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Citation
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Judgment date
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| November 2025 |
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Child victim's credible testimony, corroborated by medical evidence, sufficed to uphold rape conviction and sentence.
Criminal law – Sexual offences – Rape of a child: elements (age, penetration, identity) – Child’s uncorroborated evidence admissible and may ground conviction where credibility is properly assessed (s.135(6) TEA R:E 2023) – Contradictions must be material to vitiate prosecution case – Court will not entertain new issues on appeal absent pleading or leave.
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14 November 2025 |
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Delay by prison authorities in lodging an appeal notice may justify an extension of time to appeal under section 382(2).
Criminal procedure – Extension of time to appeal – Section 382(2) CPA; Prisoner litigants – inability of prison authorities to lodge notices – sufficient cause for extension; Court discretion – imposition of timetable for filing notice and petition of appeal.
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13 November 2025 |
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Delay from prison transfer and late provision of judgment copies justified extension of time to lodge appeal.
Criminal procedure – extension of time under section 382(2) Criminal Procedure Act – delay due to late supply of judgment and intra-prison transfer – time for obtaining copies excluded from computation – requirement of diligence and sufficient cause.
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12 November 2025 |
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Extension of time to file appeal granted where prisoner prepared notice but prison authorities failed to lodge it; electronic filing rules noted.
Criminal procedure – extension of time to lodge notice and petition of appeal – prisoner prepared notice but prison authorities failed to lodge it – Judicature and Application of Laws (Electronic Filing) Rules, 2018 (Rules 10(2) and 24(5)) – use of service bureaus and ex parte relief for technical filing problems.
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12 November 2025 |
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Extension of time granted to file appeal notice due to prison authorities' failure to lodge applicants' documents.
* Criminal procedure – extension of time to file notice of intention to appeal – prisoners’ inability to lodge documents due to prison authorities’ failure.
* Electronic filing – Judicature and Application of Laws (Electronic Filing) Rules, 2018 – Rules 10(2) and 24(5): filing via electronic transmission or service bureaus and relief for technical problems.
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12 November 2025 |
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Delay caused by transfer and awaiting court records constituted sufficient cause to extend time for criminal appeal.
Criminal procedure – extension of time under section 382(2) – sufficient cause – delay in supply of judgment and proceedings excluded from computation – transfer between prisons – applicant’s diligence and respondent’s non‑opposition.
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12 November 2025 |
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Conviction quashed where identification, exhibit chain of custody, confession, and prolonged detention were defective.
Criminal law – proof beyond reasonable doubt; identification by recognition – need for descriptive particulars; armed robbery – necessity of proving violence and weapon with corroboration (PF3/medical evidence); seizure and exhibits – requirement for unbroken chain of custody and detailed seizure documentation; confessions – strict compliance with statutory procedural safeguards; constitutional rights – right to be brought before court promptly and prejudice from prolonged pre-arraignment detention.
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12 November 2025 |
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Applicant failed to show good cause for extension to file appeal, having not accounted for lengthy delay or proved date of service.
Criminal procedure – Extension of time to file appeal – Requirement to account for delay and prove date of supply of judgment – Notice within 10 days and petition within 45 days (s.380, s.382 CPA) – Lyamuya factors applicable – Oral grounds not pleaded inadmissible; parties bound by pleadings.
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7 November 2025 |
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Ward Tribunal lacked pecuniary jurisdiction absent a valuation report; appeal allowed.
* Land law — Jurisdiction of Ward Tribunal — Pecuniary jurisdiction — Estimated/pleaded value insufficient; valuation by competent valuer required to establish monetary jurisdiction. * Civil procedure — Proper remedy arising from execution — objection proceedings before DLHT, not fresh Ward Tribunal suit. * Res judicata — not determined where a dispositive jurisdictional point succeeds.
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7 November 2025 |
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Where trespass is discovered after a deceased’s death, s.24 LLA can postpone accrual, saving otherwise time-barred land claims.
Land law – Limitation of actions – Where deceased died before cause of action accrued, s.24(1) LLA computes limitation from first anniversary of death or date right accrues to estate – accrual may be when trespass discovered; s.9(1) constructive accrual at death subject to s.24 exception – jurisdictional nature of limitation requires material evidence.
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7 November 2025 |
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Appeal allowed where respondent failed to prove existence of hire contract or payment for alleged excavator loss.
