Results.
110 judgments found.
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December 1991
Identification of a recovered pressure lamp and surrounding circumstances firmly established possession of stolen property; appeal dismissed.
Civil procedure — Appeal
— appeal dismissed
— Insufficiency of appellant’s explanations to raise reasonable doubt
Criminal law
— identification of property — Complainant identification of a pressure lamp linked to repair workshop sufficient to connect lamp to theft
— possession of stolen property — Items recovered in appellant’s house held to be stolen where identification and circumstances are cogent
3 December 1991
November 1991
Seizures were unlawful where police failed mandatory s.38 formalities and seized property not shown to be connected to offences.
Criminal law — Criminal procedure act — search and seizure — mandatory compliance with s.38(2) and (3) (reporting to magistrate; receipt for seizure)
— failure renders seizure irregular and of no legal effect
— seizure limited to property connected with offence
29 November 1991
29 November 1991
Appellate court enhanced compensation for grievous harm due to serious injury and unchallenged monetary loss, leaving imprisonment unchanged.
Criminal law — Causing grievous harm — adequacy of sentence — appellate enhancement of compensation where trial court failed to consider serious injuries and unchallenged monetary loss
28 November 1991
Delay in filing excused, but leave to appeal refused because the proposed appeal lacked prospects of success due to strong evidence.
Criminal procedure — Leave to appeal out of time — excusable delay due to prisoner transfer
— assessment of prospects of success on proposed appeal
— strong identification and possession evidence may justify refusal of leave
27 November 1991
Dying declaration and corroborative evidence proved assault, but intoxication and motive reduced conviction to manslaughter.
Criminal law
— dying declaration — reliability and need for corroboration
— Forensics — Bloodstain and absence of blood on weapon as evidential factors
— Homicide: murder versus manslaughter — Proof of malice aforethought — Intoxication and provocation
27 November 1991
Applicant's conviction for stealing by a public servant upheld due to exclusive access evidence and inconsistent explanations.
Criminal law
— corroboration — when alleged interest of prosecution witnesses does not necessitate additional corroboration
— Defence — inconsistent statements and shifting explanations as undermining defence credibility
— Stealing by a public servant — sufficiency of evidence to prove accused’s guilt — access to secure strong room and custody of cash
Evidence — Credibility findings of trial court — appellate review and deference to trial magistrate’s assessments
15 November 1991
Appeal dismissed: conviction upheld where appellant's access, inconsistent explanations, and credible witnesses proved theft.
Criminal law — Theft by public servant — Proof of identity and responsibility for missing public funds — Proof of identity by evidence of custody and inconsistent explanations
Criminal procedure — Credibility — Alleged interest of prosecution witnesses — Corroboration required only where interest demonstrated
Evidence — insufficiency of proof as to theft from premises and identity of the perpetrator — Mere possibility of other persons having access insufficient to rebut proof of custody
15 November 1991
Unreliable night‑time identification and unproven possession/sale of stolen property led to acquittal for murder.
Criminal law
— burden of proof — reasonable doubt and acquittal
— Hearsay/unproduced material witnesses — inadmissibility/weight
— Murder — Visual identification — insufficiency of evidence
— possession of stolen property — requirement of proof and corroboration
15 November 1991
Accused acquitted where voice identification was unreliable and medical causation of death remained unproven.
Criminal law
— Causation in homicide — Proof of death and causation (post‑mortem and eyewitness evidence) — Adequacy of post‑mortem and expert testimony
— identification evidence — voice identification — Sufficiency for conviction
Criminal procedure — Evidence — Identification and inconsistencies in witness evidence — Weak and contradictory eyewitness evidence, delay in arrests and absence of recovered property (reasonable doubt/acquittal)
15 November 1991
Conviction based solely on an unrecorded, involuntary, and uncorroborated confession cannot be sustained.
Criminal law — confession — Voluntariness and admissibility — Confession not recorded and declared involuntary — inadmissible as sole basis for conviction
Criminal procedure — Appellate interference — Conviction based on uncorroborated involuntary confession liable to be quashed
Evidence — corroboration
12 November 1991
Eyewitness identification corroborated by confession and weapons led to murder conviction; self‑defence unproven; 12 years imprisonment.
