|
Citation
|
Judgment date
|
| September 2010 |
|
|
Prolonged abandonment and implied agency validated a sale, barring the appellant’s claim against the respondent.
* Land law – ownership and abandonment – prolonged negligence/abandonment may permit disposition by caretaker.
* Agency – implied authority in emergency – caretaker’s sale can bind principal where authority is implied or inferred.
* Limitation – adverse possession starts limitation clock from date of adverse possession or sale, not merely from earlier absence.
* Civil procedure – non-joinder not always fatal; burden on plaintiff to investigate parties.
* Jurisdiction – District Land and Housing Tribunal has jurisdiction where property value falls within statutory pecuniary limit.
|
30 September 2010 |
|
Short-term lease renewal upheld; tenant breached lease and must pay rent arrears and awarded special damages.
Land law – short-term lease (s.80) – oral renewal – rent increase – tenant’s acquiescence; lease breaches (damage, animals) – entitlement to special damages; set-off of payments – absence of agreement; appellate review of Tribunal’s inconsistent orders.
|
23 September 2010 |
| August 2010 |
|
|
A joint memorandum and failure by multiple appellants to give statutory notice rendered the appeal incompetent.
Criminal appeals — Competency of appeal — Joint memorandum/petition of appeal from District Court unlawful; notice of appeal (s361(1)(a)) and form of petition (s362(1)) mandatory — Failure to comply renders appeal incompetent.
|
30 August 2010 |
|
|
18 August 2010 |
|
Procedural failures and lack of medical proof of penetration vitiated the rape conviction; appeal allowed and appellant released.
* Criminal procedure – plea of guilty – requirements for recording and accepting a guilty plea – accused must be asked to admit the facts and court must convict before sentence (s.228 CPA). * Rape – essential element of penetration – medical evidence insufficient where PF3 endorsed no evidence of penetration (s.130(4) Penal Code). * Appeal – guilty plea may be challenged where plea is ambiguous, procedure defective, or admitted facts do not disclose the offence.
|
17 August 2010 |
|
An action to recover land from a deceased estate was time‑barred under the 12‑year limitation, appeal dismissed with costs.
* Limitation of actions — recovery of land from deceased estate — twelve‑year limitation runs from date of death, not grant of letters of administration. * Preliminary objection — limitation may be raised at any stage. * Delay in estate administration — inordinate delay may render recovery claims time‑barred.
|
4 August 2010 |
| July 2010 |
|
|
Appeal dismissed where memorandum was time-barred, lacked the required decree copy and showed want of prosecution.
Land dispute — ex parte judgment — appeal time-barred where memorandum filed after 90 days; failure to annex decree breaches Order XXXIX r.1 CPC; failure to file written submissions — want of prosecution; proper remedy to challenge ex parte judgment is an application to set it aside at trial tribunal.
|
14 July 2010 |
|
An illiterate applicant cannot disown a thumb‑printed, read‑out sale agreement; appeal dismissed.
* Land law – sale of matrimonial home – validity of sale where one party is illiterate – plea of non est factum. * Evidence – credibility and independent witness (advocate) who prepared and read the agreement aloud. * Family/Property – sale proceeds used to acquire and develop new residential property; benefit to seller undermines claim of fraud. * Civil procedure – appellate review of factual findings of tribunal.
|
14 July 2010 |
|
A land recovery suit filed without administrator capacity and after the 12‑year limitation is time‑barred and invalid.
Land law – locus standi to sue for land registered in deceased’s name – administrator must show capacity; Limitation of actions – land recovery claims subject to 12‑year limitation; Jurisdiction – time‑barred claims render tribunal proceedings a nullity.
|
2 July 2010 |
| June 2010 |
|
|
An arbitration clause requiring amicable settlement and arbitration ousts the tribunal's jurisdiction if parties do not follow it.
* Arbitration clause – contractual agreement requiring amicable settlement then arbitration – effect on judicial jurisdiction – mandatory arbitration ousts tribunal jurisdiction.
|
16 June 2010 |
| May 2010 |
|
|
Appellant failed to prove ownership; photocopy sale agreement inadmissible and tribunal’s credibility findings upheld, appeal dismissed with costs.
Land law — evidence and admissibility — photocopy of sale agreement inadmissible without original or explanation; appellate review of credibility findings — deference to trial tribunal; civil standard — balance of probabilities in competing title claims.
|
14 May 2010 |
| April 2010 |
|
|
Whether disputed house was a gift/bequest (not estate property) and possession should be restored to the appellant.
* Land law – inheritance, gift and will: whether disputed house formed part of deceased's estate or was bequeathed/gifted to an individual. * Administration of estate – limits of administrator’s power to collect property already given to an individual. * Evidence – requirement to strictly prove specific damages. * Customary law – application where customary gift cannot be revoked inconsistent with contract principles. * Procedural issues – tribunal record language and adherence to required procedures.
|
29 April 2010 |
|
Appellate court will not disturb tribunal's unanimous credibility finding that respondent lawfully held the disputed land.
* Land dispute – ownership of a small plot allegedly given to Church versus claimed sale to applicant – credibility of witnesses.
* Evidence – credibility findings and weight of evidence – deference to trial tribunal assisted by assessors.
* Appeal – appellate restraint: interference with unanimous verdict only where misapprehension of evidence, extraneous considerations, or legal error.
* Transaction evidence – alleged sale price (TShs.3,500,000) for small suburban plot found exaggerated and unsupported.
|
23 April 2010 |
|
Tribunal proceedings quashed for deciding factual jurisdictional disputes on written submissions without required oral evidence.
Land Disputes — Procedure — Improper disposal of matter on written submissions where factual issues (locus standi, res judicata, joinder) require oral evidence; breach of Regulations 11(1)(a) and 14 of the Land Disputes Courts (District Land and Housing Tribunal) Regulations — Proceedings and judgment quashed; liberty to refile.
|
21 April 2010 |
|
Customary clan sale of matrimonial land upheld where husband participated and wife failed to prove lack of required consent.
Land law – Clan/customary land – Sale of clan land constituting matrimonial home – Effect of spouse’s consent under s59(1) Law of Marriage Act – Validity of customary sale where husband participated and received proceeds – Evidentiary sufficiency of witnesses and local customary procedure.
|
15 April 2010 |