Contract evidence – absence of written or proved oral contract for excavator hire; proof of payment – failure to establish payment of claimed TZS 30,000,000; appellate review – misdirection by first appellate court in re-evaluating evidence; locus standi/wrong party raised but not determined after dispositive findings.
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7 November 2025 |
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Applicant failed to show good cause for unexplained delay; extension to file appeal denied.
* Criminal procedure — extension of time to file notice of intention to appeal and appeal — good cause required.
* Technical delay — period spent prosecuting an initially incompetent appeal in good faith excluded from delay computation.
* Requirement to account for every day of delay and to demonstrate reasonable diligence.
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5 November 2025 |
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Uncorroborated e‑filing failure and unexplained 75‑day delay do not constitute good cause for extension of time.
Criminal procedure – extension of time to appeal – good cause required; Electronic Filing Rules (G.N. No.148/2018) – Rule 20 – duty to seek written exemption when e‑filing fails; Evidence – affidavits – persons materially involved must swear supporting affidavits; delay – requirement to account for each day.
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5 November 2025 |
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Technical delay and prompt action by a prisoner justified extension of time to file an appeal out of time.
* Criminal procedure – extension of time – leave to file notice of intention to appeal and appeal out of time under s.361(1)&(2) (now s.382(1)). * Technical delay – procedural defects and misdirected filings by a prisoner can constitute sufficient cause if acted upon promptly. * Evidence – absence of affidavits from prison officers not necessarily fatal where explanation is plausible and applicant diligently pursued remedies.
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5 November 2025 |
| October 2025 |
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Omission of a party to original proceedings renders a subsequent application incompetent and liable to be struck out.
* Civil procedure – Competency of subsequent proceedings – non-joinder of parties from original proceedings – parties in appeal/revision must be the same to preserve audi alteram partem. * Land disputes – revision/extension of time – administrator’s challenge to DLHT ex parte judgment. * Procedural law – necessity to join persons directly and substantially affected by outcome; omission renders application incompetent.
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27 October 2025 |
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E-filing deemed effective upon timely fee payment; tribunal rightly nullified mortgage over disputed matrimonial property; appeal dismissed.
* Civil procedure – electronic filing – Rule 21(3) (G.N. No. 609 of 2025) – document provisionally filed on e-submission and deemed filed upon payment within seven days.
* Appeals – form of appeal – memorandum acceptable for DLHT original jurisdiction appeals where no prejudice.
* Jurisdiction – territorial jurisdiction determined from pleadings and evidence.
* Matrimonial property – spousal consent requirement; effect of inconsistent descriptions between mortgage documents and disputed premises.
* Lender’s duty – due diligence in verifying ownership and spousal status; invalidity of transactions where verification deficient.
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27 October 2025 |
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Tribunal exceeded jurisdiction by ordering valuation and compensation beyond the Court of Appeal's decree; only damages enforceable.
Execution — decree must be executed strictly as drawn; declaratory conditional statements are not executable orders for payment. Execution proceedings cannot create new rights or reopen substantive factual disputes. Tribunal acted ultra vires by appointing valuer and ordering valuation absent an express directive. Mining Act compensation obligations are for substantive adjudication, not execution stage.
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24 October 2025 |
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Dismissal for off‑duty traffic offence was substantively unfair; procedures were fair and reinstatement was ordered.
* Employment law – substantive and procedural fairness of dismissal – employer's burden under s.38 and s.40 ELRA. * Off‑duty misconduct – when private conduct justifies dismissal; requirement of nexus to employment or demonstrable reputational harm. * Dishonesty – intention to deceive must be proved; absence of policy/timeframe for reporting. * Remedies – reinstatement v. compensation; Rule 32(2) Guidelines and s.41 ELRA; s.38(5) on awaiting criminal proceedings.
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24 October 2025 |
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Unreliable recognition under poor lighting and inconsistent witness conduct produced reasonable doubt, resulting in acquittal for murder.
* Criminal law – murder – requirement to prove death, unlawfulness, causation and malice aforethought beyond reasonable doubt. * Identification – recognition evidence; Waziri Amani factors; lighting conditions, prior acquaintance, opportunity and reliability of recognition. * Alibi – notice requirements under s.200(4)–(6) CPA and discretionary weight of late alibi. * Evidentiary sufficiency – postmortem corroboration of cause of death insufficient to substitute for unsafe identification.
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23 October 2025 |
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Failure to lodge a caveat does not bar revocation of probate based on alleged forgery and lack of testamentary capacity.
