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198 judgments found.
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December 2021
Conviction for rape upheld: victim's credible account corroborated, variances and minor contradictions not fatal.
Criminal law
— corroboration by intervening witness and clinical officer — Variance between charge and evidence
— non-material — Wrong subsection citation not fatal where facts fit subsection (b) — Minor contradictions not going to gist of case
— Rape — sufficiency of prosecution evidence — Best evidence from victim
31 December 2021
PF3 expunged but victim’s credible testimony sufficed; procedural defects were non‑prejudicial, appeal dismissed.
Criminal procedure
— Change of magistrate — Duty to inform accused of right to re‑summon witnesses — s.214 CPA
— Conviction in absentia — right to be heard on subsequent appearance and probable defence — s.226 CPA
Evidence — PF3 admissibility — requirement that document be tendered by its maker and contents not read before formal admission — Victim's testimony as sufficient proof in sexual offences
29 December 2021
Appeal dismissed: plaintiff failed to prove the respondent's statements caused reputational injury amounting to defamation.
Civil procedure — Costs — successful respondent entitled to costs on appeal
Defamation — elements of actionable defamation (statement, publication, falsity, injury, lack of privilege) — Whether words lower a person's reputation and constitute actionable defamation
23 December 2021
Eyewitness, medical and exhibit evidence proved murder; adults sentenced to death, juvenile conditionally discharged.
Criminal law — Murder — Identification in daylight
— alibi unsupported and failure to give statutory alibi notice
— corroboration by post‑mortem and seized weapons
— credibility of eyewitnesses
— malice aforethought established by weapons, multiple wounds, force and utterances
— sentence: death for adult offenders, conditional discharge for juvenile
22 December 2021
Identification by moonlight unproven and circumstantial evidence allowed other interpretations, so conviction was unsafe.
Criminal law — Visual identification — night‑time identification — Necessity to specify source and intensity of light, distance, room size and duration
Criminal procedure — Acquittal — Acquittal under section 235 Criminal Procedure Act (CPA) and immediate release when prosecution fails to prove guilt
Evidence — circumstantial evidence — Three‑stage test: cogent circumstances, definite tendency to guilt, cumulative chain leaving no escape
22 December 2021
Ownership must be established before a malicious-damage conviction; retrial in a court lacking land-jurisdiction was nullified.
Appellate practice — Retrial — Jurisdictional limits of primary courts — Land Act s 167
Criminal law — Malicious damage to property — Elements to prove: existence of property, ownership, wilful and unlawful damage — Quid quid plantatur solo cedit (plants attached to land follow the land)
Criminal procedure — revisional powers (s373(1)(a)) — Nullification of orders — Criminal Procedure Act s 373(1)(a)
21 December 2021
Application for leave and certificate refused because the grounds were factual, not points of law.
Civil procedure — Leave to appeal — certification limited to points of law of legal nature and wider significance
Land law — Land disputes courts act s.47(2) — High Court certificate required for appeals originating from Ward Tribunal
17 December 2021
An employment contract with an unregistered teacher is void ab initio; CMA award set aside.
Employment law — Fixed-term contracts
— Fixed‑term employment with an unregistered/unqualified teacher
— Tanzania Teachers' Professional Board Act s28
Labour law — Revision of CMA award — Procedural irregularity — Procedural irregularities (condonation, CMA Form No.1, burden of proof, time limitation)
17 December 2021
Failure to call material witnesses and reliance on unrecorded demeanour rendered the rape conviction unsafe.
Criminal law
— Evidence — credibility of witnesses and appellate restraint on reassessing demeanour findings — Requirement to record demeanour under section 212 CPA before relying on it
— sexual offences against a child — sufficiency of evidence and requirement for corroboration of young child’s testimony — Need to scrutinise reliability and corroboration
— Trial procedure — failure is a fatal irregularity rendering judgment invalid — Adverse inference and effect on safety of conviction
10 December 2021
Rape conviction quashed for insufficient evidence and unsupported alibi, despite minor defects in charge particulars.
Criminal law — sexual offences — Corroboration of complainant’s testimony — uncorroborated evidence ordinarily unsafe for conviction
Criminal procedure
— Charge particulars — minor omission of subsections may be cured under s.388 if particulars and evidence eliminate prejudice
— defence of alibi (s.194(4) CPA) — Notice requirement and consequences of failure to give notice
10 December 2021
Appeal dismissed: mortgage enforcement over alleged matrimonial house is a land matter; court properly struck out suit and awarded costs.
Civil procedure — jurisdiction — Court’s power to award costs despite lack of jurisdiction
Land law
— matrimonial home — spousal assent requirement for mortgage
— mortgage enforcement and restraint of sale — characterisation as land dispute
10 December 2021
Conviction quashed where prosecution failed to prove penetration and omitted critical medical evidence.
