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Citation
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Judgment date
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| November 2022 |
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Failure to record or address assessors' opinions in a land tribunal judgment vitiates the judgment and requires re-composition.
Land procedure – Assessors – Requirement that assessors give written opinions and that tribunal take their opinions into account – Section 24 Land Disputes Courts Act – Mandatory duty to state reasons when differing – Non-compliance vitiates judgment.
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30 November 2022 |
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30 November 2022 |
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30 November 2022 |
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High Court lacked pecuniary jurisdiction because the specific claim fell below the District Court limit; suit struck out with costs.
Civil procedure – jurisdiction – pecuniary jurisdiction determined by specific/substantive claim not general damages; Magistrates Courts Act s.40(2)(b) – District Court pecuniary limit Tsh.200,000,000; cause of action – plaint must disclose sum total of facts giving right to relief; plaintiff not obliged to anticipate special defences or join every third party.
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30 November 2022 |
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Unreliable identification and uncorroborated co‑accused statements resulted in acquittal for murder due to reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Murder – proof of death and causation – post‑mortem evidence establishing death by violence. Evidence – Visual identification – requirements for reliable identification at night; dock identification and need for descriptive particulars and identification parade. Evidence – Cautioned statements/confessions – when a police‑recorded statement amounts to confession; accused’s statement implicating co‑accused requires corroboration (Evidence Act s.33). Criminal procedure – Burden of proof – prosecution must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt; acquittal where identification and corroboration are inadequate.
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30 November 2022 |
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30 November 2022 |
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Leave to appeal granted where arguable points of law on probate, validity of administration and bona fide purchaser were raised.
Civil procedure – Leave to appeal – Requirement to show point(s) of law – Discretionary nature of leave. Land law – Probate and letters of administration – Validity of sale by administrator without proper letters. Property law – Bona fide purchaser – Effect of notice/caution from village authorities on purchaser's status.
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30 November 2022 |
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30 November 2022 |
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Applicant failed to prove boundary encroachment; tribunal’s reasons were adequate and appeal dismissed with costs.
Land law – boundary disputes – burden of proof under section 110 Evidence Act – value of long possession – locus in quo inspection – requirements of tribunal judgment under Regulation 20(1) GN No.174/2003.
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30 November 2022 |
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Court accepted manslaughter plea and exercised sentencing discretion, crediting custody time and imposing four years imprisonment.
Criminal law – Manslaughter – Plea bargaining and acceptance of lesser charge – Sentencing discretion under s.198 Penal Code – Aggravating factor: dangerous weapon and head injuries (high-level offence) – Mitigating factors: guilty plea, first offender, remorse, pre-trial custody credit.
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29 November 2022 |
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Court restored land application dismissed for want of prosecution, finding a single non‑appearance excused by prior diligence and the right to be heard.
Civil procedure — restoration of proceedings dismissed for want of prosecution — requirement to show "good cause"; discretion to restore. Good cause — considerations include prior diligence, attendance by counsel, reason for absence, and right to be heard. Relevance of medical evidence dated after dismissal — generally irrelevant to excuse non-appearance on the hearing date.
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28 November 2022 |
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28 November 2022 |
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A land tribunal lacked jurisdiction over disputed matrimonial property and the proceedings were premature and therefore quashed.
Civil procedure – res subjudice and abuse of court process – filing fresh proceedings while same subject matter pending on appeal constitutes forum shopping and may be struck down. Jurisdiction – land tribunals lack jurisdiction to determine contested matrimonial rights; such matters fall under the Law of Marriage Act and must be heard by competent matrimonial courts. Jurisdictional flaws – lack of jurisdiction renders proceedings null and void and justify quashing and setting aside of tribunal judgments under revisionary powers.
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28 November 2022 |
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Retracted cautioned and vague extra-judicial statements insufficient to prove murder beyond reasonable doubt; accused acquitted.
