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21 judgments found.
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November 2023
Review of revisional order dismissed; Ward Tribunal coram irregularity fatal and proceedings rightly quashed.
Land law
— civil review of revisional order
— Right to be heard
— irregular participation of members vitiates proceedings
— stay of execution
— Ward Tribunal composition and coram irregularity
28 November 2023
Court admitted a USB under s289(1) CPA, holding possession/knowledge suffice for preliminary admission.
Criminal procedure — Admission of additional exhibits under section 289(1) Criminal Procedure Act — Necessity to invoke s.289 CPA to cure non‑disclosure of exhibits
Evidence
— Documentary and electronic evidence — Possessor with knowledge may tender exhibit, admissibility focuses on witness knowledge and chain of custody rather than immediate proof of authenticity
— Evidence Act s.34B(2) — Inapplicable to preliminary admission of exhibits when maker is unavailable
24 November 2023
Citation of an exhibit in an expert report during committal satisfies notice; court admitted the exhibit under s.145(2) Evidence Act.
Criminal procedure — committal proceedings — notice of prosecution materials
— authenticity and weight are for trial, not automatic exclusion
— citation of an exhibit within an expert report during committal can satisfy s.246(2) notice requirements
24 November 2023
Court admitted disputed forensic DVD despite committal-description discrepancies, leaving assessment to cross-examination and judgment.
Criminal law — Criminal procedure act — whether failure to list an exhibit at committal disbars its tender at trial
Criminal procedure — admissibility of forensic electronic evidence — discrepancy between committal description ('DVD containing CCTV footage') and trial description ('DVD containing still pictures')
Evidence — Evidence act — role in admitting scientific exhibits
Human rights — Constitutional right to fair trial — whether admission would breach natural justice
24 November 2023
Applicant charged with attempt to murder granted bail subject to strict surety, reporting and travel-document surrender conditions.
Criminal procedure — Bail pending trial — Personal circumstances (age/village residence) do not automatically justify relaxed bail conditions — Bail granted subject to bond, sureties, regional residence verification, reporting and surrender of travel documents — Supervision by Deputy Registrar/Resident Magistrate
24 November 2023
Court admitted bank withdrawal slip despite incomplete chain of custody, emphasizing witness knowledge and relevance.
Evidence
— admission of exhibits — Chain of custody — Rule not absolute
— witness knowledge, relevance and susceptibility to tampering determine admissibility — Recent authorities relax strict paper-trail requirement
22 November 2023
A jurat missing the statutory identification statement is a fatal procedural defect and warrants striking out the application with costs.
Civil procedure — preliminary objection — When raised, preliminary objections must be determined before merits
Civil procedure — Procedural compliance
— failure renders an application incompetent and subject to striking out
— Mandatory formalities in jurats are not cured by the Overriding Objective
Civil procedure — Procedure — affidavits — Jurat of attestation
20 November 2023
Court ordered disclosure of a prosecution witness's prior statement to enable defence impeachment under ss 154, 164(1)(c) and 166.
Evidence
— Evidence disclosure — redaction of witness statements and non-disclosure to accused/defence counsel — Defence entitlement to possession of prior statements before reading (ss 154, 164(1)(c) and 166 Evidence Act)
— prior inconsistent statements and hostile witness procedure — Procedure for impeaching witness under ss 154, 164(1)(c) and 166 of the Evidence Act
20 November 2023
Cautions properly admitted and visual ID corroborated; conviction and 30-year sentences for armed robbery upheld.
Criminal law
— Armed robbery — Ingredients: theft, use or threat with dangerous weapon and directed against a person — proof required
— Identification parade — irregularity (no prior description) may be cured by independent corroboration
Evidence — caution statements
— admission proper where no proof of torture or unlawful detention
— voluntariness tested in trial-within-a-trial
Evidence — Visual identification — daylight, close-range identification corroborated by other evidence can be reliable
17 November 2023
Unreliable nighttime identification and gaps in circumstantial and forensic evidence led to acquittal for murder.
Criminal law
— Investigative deficiencies — lack of identification parade and forensic tests weaken prosecution case
— Murder
— Visual identification — night identification, lighting, fear, and discrepancies affect reliability
15 November 2023
Leave to appeal refused: no arguable appeal, new issues not raised below, and long use favored the respondent.
