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433 judgments found.
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October 2025
Taxing Master misapplied fee scale; instruction fee reduced to TZS 2,500,000 under correct schedule and principles.
Legal profession
— Advocates remuneration order — Taxation of instruction fees
— 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
17 October 2025
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
— Appellate review — avoid deciding merits when granting extension
— 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
17 October 2025
Convictions for rape and impregnating a schoolgirl upheld where age, penetration and paternity were proven.
Criminal law
— Rape — Elements: age of victim, penetration, identity — Strict liability for sexual intercourse with a person under 18
— impregnating a schoolgirl — ingredient requiring proof that victim was a primary or secondary school student — School admission register and PF3 medical report as corroborative evidence
Evidence — cross‑examination — Right to cross‑examine — Evidence Act ss.146,164,177
15 October 2025
Failure to secure a social welfare officer for a child witness vitiated the evidence and warranted quashing and retrial.
Criminal procedure — retrial principles (Fatehali Manji) — Defective/illegal trial (retrial appropriate) — Application of Fatehali Manji principles
Evidence
— Child witness — Best interests of the child cannot cure mandatory procedural defects — Law of the Child Act s.115(4)
— Reliance on Social Welfare Officer’s report where no contrary evidence is adduced — Mandatory attendance of social welfare officer under s.115(4) Law of the Child Act — Law of the Child Act s.115(4)
13 October 2025
13 October 2025
Termination was unfair; CMA rightly declined loan adjudication absent the agreement and subsistence must accrue until repatriation.
Employment law
— Repatriation and subsistence — Accrual from employee's request for repatriation — Section 44(1)(c) ELRA
— unfair dismissal — substantive and procedural fairness — Section 38(2) ELRA
Evidence — Documentary evidence — Written loan agreement must be tendered to found a loan claim — Evidence Act ss.66, 68
10 October 2025
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
9 October 2025
An equivocal guilty plea, not shown to be understood and to admit each element, must be quashed and remitted for proper plea-taking.
Criminal law — Plea of guilty — requirement of an unequivocal plea — Plea must amount to admission of every constituent of the charge
Criminal procedure
— Duty to explain charge in a language understood by the accused — Charges and particulars must be explained in a language the accused understands — Section 228(1) Criminal Procedure Act
— Proper remedy for defective plea-taking — Quash conviction and remit for proper plea-taking
8 October 2025
Absence of a social welfare officer while a child testified rendered the evidence inadmissible and required a retrial.
Family law — Law of the child act s115(4)
— mandatory attendance of social welfare officer when a child testifies
— non‑compliance renders child’s evidence inadmissible
— retrial ordered with strict statutory compliance
— trial proceedings founded on such evidence are nullity
8 October 2025
Appellant failed to prove cattle damage on balance of probabilities due to material contradictions and an inadequate valuation report.
Tort — Damage to crops by grazing cattle — Proof on balance of probabilities — Corroboration not generally required but evidence must be consistent
Evidence
— Contradictions — Material contradictions can raise reasonable doubt
— Admissibility and weight of expert valuation reports — Valuation must specify particulars of extent/area to support claimed compensation
7 October 2025
Prisoner failed to show sufficient cause for extension of time to lodge notice of intention to appeal.
Civil procedure — extension of time
— inordinate delay fatal to application
— mere incarceration or difficulty obtaining private counsel not per se sufficient where prison legal aid exists
— sufficient cause
— unsupported/contradictory affidavits unreliable
6 October 2025
A District Court lacked jurisdiction to tax a time-barred bill of costs and High Court costs; taxation quashed.
Civil procedure
— Advocates Remuneration Order — timing and taxation of bills — Sixty days from date of order
— Taxation of costs — Jurisdiction of taxing officer — proper forum is where the case terminates (High Court)
— Effect of notice of appeal — Pendency of appeal does not suspend the statutory filing period for bills of costs
3 October 2025
The appellant's appeal filed beyond the 45-day statutory limit without extension was dismissed as time-barred.