Probate law – caveat (s.58 PAEA) versus revocation (s.49 PAEA); supervisory jurisdiction to annul grants obtained by fraud or defective proceedings; testamentary capacity and medical evidence; proof of handwriting and signature comparison; invalidity for forgery, missing pages and unexplained disinheritance.
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17 October 2025 |
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Taxing Master misapplied fee scale; instruction fee reduced to TZS 2,500,000 under correct schedule and principles.
Advocates’ Remuneration Order — Taxation of instruction fees — 9th schedule applies to amount claimed as relief, not pecuniary jurisdiction clause; where relief amount not specified apply 11th schedule item (d) — Taxing Officer’s discretion and minimum fee — Electronic filing date determines filing timeliness — Expunction of inadmissible affidavit paragraphs.
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17 October 2025 |
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Illegality apparent on the record (denial of right to be heard) can alone justify extension of time to challenge ex parte judgment and execution.
Civil procedure — extension of time — illegality as sole ground for extension where apparent on face of record; right to be heard — service of summons — ex parte judgment and execution — nullity of proceedings; appellate review — avoid deciding merits when granting extension.
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17 October 2025 |
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Conviction for rape and impregnating a schoolgirl upheld where victim's age, penetration, and paternity were proven.
Criminal law – sexual offences – rape and impregnating a schoolgirl; proof beyond reasonable doubt – age, penetration, identity. Evidence – victim’s testimony, medical PF3, teacher’s evidence and school register. Procedure – compliance with TEA s.146(2) (cross‑examination) and CPA s.312(2) (judgment contents). Strict liability for sexual intercourse with person under 18.
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15 October 2025 |
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Failure to ensure a social welfare officer during a child's testimony vitiates the evidence and mandates a retrial.
Child witness evidence — mandatory attendance of social welfare officer under Section 115(4) Law of the Child Act; 'shall' denotes mandatory duty; failure to comply vitiates testimony; expunction of unlawfully received child evidence; retrial ordered; best interests of child and fair trial safeguards.
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13 October 2025 |
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13 October 2025 |
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Termination was substantively and procedurally unfair; subsistence accrues until repatriation and 20‑month compensation affirmed.
* Employment law – unfair termination – requirement of valid reasons and fair procedure; substantive and procedural fairness under s.38(2) ELRA.
* Labour jurisdiction – CMA's jurisdiction over employment-related claims versus separate commercial loan agreements; requirement to tender written instruments.
* Evidence – best evidence rule for written contracts; burden on employer to prove payments of terminal dues.
* Remedies – subsistence allowance accrues until repatriation (s.44(1)(c) ELRA); compensation limits for unfair termination (statutory scale up to 20 months).
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10 October 2025 |
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Extension of time granted due to apparent illegality and denial of hearing on an unpleaded issue.
Civil procedure – Extension of time to appeal – Alleged illegality apparent on record as sufficient ground; appellate court framing new issue not pleaded; right to be heard; technical delay from struck-out proceedings.
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9 October 2025 |
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An equivocal guilty plea—due to lack of explanation in understood language and element‑specific admissions—invalidated the rape conviction.
* Criminal procedure – Plea of guilty – Unequivocal plea – Courts must explain charges in a language understood (s.228(1) CPA) and ensure admission of each element before convicting; six-condition guidance applied. * Evidence – Plea admissibility – Facts must disclose all elements of rape (penetration and victim's age). * Procedural irregularity – Typographical errors and failure to record language or element-specific admissions can render plea equivocal. * Remedy – Conviction quashed and matter remitted for proper plea taking; custody period to be credited.
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8 October 2025 |
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Absence of a social welfare officer while a child testified rendered the evidence inadmissible and required a retrial.
Law of the Child Act s115(4) – mandatory attendance of social welfare officer when a child testifies – "shall" denotes imperative duty; non‑compliance renders child’s evidence inadmissible; trial proceedings founded on such evidence are nullity; retrial ordered with strict statutory compliance.
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8 October 2025 |
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Material contradictions and an ambiguous valuation report meant the appellant failed to prove damages on the balance of probabilities.
Civil procedure — burden and standard of proof (balance of probabilities); corroboration of sole eyewitness evidence — no general requirement; material contradictions in witness evidence vitiating claim; valuation/expert report must state factual particulars (extent of damage) to be probative; scope of second appeal — interference only for misdirections or clear misapprehension of evidence.