Criminal law — Unnatural offence (anal penetration) — proof of penetration and identity
Evidence
— Evidence act, s.127(2) — Tender‑age witness giving oath equivalent to statutory promise
— Medical evidence (PF3) — Failure to tender PF3 and call examining doctor
7 December 2021
Inordinate delay, unpleaded/unsupported illegality and forum shopping justified refusal to extend time to appeal.
Civil procedure
— Abuse of process/forum shopping — repeated applications on same non-appealable order disentitle relief
— Delay — inordinate delay (over 2,000 days) defeats extension absent satisfactory explanation
— extension of time — Lyamuya criteria: account for each day, good cause, illegality apparent on face of record
— Pleading
— Procedural defects — defective jurat, missing annexures, and filing irregularities undermine competence of application
3 December 2021
Illegal search and defective handling of exhibits led to quashing of the appellant’s conviction.
Criminal law — Wildlife offences — unlawful possession of government trophies — Procedural requirements for search and seizure
1 December 2021
November 2021
Termination for nondisclosure of prior dismissal and dishonesty was substantively and procedurally fair; revision dismissed.
Civil procedure
— Procedural fairness — adjournment and right to legal representation at internal disciplinary hearings
— Public service act and standing orders — applicability to bodies corporate delivering public services — disciplinary procedures — notice, right to be heard, representation, witnesses, and fairness of process
Labour law — unfair termination — gross dishonesty and nondisclosure of prior dismissal as fair substantive ground for dismissal
30 November 2021
Failure to summon a named child eyewitness created reasonable doubt, leading to quashing of the rape conviction.
Criminal law — sexual offences against a child — sufficiency of evidence and requirement for corroboration of young child’s testimony
Criminal procedure — evaluation of evidence — duty to assess defence evidence and analyse credibility — High Court may reassess defence and prosecution evidence where trial court failed to consider defence properly
29 November 2021
Appellate tribunal unlawfully struck out an appeal without hearing parties or considering the record.
Civil procedure
— Appeals
— natural justice — Right to be heard (Article 13(6)(a)) — Striking out appeal without hearing parties is unlawful
— remedy — Quash and remit for rehearing before different chairman
25 November 2021
Validly-based dismissal for invalid qualifications was procedurally unfair due to lack of a disciplinary hearing; suspension required full pay.
Labour law — termination for invalid qualifications
— employer entitled to investigate
— reliefs for procedurally unfair dismissal
25 November 2021
Trial court lacked jurisdiction where DPP consent and certificate were absent, and perishable-trophy evidence was procedurally defective.
Criminal procedure — Economic offences — requirement of DPP consent and certificate order where economic and non-economic offences are combined
Criminal procedure — Evidence
— chain of custody, seizure receipts and proper tendering of exhibits
— perishable government trophies disposal and PGO requirements
Criminal procedure — remedy
— nullity of proceedings and quashing of conviction
— retrial not ordered where prosecution would be enabled to fill evidential gaps
25 November 2021
Leave to appeal granted on arguable issues concerning assessors' opinions, locus visit procedure, and capacity to be sued.
Appellate practice — leave to appeal — grant where grounds raise arguable/legal points of general importance
Civil procedure — Representation — Person acting after probate closure lacks capacity to represent estate
Land disputes — assessors’ opinions
— Mandatory requirement to give and consider assessors' written opinions before judgment
— Regulation 19(1)-(2) G.N. No. 174/2003
24 November 2021
A recorded promise by a child witness and repetitive-acts testimony sufficed; date discrepancies and absent reporters did not undermine conviction.
Evidence
— child of tender age
— Inconsistencies — materiality of discrepancies
— Omission to call tertiary witnesses — not fatal where victim’s evidence is cogent
— Sexual offences — Victim's testimony as best evidence
24 November 2021
A defective charge sheet and contradictory, unlinked evidence rendered convictions for forgery and uttering false documents unsustainable.
Criminal procedure
— Charge particulars — omission of specific subsection under s335(d) and omission of sentencing provision renders charge incurably defective
— Evidence — contradictions among witnesses undermine prosecution case
23 November 2021
Second appellate court affirms conviction: evidence and exhibits proved theft; late challenge to plaintiff’s capacity inadmissible.
Criminal law — Theft — Elements of theft and standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt — eye-witness and arrest at scene corroborated by exhibits and photographs
Criminal procedure — Appellate review — Second appeal limits: re-evaluation only where misdirection/non-direction on evidence. Civil procedure/MCA — Capacity to sue — objection not raised earlier cannot be entertained on second appeal
18 November 2021
Court refused Mareva injunction against regulator, ordering applicant to complete statutory registration within 45 days.