Civil procedure
— Preliminary objections
— Procedural consequence — appeal dismissed with costs where time bar established
Land law — Land appeal — limitation period — appeal filed out of time
Limitation law — Law of Limitation Act ss. 3(1), 14(1) — jurisdictional effect
3 October 2025
Holder of a valid mining licence granted temporary injunction to prevent construction pending main suit.
Mining law — balance of convenience — Unchallenged affidavit evidence deemed admitted — Preservation of status quo — Costs in the cause
Mining law — Mining licence — Exclusive rights — Temporary injunction
— Atilio
— irreparable harm
1 October 2025
September 2025
Killings in sudden grave provocation reduced murder to manslaughter; accused convicted and sentenced to 25 years.
Criminal law — Admissibility
— cautioned statement discrepancies
— conviction on other admissible evidence
Criminal law — Defence of provocation — reasonable person test, sudden provocation and cooling-off. Reduction of murder to manslaughter where grave provocation negates malice aforethought
Criminal law — homicide
— elements of murder: death, causation and malice aforethought
— medical and eyewitness proof
Criminal law — sentencing — balancing deterrence and mitigation (first offender, surrender, dependent children)
30 September 2025
Confirmation letter alone insufficient to prove a loan; contradictions and failure to call key witness defeated appellant's claim.
Civil procedure — burden of proof in Primary Courts — Claimant's obligation in Primary Courts
Evidence
— Credibility — weight of statement undermined where recording/witnessing procedure defective and key witnesses not called
— documentary proof — Acknowledgement/confirmation letter insufficient to prove underlying contract
29 September 2025
Failure by the Mining Commission to afford a hearing violated the right to be heard and warranted quashing and rehearing.
Administrative law — Natural justice — right to be heard (audi alteram partem) — mandatory compliance with Mining
Mining law
— Appeals — Jurisdiction of High Court under s.152 Mining Act
— Civil Procedure Code s.86(1) — power to remit for retrial
26 September 2025
Death proved but prosecution failed to link the accused to the killing; cautioned statements lacked corroboration, leading to acquittal.
Criminal law — Murder — cautioned statements by co-accused require independent corroboration — unlawful/prolonged detention of a suspect/relative and duty of prosecutorial oversight
25 September 2025
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
24 September 2025
Conviction quashed where identity was not satisfactorily established due to lack of an identification parade and missing material witnesses.
Criminal law — Sexual offence (unnatural offence) — Proof of penetration and identity of assailant corroborated by medical and victim evidence — Victim evidence and medical corroboration
Criminal procedure — identification parade — When an identification parade is required and consequences of failure to conduct one
Evidence
— Adverse inference
— adverse inference for failure to call material witnesses
24 September 2025
Court granted temporary injunction protecting mining licensee from respondent’s construction pending the main suit.
Civil procedure — Temporary injunction
Mining law
— Exclusive special mining licence rights v. trespass and erection of structures
— Interim relief — preservation of status quo pending main suit
— Procedure — service by publication and ex parte hearing where respondent absent
19 September 2025
Temporary injunction granted to mining licence holder to restrain respondent's construction pending the main suit due to irreparable harm.
Civil procedure — Temporary injunction — land dispute involving alleged unlawful mining/trespass pending Land Case No. 12 of 2021 — Order XXXVII Rule 2; Atilio v Mbowe test
19 September 2025
Employer’s dismissal for unauthorised operation and resulting damage was substantively and procedurally fair; CMA award quashed.
Labour law
— CMA Form F1 — Proper completion of Part A and Part B
— procedural fairness — proper sequence of investigation, suspension and disciplinary hearing under G.N
— substantive fairness — Termination for misconduct (unauthorised operation causing damage)
19 September 2025
Temporary injunction granted to protect holder of a special mining licence from respondent’s construction pending trial.