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7 October 2025 |
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Prisoner failed to show sufficient cause for extension of time to lodge notice of intention to appeal.
Extension of time – Sufficient cause – Applicant must account for whole delay and show diligence; mere incarceration or difficulty obtaining private counsel not per se sufficient where prison legal aid exists; unsupported/contradictory affidavits unreliable; inordinate delay fatal to application.
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6 October 2025 |
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Bill of Costs filed out of time; District Court lacked jurisdiction to tax High Court costs.
Advocates Remuneration Order — limitation for filing Bill of Costs (60 days) — pendency of appeal does not suspend time — taxing jurisdiction confined to court that made the costs order — District Court lacked jurisdiction to tax High Court costs.
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3 October 2025 |
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The appellant's appeal filed beyond the 45-day statutory limit without extension was dismissed as time-barred.
* Land appeal — limitation period — 45 days under section 44(2) Land Disputes Courts Act — appeal filed out of time.
* Limitation law — Law of Limitation Act ss. 3(1), 14(1) — requirement to apply for extension — jurisdictional effect.
* Civil procedure — preliminary objections — failure to file ordered written submissions equates to non-appearance/failure to prosecute.
* Procedural consequence — appeal dismissed with costs where time bar established.
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3 October 2025 |
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Holder of a valid mining licence granted temporary injunction to prevent construction pending main suit.
Mining licence – Exclusive rights under Special Mining Licence – Temporary injunction – Atilio v Mbowe test: serious question/likelihood of success; irreparable harm; balance of convenience – Unchallenged affidavit evidence deemed admitted – Preservation of status quo – Costs in the cause.
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1 October 2025 |
| September 2025 |
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Killings in sudden grave provocation reduced murder to manslaughter; accused convicted and sentenced to 25 years.
* Criminal law – Homicide – elements of murder: death, causation and malice aforethought; medical and eyewitness proof. * Defence of provocation – reasonable person test, sudden provocation and cooling-off. * Reduction of murder to manslaughter where grave provocation negates malice aforethought. * Admissibility – cautioned statement discrepancies; conviction on other admissible evidence. * Sentencing – balancing deterrence and mitigation (first offender, surrender, dependent children).
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30 September 2025 |
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Confirmation letter alone insufficient to prove loan; contradictions and failure to call key witness defeat claimant's case.
Evidence — burden of proof in civil cases; best evidence principle for written documents; inconsistencies in pleadings versus oral testimony; adverse inference for failure to call key witness; coercion defence and burden-shifting.
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29 September 2025 |
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Failure by the Mining Commission to afford a hearing violated the right to be heard and warranted quashing and rehearing.
Mining law – Appeals – Jurisdiction of High Court under s.152 Mining Act; Civil Procedure Code s.86(1) – power to remit for retrial; Administrative law – natural justice – right to be heard (audi alteram partem) – mandatory compliance with Mining (Dispute Resolution) Rules 2021 (Rule 4, Rules 8–10).
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26 September 2025 |
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Death proved but prosecution failed to link the accused to the killing; cautioned statements lacked corroboration, leading to acquittal.
* Criminal law – murder – requirement to prove death, actus reus and mens rea beyond reasonable doubt
* Evidence – cautioned statements by co-accused require independent corroboration (s.33(2) Evidence Act)
* Evidence – absence of forensic/eyewitness linkage and uncorroborated suspicion insufficient for conviction
* Procedure/Human rights – unlawful/prolonged detention of a suspect/relative and duty of prosecutorial oversight
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25 September 2025 |
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Applicant's illness claim contradicted by post-dated, inconsistent medical letter; restoration dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure – restoration of dismissed appeal – allegation of illness as cause for non-appearance – requirement of contemporaneous and credible medical evidence – contradictions in affidavit and annexure undermine restoration application.
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24 September 2025 |
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Conviction quashed where identity was unreliable due to absent identification parade and missing material witnesses.
* Criminal law – Unnatural offence – elements: penetration and identity must be proved beyond reasonable doubt.
* Evidence – Identification parades – requirement of a fair parade before relying on dock identification.
* Evidence – Medical evidence proves injury/penetration but does not alone establish identity.
* Procedure – Duty to call material witnesses; failure permits adverse inference against prosecution.
* Judgment – Courts must confine findings to matters on the record; extraneous references impermissible.