Criminal law
— Murder — identification evidence and corroboration — Corroboration of eyewitness testimony
— Self‑defence — burden on prosecution to disprove — Corroboration of accused’s account
— sentencing — Sentencing factors — Mitigation versus seriousness
1 November 1991
October 1991
Court excluded alleged confession, finding prosecution failed to prove it was voluntarily made beyond reasonable doubt.
Evidence — voluntariness of confessions
— Alleged torture — Absence of visible injuries does not preclude coercion
— Onus on prosecution to prove voluntariness — Evidence Act s 2(1) — (3)
29 October 1991
Where identification and recent-possession evidence were inadequate, theft conviction was substituted with receiving stolen property and sentence reduced.
Criminal law
— property offences — distinction between receiving stolen property and retaining stolen property
— Theft — where evidence does not establish theft, conviction for receiving may be proper — Proper substitution of conviction where accused likely knew the item was dishonestly obtained
16 October 1991
15 October 1991
Illness may constitute good cause for delay, but leave to appeal out of time is refused if the appeal lacks real prospects.
Criminal law — Leave to appeal out of time — Whether illness constitutes good cause for delay — Overriding requirement that intended appeal have real prospect of success
15 October 1991
Conviction for stealing by servant quashed where no evidence showed appellant's involvement after handing funds to commanding officer.
Criminal law — Stealing by servant — proof of ownership and proof of participation/possession required to sustain conviction — Whether issuing cheques and handing money to the commanding officer suffices to prove theft
15 October 1991
Conviction based on weak identification and recovery of common items was quashed; appeal allowed.
Criminal law — identification evidence — Complainant unable to describe recovered — Recovery of common household articles insufficient to prove identity beyond reasonable doubt — Conviction quashed for unsafe identification
10 October 1991
9 October 1991
Conviction quashed where circumstantial identification (T‑shirt) was unreliable and the trial court ignored the appellant's alibi.
Criminal law — store-breaking and stealing — conviction based on circumstantial evidence — identification of property without distinctive marks — trial court’s failure to consider alibi — conviction unsafe
9 October 1991
Application for extension of time to appeal dismissed because the proposed appeal lacked overwhelming prospects of success.
Criminal procedure — Extension of time to appeal — Delay attributed to prison authorities and late receipt of judgment
— credibility of eyewitness identification upheld
— Extension refused where proposed appeal lacks overwhelming prospects of success
7 October 1991
2 October 1991
Conviction quashed where unidentified footprints and mere suspicion failed to prove the appellant’s guilt.
Criminal law — Burglary and stealing — Sufficiency of circumstantial evidence — Identification by footprints and proof of presence
Criminal procedure — Conviction based on suspicion — Whether suspicious conduct alone can sustain conviction
Evidence — Identification — Need for positive link between physical traces and accused before inferring guilt
2 October 1991
2 October 1991
September 1991
High Court affirms District Court’s upholding of fine and its award of Tshs.33,750/= compensation, dismissing the appeal.
Criminal law — Malicious damage to property — Appeal against sentence and award of compensation — Appellate court will not interfere where lower courts’ assessments of sentence and compensation are justified and supported by reasoning
30 September 1991
Employer’s report of employee as a thief to police was negligent, defamatory and the employee was awarded storage charges, travel costs and damages.
Defamation — report to police alleging theft — wrongful/ negligent reporting used to frustrate civil remedies
— actionable
— Counterclaim for loss dismissed where owner negligently delays recovery
— Possessory/storage entitlement where owner requests former employee to retain company vehicle
— Remedies: damages, storage charges, costs and interest
26 September 1991
The appellant’s conviction, resting on an uncorroborated co-accused statement, was unsafe and was quashed.
Civil procedure — remedy — quashing conviction and setting aside sentence where evidence is uncorroborated
Criminal law
— conviction based on co-accused’s statement
— Prosecution duty — calling material witnesses (possible corroborator) — failure renders conviction unsafe
Evidence — inconsistent statements by accused — effect on credibility
25 September 1991
Whether village allocation of occupied farmland to the respondent was valid despite the applicant's continued control and improvements.