Civil procedure — Interim injunction — Granting interlocutory relief to restrain construction on disputed land pending trial — Irreparable harm and balance of convenience
Trespass — construction — Erection of permanent structures on licensed mining area — Irreparable harm and balance of convenience
19 September 2025
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
— Procedure — accounting of delay — day-by-day requirement flexible where delay caused by circumstances beyond applicant's control
Evidence — Judicial notice — court entitled to rely on its own registry records where they corroborate factual assertions
19 September 2025
Appeal allowed: conviction quashed due to magistrate takeover defects, inadmissible statements, unreliable ID, and unlawful delay.
Criminal procedure — Change of trial magistrate — Mandatory recording of reasons for takeover — s.230 CPA
Evidence — Statements of unavailable witnesses — Admissibility under s.36; conditions are cumulative and non‑compliance renders statement inadmissible — Evidence Act s.36
Criminal procedure — Cautioned statements — Admissibility of caution statements — ss.58–59 CPA; s.33 CPA
19 September 2025
Applicant failed to show sufficient cause to extend time to seek judicial review of his termination.
Judicial review — extension of time — Lyamuya criteria for extension of time — Limitation of Actions Act s 14(1) and Law Reform Rules
Limitation law — Exclusion of time spent bona fide in wrong forum — Whether detention, illness, lack of counsel or administrative follow‑ups suspend the limitation period — Law of Limitation Act s 21(1)
12 September 2025
A land tribunal's failure to clarify jurisdiction and conduct a site visit rendered its proceedings void and required a retrial.
Land law — Jurisdiction — Omission to visit locus in quo where location of land disputed
12 September 2025
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
12 September 2025
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.
11 September 2025
A temporary injunction was granted restraining interference with licensed mining land pending final determination of the main suit.
Civil procedure — Temporary injunctions — Criteria for granting injunctions — Mining rights — Status quo
11 September 2025
A temporary injunction was granted restraining construction on land under a mining licence pending final determination of ownership.
Civil procedure — Interim injunction — trespass to land — uncontested affidavit evidence — Atilio
10 September 2025
A party with a valid mining licence was granted a temporary injunction to restrain trespass and construction on licensed land.
Civil procedure — Temporary injunction — Principles for grant — Mining rights — Balance of convenience
9 September 2025
Misplaced prisoner's notice and inter‑prison transfer constituted sufficient cause to extend time to lodge an appeal.
Appellate practice — extension of time — Whether applicant has shown sufficient cause for delay — Appellate Jurisdiction Act s 14(1)
9 September 2025
An appeal was struck out for want of jurisdiction due to failure to comply with prescribed mining dispute resolution procedures.
Mining law — Jurisdiction — Appeal — Appeal struck out for lack of jurisdiction where no valid decision exists
9 September 2025
Conviction quashed due to unamended charge, material inconsistencies in evidence, and unlawful pre-trial detention.
Criminal law — Grave sexual abuse
— Benefit of doubt resolved in favour of accused
— Charge and evidence variance
— Fair trial
— Prolonged detention before arraignment
— Proof beyond reasonable doubt
4 September 2025
Proceedings vitiated by denial of hearing and improper judgment composition in a quasi‑judicial mining dispute.
Administrative law — Judicial review — breach of natural justice (failure to hear) — Article 13(6)(a) right to be heard
Mining law — Mining dispute — Delegation and judgment composition — Presiding officer to sign judgment or record reasons when reassigned
4 September 2025
August 2025
Probate courts may determine competing estate land claims; hearsay cannot discharge the claimant’s burden of proof.
Civil procedure — Burden of proof — Party alleging fact (burden on the party who alleges) — Claimant must adduce credible direct evidence to establish entitlement
Evidence — Hearsay — inadmissibility of third‑hand accounts and striking of such evidence — Magistrates' Courts (Rules of Evidence in Primary Courts) Regulations, G.N. No. 66 of 1972, r.10(1)
Probate law — Jurisdiction of probate court to administer assets registered in deceased’s sole name — distinction from matrimonial property proceedings — Probate and administration courts have exclusive competence to resolve estate disputes
28 August 2025
Conviction for armed robbery quashed due to missing material witnesses and unsafe identification evidence.