Administrative law — Administrative/regulatory enforcement — Validity of Registrar’s actions under Water Supply and Sanitation Act No. 5 of 2019 — Effect of lack of certificate of registration
Civil procedure — Mareva (freezing) injunction — availability pending statutory notice expiry but not pending filing of suit — Inapplicability where statutory regulatory action is lawfully exercised
17 November 2021
Respondent's admissions and exhibits established partial indebtedness; court awarded Tshs.14,555,800 plus Tshs.2,000,000 general damages.
Civil procedure — appeal from trial court — evaluation of evidence and admissions in pleadings
Civil procedure — Contract — oral agreement alleged to establish business partnership
Civil procedure — Evidence
— assessment of specific and general damages
— bank and mobile-money transactions
— distinction between gifts/friendly transfers and loans absent inventory
16 November 2021
A tribunal’s ruling that finally decides a case is appealable and a subsequent suit on the same land was barred by res judicata.
Civil procedure
— Appealability — proviso to Regulation 22 GN. No.174: rulings finally deciding the case are appealable
— Preliminary objections — reference to facts does not automatically vitiate ruling absent miscarriage of justice
— Res judicata — private right claimed in common
16 November 2021
Identification under alcohol and sudden ambush insufficient to prove armed robbery beyond reasonable doubt; conviction quashed.
Criminal law — identification evidence — Reliability affected by alcohol consumption, darkness, sudden ambush and headgear
15 November 2021
Victim’s consistent testimony corroborated by medical evidence sufficed to uphold conviction for unnatural offence.
Criminal law — Unnatural offence (sodomy) — proof beyond reasonable doubt — Victim’s testimony as best evidence and corroboration by PF3 medical report (bruises, loose anal sphincter, evidence of penetration)
Evidence
— Evaluation of evidence — trial magistrate entitled to assess credibility and accept coherent, corroborated testimony
— Evidentiary issues — inconsistencies of dates and delay in reporting do not necessarily negate prosecution case if not going to the root of the offence
11 November 2021
Court refused to revoke administrators where inventory delays were explained and misappropriation allegations remained unproven.
Probate law — Administration of estates
— Misapplication of estate — Remedy by suit for account and damages, not automatic removal
— Revocation of letters of administration — Whether appointment should be revoked for alleged failure to file inventory and misappropriation
11 November 2021
Court declined interim injunctions, upheld RUWASA's regulatory decision, and ordered applicant to register within 45 days; each party bears own costs.
Administrative law; regulatory powers under Water Supply and Sanitation Act 2019; availability of Mareva-type interim relief via Judicature and Application of Laws Act; interim relief cannot require court to contravene statutory regulatory determinations; requirement to be registered to lawfully operate community water services.
11 November 2021
Omission of an arbitrator's signature at the end of testimony vitiates CMA proceedings and requires rehearing de novo.
Labour law — CMA procedure — arbitrator’s signature to witness evidence — procedural defects vitiating proceedings
10 November 2021
Revision dismissed where applicants failed to justify delay and CMA properly refused condonation under Rule 11(3).
Labour law — condonation and limitation — application for unpaid overtime filed out of time
9 November 2021
Bank lawfully froze and recovered loan funds after the plaintiff attempted to divert them contrary to the loan agreement.
Banking law — lender’s duty to protect security — withholding/withdrawing disbursed loan funds where borrower attempts diversion contrary to vendor/payment terms
Civil procedure — Remedies
— lender entitled to recall and recover on borrower default
— sale of security and dismissal of borrower’s claim
Contract law — breach and variation of loan facility — borrower’s attempt to divert funds or hire asset contrary to express agreement
8 November 2021
Court dismissed jurisdictional preliminary objection; Moshi Registry may hear the applicant's copyright claim.
Civil procedure — Judicature and Application of Laws Act s.2(2)
— copyright actions
— factual disputes (principal/subordinate office) not resolvable on preliminary objection
Civil procedure — territorial jurisdiction
4 November 2021
Leave granted to seek judicial review of a procurement decision allegedly contrary to tender criteria.
Administrative law — Judicial review — Leave to apply for prerogative orders — Leave stage as screening for arguable case
Procurement law — Public procurement/tenders — Challenge to disqualification based on alleged indebtedness not stipulated in tender documents — Reviewability of procurement decisions
2 November 2021
October 2021
The respondent’s failure to obtain leave to defend and to appear constituted admission, meriting summary judgment for the applicant.
