
Civil procedure — tantamount to failure to prosecute — reliance on authorities on consequences of non-compliance with court-ordered submissions
Evidence — Civil standard (balance of probabilities) — Balance of probabilities in assessing monetary and non-monetary contributions
Family law — Division of matrimonial property — Assets acquired before marriage substantially improved during marriage — Law of Marriage Act s.114
25 October 2024
25 October 2024
Applicant failed to show sufficient cause to set aside dismissal for want of prosecution; application dismissed.
Civil procedure
— Application to restore dismissed application — Application must be brought under correct provision (Order IX r 6(1))
— Dismissal for want of prosecution — requirement of sufficient cause and due diligence — Court will not assist a sloppy litigant
— Restoration of dismissed suit — sufficient cause for non-appearance — Order IX r 6(1) of the Civil Procedure Code
25 October 2024
Constitutional petition challenging sugar import permits struck out for failure to exhaust alternative remedies under BRADEA s8(2).
Administrative law
— Public interest litigation — costs discretionary
— ultra vires/abuse of power — appropriate remedy is judicial review
Civil procedure — Constitutional jurisdiction — BRADEA s8(2)
25 October 2024
25 October 2024
25 October 2024
25 October 2024
25 October 2024
High Court holds contractual USD claim within jurisdiction; BOT Act s26(2) issue unsuitable for determination on preliminary objection.
Banking law — Banking/foreign exchange — Transactions in foreign currency — Section 26(2) Bank of Tanzania Act (Finance Act No. 6 of 2024) — Offence and need for factual inquiry
Civil procedure — Preliminary objections — pecuniary jurisdiction determined by substantive pecuniary claim
24 October 2024
24 October 2024
The High Court struck out a challenge to an MP’s suspension for lack of jurisdiction due to parliamentary privilege under Article 100.
Civil procedure
— alternative remedies — Whether internal Parliamentary remedies or judicial review must be exhausted before a constitutional petition
— Joinder of parties — striking out improperly joined party
Constitutional law — Parliamentary privilege and immunity — Distinction between article 100(1) (absolute freedom of speech and debate in Parliament) and article 100(2) (immunity from proceedings)
24 October 2024
Plaintiff had locus; borrower and guarantor liable for unpaid loans; seller not liable and title cannot be sold.
Banking law — locus standi — interpretation of clause requiring lenders' consent
Civil procedure — Remedies
— costs awarded against borrower and guarantor
— decree for recovery of charged-off loans and interest
Contract law — fraud and collusion
— amendment of asset sale after loan disbursement
— standard of proof in civil fraud allegations
Contract law — Property/security — withholding or sale of title where no registered charge exists
24 October 2024
24 October 2024
A temporary injunction ordering release of disputed property cannot decide merits and was quashed on revision.
Civil procedure — Revision — Power to quash interlocutory orders that decide merits
24 October 2024
Court dismissed applicant's challenge to mosque trustee election, stressing internal remedies and expiry of trustees' five‑year tenure.
Civil procedure — jurisdiction — Internal association dispute resolution clauses — Exhaustion of internal constitutional remedies
Trust law — Registration and validity of trustees — parties’ agreement recognizing prior appointment and reconstitution of trustee board — Trustees Incorporation Act s 17
23 October 2024
Court extended time to appeal where applicant promptly applied and alleged the District Court’s revision was time-barred.
Civil procedure
— Enlargement of time to appeal
— Jurisdiction/time bar — revision to District Court after 12 months void/liable to be characterized as illegal
— Procedural law — struck out proceedings for incompetence and prompt institution of fresh remedy as factor in granting extension
23 October 2024
Whether a suit lies where the defendant carries on business or where the wrong occurred under Sections 17–18 CPC, and whether dismissal for want of jurisdiction was proper.
Civil procedure
— Jurisdiction/remedy — Return of plaint, not dismissal — Remedy for lack of territorial jurisdiction
— preliminary objection — pure point of law (Mukisa test) — Objection not to be decided on unpleaded facts or evidence adduced at trial
— territorial jurisdiction — cause of action — Sections 17 & 18 CPC
23 October 2024
Engaging third‑party debt collectors does not automatically breach a loan contract; general damages require pleaded and proven loss.
Civil procedure — Appellate review — Power to re‑evaluate ex parte findings and correct misdirections of law
Contract law
— Contract interpretation — Whether the trial court may treat a subsequent letter as amending the original agreement
— loan agreements — Whether engaging third‑party debt collectors amounts to breach of contract
Damages — General damages
22 October 2024
A bank’s loan recovery claim fails where it does not produce the customer’s bank/loan statement to prove default.
Banking law — Banking disputes — customer bank/loan statements are vital proof of disbursement and repayment in loan recovery claims
Contract law — loan facility/top‑up agreement — interpretation of loan amount and top‑up mechanism
Evidence
— Civil evidence — burden of proof in civil claims
— Evidence law — documents attached to pleadings or statements but not formally admitted are not evidence
22 October 2024
Whether insurer validly cancelled cover after insured's death and whether specific damages were strictly proved.
Damages — special (particularised) and general damages — pleading, strict proof and quantification
— General damages discretionary
— strict proof required for special damages
Evidence — Burden of proof — Burden of proof on claimant — Proof of accident: weight of witness testimony versus documentary police exhibits
Insurance law — Motor‑vehicle insurance — Insurer liability — Cancellation upon insured's death and effect on claim
22 October 2024
Court convicted accused of murder on corroborated cautions and circumstantial recognition evidence, sentencing both to death.
Criminal law — cautions/confessions
— allegations of torture examined but not sustained
— discovery of exhibit corroborating confession
— proof of malice aforethought
— retracted confessions admissible if corroborated
Criminal law — Murder — circumstantial evidence and recognition evidence
22 October 2024