Criminal law — Evidence — proof beyond reasonable doubt — Onus on prosecution and benefit of doubt
Criminal procedure
— Failure to call material witnesses — adverse inference — Broken chain of evidence due to non‑production of first‑report witnesses
— identification parade — evidential value when victim previously knew accused — Reliability where no antecedent descriptive account recorded
27 August 2025
Procedural irregularities did not vitiate the trial where evidence was otherwise coherent and credible, and the prosecution proved the case beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — Unnatural offence
— appellate review
— credibility of child witnesses
— defect in charge
— materiality of missing witnesses
— Sexual offences involving children
— procedural irregularities
— sufficiency of evidence absent social welfare officer and DNA report
22 August 2025
Prison transfer and absence of prison admission officers constituted sufficient cause for extension of time to file an appeal.
Criminal procedure
— Extension of time to appeal — Sufficient cause — Prisoner transfers and reliance on prison officers
— Prisoners’ appeals — Delays caused by prison authorities/transfers can constitute good cause — Institutional constraints corroborated by affidavits justify enlargement of time
19 August 2025
A suit begun with a Form No.1 omitting when and where the cause of action arose is null; lower judgments quashed.
Civil procedure
— Appellate review — Raising points of law on appeal not argued below
— Jurisdiction/pleadings — Requirement that the initiating pleading state when and where the cause of action arose — Rule 15(1), Magistrates' Courts (Civil Procedure in Primary Courts) Rules, G.N. No. 119 of 1983
— Limitation and jurisdiction — Issue of time‑bar goes to jurisdiction
15 August 2025
Conviction quashed where prosecution failed to prove the appellant's arrest occurred within statutory boundaries of a protected area.
Criminal law — Economic offences
— Burden of proof
— Standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt
— Failure by prosecution to establish the statutory situs of the offence
— Caution statement expunged for procedural non-compliance
— Quashing of conviction and sentence on appeal
— Unlawful possession of a firearm in a protected area
13 August 2025
Rape conviction quashed after medical and cautioned statement expunged and victim's testimony found unreliable.
Criminal law — Rape — Proof of age and penetration — Requirement to prove both elements beyond reasonable doubt
Criminal procedure — Cautioned statement — Mandatory contents and certification under s.57 Criminal Procedure Act — Failure to verify/authenticate renders statement inadmissible
Evidence — PF.3 medical report — Material contradictions may justify expungement and diminish evidential weight
13 August 2025
Conviction quashed: prosecution failed to prove intent to steal, identification was unsafe, and confession evidence was unreliable.
Criminal law
— abduction with intent to steal
— sexual offences against a child — Visual identification — Reliability where victim was blindfolded and description was general
Evidence — Confession
— Voluntariness
— weight of oral confession made in presence of interested witnesses
13 August 2025
Second appellate court dismissed appeal, finding the claim proved on the balance of probabilities and general damages properly awarded.
Appellate practice — Second appeal — Issues not raised in first appeal cannot be pursued as afterthoughts in second appeal
Damages — General damages — Discretionary award may be made independently of proved special damages when consequences are established
Evidence — Burden and standard of proof — civil cases: balance of probabilities
13 August 2025
The court granted extra time to appeal, finding good cause due to delays in receiving necessary judgment documents.
Civil procedure — extension of time — Appeal — Good cause requirement — Exclusion of time for obtaining judgment
6 August 2025
6 August 2025
An extension of time must be granted where a fundamental illegality, such as denial of the right to be heard, is apparent.
Civil procedure
— extension of time — sufficient cause — Illegality as a ground
— Right to be heard — natural justice — procedural fairness — appellate review of lower court's discretion
6 August 2025
The appellant's appeal in a car-hire agreement dispute was dismissed, affirming the trial court's findings on breach and damages.
Contract law — breach of contract — obligations regarding repairs in car hire agreements — assessment of damages and right to be heard
6 August 2025