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24 September 2025 |
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Court granted temporary injunction protecting mining licensee from respondent’s construction pending the main suit.
* Civil procedure – Temporary injunction – Order XXXVII Rule 2 – Atilio v Mbowe test: serious triable issue, irreparable harm, balance of convenience; * Mining law – Exclusive special mining licence rights v. trespass and erection of structures; * Procedure – service by publication and ex parte hearing where respondent absent; * Interim relief – preservation of status quo pending main suit.
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19 September 2025 |
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Temporary injunction granted to protect applicant’s valid mining licence from respondent’s unauthorised construction pending main suit.
Mining licence – temporary injunction – trespass and unauthorised construction – Atilio v Mbowe test (serious question, irreparable harm, balance of convenience) – ex parte proceedings where affidavit unchallenged.
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19 September 2025 |
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Court found termination for unauthorised operation and damage substantively and procedurally fair; CMA award quashed.
* Labour law – unfair termination – sufficiency of CMA Form F1 to disclose cause of action – referral may proceed absent timely objection. * Substantive fairness – unauthorised operation of machinery, lack of competency certificate and resulting damage constitute serious misconduct. * Procedural fairness – investigation and disciplinary timelines under Rule 13 and internal policy complied with; separate criminal/complaint allegations need not be folded into disciplinary charges. * Review of CMA award – misdirection by conflating separate issues justified quashing award.
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19 September 2025 |
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Temporary injunction granted to protect the applicant’s mining licence from the respondent’s unauthorized construction pending trial.
* Civil procedure – Temporary injunctions – Application under Order XXXVII Rule 2 CPC – application of Atilio v Mbowe three‑part test (serious question/probability of success; irreparable injury; balance of convenience).
* Mining law – Special Mining License – exclusive rights of occupation and exploitation; protection against trespass and unauthorized construction.
* Evidence – uncontroverted affidavit facts deemed admitted where no counter‑affidavit or appearance is filed.
* Remedies – preservation of status quo and grant of interim injunctive relief; costs in the cause.
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19 September 2025 |
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Extension of time upheld where court records corroborated ECMS failure; appeal dismissed with no order as to costs.
* Civil procedure – Extension of time – exercise of judicial discretion – sufficient cause – electronic filing system failure corroborated by court records permits extension.
* Evidence – judicial notice – court entitled to rely on its own registry records where they corroborate factual assertions.
* Procedure – accounting of delay – day-by-day requirement flexible where delay caused by circumstances beyond applicant's control.
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19 September 2025 |
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Mandatory procedural and evidential defects vitiated conviction; retrial refused and conviction quashed.
* Criminal procedure – mandatory recording of reasons by a successor magistrate under s.230 CPA – non‑compliance vitiates proceedings. * Evidence Act s.36(2) – written statements of absent witnesses require cumulative conditions; non‑compliance renders them inadmissible. * Caution statements – s.58(3) CPA certification mandatory; failure to comply renders statement inadmissible. * Identification – must be watertight; failure to call key witnesses and unexplained delay in arraignment prejudicial to prosecution's case. * Retrial – not ordered where prosecution would be given opportunity to fill fatal gaps.
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19 September 2025 |
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A belated judicial review application was dismissed due to inordinate, unexplained delay and lack of demonstrated sufficient cause.
Judicial review – Extension of time – Sufficient cause – Requirement to account for each day of delay – Administrative follow-up and ignorance of law not sufficient – Technical delay distinguished from inordinate delay after statutory period – Principles for extension of time reiterated.
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12 September 2025 |
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A land tribunal's failure to clarify jurisdiction and conduct a site visit rendered its proceedings void and required a retrial.
Land Law – Jurisdiction – Failure to ascertain territorial jurisdiction – Omission to visit locus in quo where location of land disputed – Effect of jurisdictional defects on tribunal proceedings.
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12 September 2025 |
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A written contract expressly described as a sale cannot be construed as a bailment merely through oral testimony or extraneous evidence.
Contract law – Evidence – Construction of contract – Written agreement prevails over oral testimony – Distinction between contract of sale and bailment – Standard of proof in civil cases – Admissibility and probative value of electronic evidence.
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12 September 2025 |
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A mining company was granted a temporary injunction to restrain ongoing construction on its licensed land pending litigation.
Injunctions – temporary injunction – requirements for grant – uncontroverted affidavit evidence – protection of statutory mining rights – trespass onto licensed mining land – irreparable harm.
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11 September 2025 |