Criminal law – murder charge – cautioned and extra-judicial statements – retracted confessions require corroboration – identification of victim – burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt.
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28 November 2022 |
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Applicant prematurely sought High Court revision of DLHT eviction without first objecting within mandatory 14 days.
Land law — Execution of decree — Regulation 23 GN No.174/2003 — Requirement to order compliance within 14 days and allow judgment debtor to object; Revision jurisdiction under ss.41 and 43 — premature application where statutory objection not first pursued; Declaratory decree vs. executable orders.
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25 November 2022 |
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Conviction for rape and unnatural offence upheld: child and mother credible, medical and recognition identification sufficiently prove guilt.
Criminal law — Sexual offences (rape and unnatural offence) — Child victim evidence and mother’s testimony; medical PF3 corroboration; identification by recognition; credibility of relatives; proof beyond reasonable doubt.
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25 November 2022 |
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Application for extension of time dismissed; alleged assessors' illegality not apparent on the record and delay unexplained.
Civil procedure – extension of time – good cause – alleged illegality of trial proceedings regarding assessors' conduct – whether illegality apparent on the face of the record – verification clause of counter‑affidavit.
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25 November 2022 |
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Appellant proved lawful tenancy; respondents failed to rebut acknowledgment, restrained from eviction and ordered to pay damages.
Land law – Tenancy – Proof and recognition of existing tenancy by purchaser of property; Evidence – burden of proof and effect of denial of documentary evidence; Adverse inference where material witness not called; Reliefs – injunction, damages and costs.
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25 November 2022 |
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Prosecution failed to prove murder beyond reasonable doubt due to weak nocturnal identification and investigative delays; accused acquitted.
Criminal law – Murder – Unnatural death established by post-mortem; Identification evidence – visual ID at night under moonlight unreliable without details (Waziri Amani test); Failure to name suspects at earliest opportunity and delay in arrest weaken prosecution case; Burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt – accused acquitted.
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24 November 2022 |
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Nullifying a third party’s land ownership without joining them vitiates tribunal proceedings for violating the right to be heard.
Land law – non-joinder of necessary party; natural justice – right to be heard (audi alteram partem); effect of non-joinder – vitiates tribunal proceedings and orders; Order I Rule 9 CPC inapplicable where necessary party absent; revisional powers to quash and set aside tribunal decisions.
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18 November 2022 |
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17 November 2022 |
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16 November 2022 |
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14 November 2022 |
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11 November 2022 |
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No duty or causal proximity found between land dispute and job loss; negligence claim fails and appeal dismissed.
Tort — Negligence: duty of care, breach and causation; proximity requirement for duty; malicious prosecution and negligence are distinct causes of action — failure to prove one does not automatically defeat the other; burden of proof on balance of probabilities; appellate review of factual findings.
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11 November 2022 |
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9 November 2022 |
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8 November 2022 |
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Second appellate court dismissed appeal: appellant failed to prove claim and concurrent factual findings were upheld.
Civil procedure – second appeal – concurrent findings of fact; Burden of proof in Primary Courts – GN No.22/1964 Regulations; Evidence – written agreements and oral evidence; Contract/admission – validity and sufficiency of post-dispute agreement; Alleged forgery not established.
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8 November 2022 |
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7 November 2022 |
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7 November 2022 |
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3 November 2022 |
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Appellant's land claim dismissed as time-barred; respondent's long possession established title.
Land law – adverse possession – long uninterrupted occupation and development can establish possessory title against earlier claimants. Limitation – Magistrates’ Courts (Limitation under Customary Law) Rules – 12-year limitation to recover possession of land bars stale claims. Evidence – Section 119 Evidence Act – burden to prove non-ownership where possessor appears owner. Procedure – appellate courts cannot raise or decide issues of non-joinder not pleaded below. Civil appeals – second appellate court will not disturb concurrent factual findings absent misapprehension or miscarriage of justice.
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2 November 2022 |