Evidence — weight and credibility — Role of on‑site inspection and sketch plan in resolving boundary disputes
Land law — Village land allocation — validity of allocation where land is occupied and has unexhausted improvements — Reallocation of occupied land and effect of occupier's absence/abandonment
25 September 1991
22 September 1991
20 September 1991
19 September 1991
Failure to summarise to assessors and equally balanced evidence vitiated lower judgments; rehearing ordered de novo.
Civil procedure — Assessors — duty to summarise facts and record assessors' opinions before judgment
Civil procedure — Burden of proof — where evidence is equally balanced claimant fails
Civil procedure — setting aside proceedings
— procedural irregularity vitiates judgment
— rehearing de novo
17 September 1991
17 September 1991
Weak identification, unreliable firearm evidence and no recovered property rendered the robbery conviction unsafe.
Criminal law
— Circumstantial evidence — doctrine of recent possession — Requirements before inferring guilt from proximity or alleged possession of stolen property
— Evidence — Chain of custody and ballistic matching of firearm to spent cartridge — Inconclusive matching and absence of spent cartridge
— Identification evidence and corroboration — Reliability and requirement of watertight identification before conviction
16 September 1991
Daylight identification by known witnesses and a weak, unpleaded alibi justified upholding conviction and sentence.
Criminal law — Robbery with violence
— appellate review of factual findings
— assessment of witness credibility
— identification evidence in daylight by persons who knew the accused
12 September 1991
8 September 1991
Threats to use witchcraft, if genuinely believed by the accused and his community, can reduce murder to manslaughter.
Criminal law
— murder versus manslaughter — Reduction to manslaughter where provocation by alleged witchcraft is established
— Provocation — Whether threats of witchcraft constitute legal provocation when believed by the accused and by ordinary members of his community
— sentencing — Deterrence in cases of killings motivated by witchcraft beliefs
Evidence — Confession omissions — court may accept surrounding evidence and probabilities despite omissions in formal statements
6 September 1991
2 September 1991
2 September 1991
2 September 1991
August 1991
29 August 1991
20 August 1991
The applicant’s claim of 171 omitted trees failed for lack of identification and independent evidence; appeal dismissed with costs.
Land law — Property damage — trees — appellate deference to trial court’s inspection and findings
16 August 1991
Default judgment entered for the plaintiff where the defendant failed to file a written statement of defence; interest and costs awarded.
Civil procedure — Default judgment
— award of interest and costs
— Defendant's failure to file written statement of defence
16 August 1991
Appellant’s uncautioned admission upheld by corroborating circumstantial evidence; restitution for unrecovered property ordered immediately.
Criminal law
— Circumstantial evidence — Sufficiency of circumstantial evidence to support a conviction
— Evidence — Confession made to private person — Admissibility and corroboration
Criminal procedure — Restitution — proceeds/value of recovered stolen goods to be restored to owner — Immediate refund required
14 August 1991
Appellant’s exclusive custody of a safe key and disappearance of money upheld conviction; seven-year sentence reduced to three years.
Criminal law — Theft — Circumstantial evidence — Sole custody of main key to a safe and disappearance of money from inner chamber — sufficiency to infer guilt
Criminal procedure — Appeal against sentence — whether maximum sentence was excessive and appropriate reduction on appeal
13 August 1991
13 August 1991
Omission of required court officer’s signature on an orally recorded Primary Court application renders proceedings defective; retrial ordered without fresh fees.
Primary Courts — Civil Procedure — Magistrates Courts (Civil Procedure in Primary Courts) Rules 1964, Rules 5(1) and 5(2) — oral applications must be recorded and signed by court clerk or magistrate and by applicant — omission of court officer’s signature renders proceedings improperly instituted — remedy: retrial without fresh fees.
9 August 1991
9 August 1991
July 1991
Prisoner’s transfer and non-receipt of judgment constituted good cause; leave to appeal out of time granted.
Criminal procedure — Extension of time — leave to appeal out of time — prisoner’s transfer and non-receipt of judgment as good cause
23 July 1991