Civil procedure — Order XXXV — Allegations in plaint deemed admitted
— Improper filing of written statement of defence without leave
— Service levy claim where defendant defaulted appearance
— Summary judgment warranted
29 October 2021
High Court upheld CMA award for unpaid wages and affirmed arbitrator's costs award for frivolous conduct.
Labour law
— Costs in labour proceedings — awardable where proceedings are frivolous/vexatious — Award under s.88(8) Employment and Labour Relations Act for frivolous or vexatious conduct
— Revision of CMA award — Deference to arbitrator’s credibility and factual findings on revision
— Wage determination — Application of Labour Institutions Wage Order, GN. No. 196/2013, to fix minimum wage for guest‑house worker
29 October 2021
Supporting affidavit contained impermissible legal argument; application struck out with costs.
Civil procedure — Affidavits
Civil procedure — Ex parte Matovu
— Defective affidavit may be struck out
— impact on chambers application
28 October 2021
Appeal allowed only to remit custody for consideration of the children’s views; other findings, including property division, upheld.
Family law
— Cruelty — criminal conviction as corroboration
— custody — welfare of the child and child’s wishes
— Divorce — reconciliation before marriage conciliatory board — jurisdiction despite clerical error
— Evidence — parties’ choice not to call witnesses
— Matrimonial property — concurrent findings not disturbed
27 October 2021
Applicants had locus standi; lack of transfer consent is procedural and does not justify striking out their land claim.
Administrative law — Locus standi
— legal personal representative and power of attorney confer sufficient interest to sue
— Prior appellate decision binding on subordinate tribunals
Administrative law — Revision — quash and remit for hearing on merits
21 October 2021
Failure to sit with assessors and record their opinions renders the tribunal’s proceedings and judgment a nullity.
Land law — Land disputes courts — constitution of tribunal — mandatory written opinions of assessors before judgment — retrial ordered
20 October 2021
Conviction quashed due to unsafe night identification, unlawfully recorded caution statement and defective custody of exhibits.
Criminal law — Caution statement
— chain of custody and lawful seizure of exhibits
— safety of conviction where identification and custodial statement defective
— statutory four‑hour rule and admissibility
Criminal law — Visual identification
14 October 2021
Court granted extension to file revision where alleged ex-parte arbitration and denial of hearing raised an arguable illegality.
Labour law — Extension of time
— alleged illegality on face of record
— denial of right to be heard
— discretionary power of the court
— duty to extend time to enable review
— ex-parte arbitration
13 October 2021
Court upheld sale and equal division of matrimonial house, rejecting appellant's age-based objection to execution.
Appellate practice — Second appeal — Interference with concurrent findings of fact
Family law
— Division of matrimonial property — Matrimonial property division: s114 — Law of Marriage Act s 114(1)
— Execution of matrimonial decree — Attachment and sale of property — Prematurity of execution/finality of asset determination
13 October 2021
Conviction quashed where identification, exhibit chain and cautioned statements were procedurally defective and trial court erred in convicting in absence.
Criminal law — identification evidence — Identification
Criminal procedure — conviction in absence
Evidence — cautioned statements
— document clearance for admission and reading aloud in court
— procedural requirements
Evidence — chain of custody
Evidence — Standard of proof
13 October 2021
Leave to appeal refused where affidavit failed to show an arguable point of law and complaints were factual/procedural.
Civil procedure
— Affidavit practice
— Execution of decree — role of Deputy Registrar — acting ultra vires when imposing conditions
— Leave to appeal
13 October 2021
Revision dismissed where CMA properly dismissed claim for failure to comply with court order to refile.
Labour law — Revision — Commission for Mediation and Arbitration — Compliance with High Court order to refile — Dismissal for non-compliance lawful
12 October 2021
Applicants failed to account for each day of delay; extension of time to appeal in a land matter dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure
— Illegality as ground for extension — Lyamuya principle
— Land Disputes Courts Act s 41(2)
— wrong citation of enabling provision
Land law — extension of time to appeal — Duty to account for each day of delay
12 October 2021
Applicant’s failure to account for each day of an inordinate delay and lack of diligence warranted refusal of extension of time.
Civil procedure
— Delay — inordinate delay and counsel unavailability not automatically sufficient cause
— diligence required
— extension of time
7 October 2021
The plaintiff obtained summary judgment after the defendant failed to appear, recovering unpaid contract sums, damages, interest and costs.
Civil procedure — Summary judgment — Defendant’s failure to obtain leave to defend deemed admission — Order XXXV CPC
Contract law — Contract/debt recovery — Account reconciliation and agreed deductions (agency fee and security bond)
Damages — Interest and costs — Decretal sum, court-rate interest, general damages and costs
7 October 2021