Land law — leave to appeal — Discretionary grant to be shown by issue of general importance, novel point of law or arguable appeal
Civil procedure — New issues on appeal — Claims raised for the first time on appeal without evidence are not entertained
Land law — Possession and title — Long and undisturbed occupation, improvement (house and trees) as basis for ownership
15 November 2023
Rape conviction upheld; trafficking conviction quashed due to defective chain of custody for seized drugs.
Criminal law — Defective charge sheet — curative provision
Criminal law — Evidence
— chain of custody requirement for seized narcotics
— Child Witnesses
Criminal law — Procedural law — admissibility of documents
Criminal law — Visual identification — arrest at scene supports reliability
14 November 2023
Appeal confined to sentence after guilty plea; 30-year term reduced to 20 years as excessive for a first offender.
Criminal law — sentencing — overriding penalty provision for economic offences
Criminal law — Sentencing principles
— application of Tanzania Sentencing Guidelines and Court of Appeal precedents
— maximum sentence rarely imposed on first offenders
Criminal procedure — Guilty plea — appeal limited to sentence under section 360(1) CPA
13 November 2023
Ex‑parte forfeiture of livestock reversed for failure to give statutory notice and to afford applicants right to be heard.
Criminal procedure — Forfeiture of property — Statutory notice/publication and procedural compliance — Police Force and Auxiliary Services Act s47; National Parks Act s29
Constitutional law — Constitutional and procedural fairness — Right to be heard (audi alteram partem) — Criminal Procedure Act s392A; Constitution arts 13(6), 107A
10 November 2023
Forfeiture under National Parks Act s.29(2) is discretionary; trial court rightly refused forfeiture where prosecution failed to prove habitat disturbance.
Criminal law — Sentencing discretion — trial court’s choice of punishment respected where exercised judiciously
Evidence — Criminal burden of proof
Wildlife offences — National parks act s.29(2) — forfeiture is discretionary ('may'), not mandatory
9 November 2023
Cattle seizure evidence expunged for procedural defects; unlawful entry into National Park proved but disturbance charge failed.
Environmental law — Disturbance of biological diversity — Whether prosecution proved disturbance to the habitat of components of biological diversity
Evidence — certificate of seizure — Authentication and signatures and compliance with section 38(3) of the Criminal Procedure Act — Criminal Procedure Act s 38(3)
Wildlife offences — Wildlife/national parks offences — Proof of offence and territorial/park boundary jurisdiction
9 November 2023
Non‑compliance with mandatory Rule 24(3) affidavit requirements warrants striking out; overriding objective cannot cure mandatory defects.
Labour law
— Labour procedure
— Leave to refile may be granted
— Non‑compliance renders revision incompetent and subject to strike out
— Overriding objective principle cannot cure non‑compliance with mandatory procedural requirements
8 November 2023
Where an appeal originates from a primary court, the High Court must certify a point of law; leave to appeal is not required.
Appellate practice — Appellate procedure — Appeals from primary courts — Head (c) Part III MCA
Civil procedure
— extension of time — where certification, not leave, is statutory requirement, an extension to apply for leave is misconceived
— Procedure — Proper remedy is extension to apply for certification of point of law, not extension to apply for leave to appeal
7 November 2023
Order XXI Rule 62 CPC makes objection rulings conclusive; aggrieved party must sue to establish disputed property rights.
Land law — Land revision — Objection proceedings
6 November 2023
Ex parte judgment quashed where summons service was not proven, denying the defendant the right to be heard.
Civil procedure
— ex-parte proceedings — proof of service required before invoking Order VIII r.14
— Service of summons — Compliance with Order
6 November 2023
Leave to appeal refused: proposed grounds were afterthoughts and raised no arguable or novel point of law.
Civil procedure — afterthoughts not allowed
— admissibility of exhibits
— debenture registration
— directors’ authority and board resolutions
— MEMART/non-production of company documents
Civil procedure — Leave to appeal — discretionary — requires point of law, public importance or prima facie/arguable appeal
2 November 2023