High Court of Tanzania

This is the second level in the Judiciary justice delivery hierarchy. It has both appellate and original powers on civil and criminal matters. It also hears appeals from the Courts of Resident Magistrate, the District Courts, and the District Land and Housing Tribunals in exercise of their original, appellate and/or revisional jurisdiction. The High Court is divided into Zones and specialized Divisions.

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24 Kivukoni Road, P O Box: S.L.P. 9004

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https://jmap.judiciary.go.tz/jmap/jmap-hc

12 judgments

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12 judgments

Citation	Judgment date
November 1981
Athumani Bakari Minjale vs Republic (High Court Criminal Appeal No. 99 OF 1979) [1981] TZHC 2104 (24 November 1981) Conviction quashed where lay officer’s testimony alone failed to provide expert identification of alleged trophies and medicines. Evidence — Identification of specialized items — Expert evidence required to prove identity of wildlife trophies and medicines; convictions unsafe where only lay arresting officer testifies.	24 November 1981
Joakim Augustine Ngonyani & Another vs Republic (High Court Criminal Appeal No. 39 of 1981) [1981] TZHC 2232 (18 November 1981) Convictions quashed due to an inadequate, illogical trial judgment; retrial ordered to secure fair determination. Criminal procedure – requirement for clear, reasoned judgments (s.171 CPC); evaluation of evidence and credibility; inadmissible reliance on documents without supporting oral testimony; unsafe convictions – retrial ordered.	18 November 1981
Issa Hamisi Mwenda vs Yusufu Ahamadi Namaluma (Misc. Civil Application No. 16 of 1996) [1981] TZHC 2032 (5 November 1981) A will disinheriting heirs and lacking required witnesses is invalid; no point of law warranted leave to appeal. Inheritance — Validity of wills — Islamic law — Bequests exceeding one-third to non-heirs and disinheriting statutory heirs invalidate testamentary dispositions; Formalities — Required attestation/witnessing under Primary Law Declaration; Civil procedure — Leave out of time to appeal and certification of points of law; Principle — Courts will not give effect to testamentary wishes contrary to law.	5 November 1981
August 1981
Director of Public Prosecutions vs Boniface Francis (HC Criminal Appeal No 61 of 1980) [1981] TZHC 2143 (31 August 1981) Court increased the respondent's imprisonment and licence cancellation for causing death by dangerous driving, enforcing statutory minimums. * Sentencing – Road Traffic Act – causing death by dangerous driving – statutory minimum custodial sentence where death has occurred (s.40(1) and s.63(2)(a)). * Licence cancellation/disqualification – minimum periods under s.27(1)(a). * Departure from statutory minima – requires special reasons; absence thereof grounds appeal success.	31 August 1981
Mohamed Malimusi Rashidi vs Republic (High Court Criminal Appeal No. 53 of 1980) [1981] TZHC 2142 (28 August 1981) Convictions quashed and retrial ordered where a succeeding magistrate wrote judgment without observing witnesses under section 196. * Criminal law – Traffic offences – dangerous driving causing death and bodily injury – causation and role of mechanical defects (broken front spring). * Evidence – expert/inspection report versus oral opinion; improper substitution of judicial opinion for evidence. * Criminal procedure – section 196 Criminal Procedure Code – succeeding magistrate taking over trial must ensure fairness, recall witnesses if necessary; failure may require retrial. * Remedy – convictions quashed and retrial ordered; revisional powers used to set aside second accused's conviction. * Administrative – driving licence suspension operative from date of order.	28 August 1981
Abdallah Rashidi vs Republic (High Court Criminal Appeal No. 97 of 1980) [1981] TZHC 2348 (18 August 1981) Drunk-driving conviction quashed for lack of chain of custody; other convictions upheld and illegal sentences on two counts amended. * Traffic law – drunk driving – chemist's report insufficient without evidence of chain of custody and identification of blood sample. * Evidence – necessity of proving sequence of events and sample identification where laboratory analysis is relied upon. * Sentencing – statutory minimum fines and imprisonment; sentences below statutory minima are illegal and must be set aside and substituted. * Traffic offences – sufficiency of evidence for careless driving, driving without licence, and use of vehicle not in good mechanical repair.	18 August 1981
April 1981
Mohamed Hassani vs Republic (Criminal Appeal No. 92 of 1979) [1981] TZHC 1988 (15 April 1981) Conviction for burglary upheld on recent possession; five-year minimum sentence reduced because value of stolen property was not proved. * Criminal law – Burglary and stealing – Recent possession doctrine – possession and sale of stolen goods shortly after break‑in supports inference of guilt.* Sentencing – Minimum Sentences Act – statutory minimums require court satisfaction the value of property exceeds threshold; such value must be established by evidence at trial.* Compensation – orders under Minimum Sentences Act s.7 require court assessment of value and must be particularized.	15 April 1981
Esha Abdallah vs Republic (HC Criminal Appeal No 62/80) [1981] TZHC 2127 (14 April 1981) Conviction quashed where trial judge relied on an unproved documentary report rather than admissible oral evidence. Evidence — documentary evidence; contents of a document not proved by oral testimony have no evidential value; trial judge must not rely on or interpret untested documents in reaching a conviction; sufficiency of evidence for criminal conviction.	14 April 1981
Abdallah Rashidi Maiga vs Republic (Criminal Appeal No. 88 of 1979) [1981] TZHC 1987 (10 April 1981) Applicant's conviction for stealing by agent upheld; sentence reduced and compensation adjusted for recovered proceeds. Criminal law — Stealing by agent (s.273(b) Penal Code) — Evidence and credibility of witnesses — Accounting for entrusted funds — Sentence discretion and restitution calculation.	10 April 1981
Abdallah Rashidi Maiga vs Republic (High Court Criminal Appeal No. 88/79) [1981] TZHC 1990 (10 April 1981) Whether the applicant’s failure to account for entrusted funds constituted stealing by agent and whether the sentence was excessive. * Criminal law – Stealing by agent (s.273(b) Penal Code) – adequacy of evidence and credibility of accounts regarding accounting for entrusted funds; * Criminal procedure – appellate review of factual findings and sentence discretion; * Sentencing – reduction where original term excessive relative to proved loss.	10 April 1981
January 1981
Shangte Hassani vs Hassani Ali Mkumbukwa (Misc Civil Application No. 1 of 1981) [1981] TZHC 2036 (1 January 1981) Appellant who forcibly removed respondent’s wife acted without lawful authority and must pay damages; appeal dismissed. Civil liability – Damages for removal of spouse – Whether removal without lawful authority gives rise to claim for damages; evidentiary weight of conduct at reconciliation proceedings; absence of written authorization; affirmation of lower courts’ factual findings.	1 January 1981
Vicent Mnamba vs Republic (Criminal Appeal No. 99 of 1981) [1981] TZHC 1989 (1 January 1981) Conviction for causing parastatal loss quashed where evidence failed to establish criminal negligence and sentence exceeded statutory maximum. Criminal law – Offence of occasioning loss to a parastatal (s.284A(1)) – Criminal negligence standard – insufficiency of evidence where others controlled access and theft by unknown persons; Sentencing – unlawful sentence exceeding statutory maximum.	1 January 1981