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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. 

Physical address
24 Kivukoni Road, P O Box: S.L.P. 9004
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https://jmap.judiciary.go.tz/jmap/jmap-hc
7 judgments
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7 judgments
Citation
Judgment date
December 1981
Republic vs Tatu Jumamine and Others (Criminal Sessions Case No. 67 of 1980) [1981] TZHC 2415 (4 December 1981)
Eyewitness proof of a violent joint assault established manslaughter, but not murder, due to lack of proven malice aforethought.
Criminal law — Homicide: credibility of eyewitnesses; sufficiency of direct evidence where post‑mortem inconclusive; malice aforethought as element distinguishing murder from manslaughter; common intention (section 23) and joint assault.
 4 December 1981
November 1981
Republic vs Makambi Njaka and Another (Criminal Sessions Case No. 72 of 1980) [1981] TZHC 2408 (20 November 1981)
Accused who helped bury murder victims convicted as accessories after the fact; compulsion defence rejected.
Criminal law – Accessory after the fact – Elements: knowledge of offence and assistance to enable escape from punishment; conviction of principal not required; compulsion defence scrutinised and rejected where conduct indicates voluntary concealment; evidentiary value of identification and post‑mortem reports; sentencing—first offenders and remand custody considered.
 20 November 1981
Republic vs Sifael Ole Martin (Criminal Sessions Case No. 46 of 1980) [1981] TZHC 2405 (13 November 1981)
Circumstantial and identification evidence failed to exclude reasonable hypotheses of innocence; accused acquitted.
Criminal law – Murder – conviction on circumstantial evidence – requirement that inculpatory facts exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence. Identification – reliability of witness identification in poor lighting; inconsistency in witness accounts undermining certainty. Forensic/weapon evidence – whether weapon in accused’s possession was proven to be the weapon used. Standard of proof – prosecution's burden to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt where evidence is circumstantial.
 13 November 1981
October 1981
Republic vs Ally Ikaku (Criminal Sessions Case No. 78 of 1980) [1981] TZHC 2397 (21 October 1981)
The accused's alibi was rejected, provocation not established; convicted of murder and sentenced to death.
Criminal law – Murder – Alibi – credibility of alibi evidence – Eyewitness identification – Medical evidence of lethal wounds – Provocation not established – Intention to cause grievous harm/death – Sentence: death by hanging.
 21 October 1981
Republic vs Amina Sima (Criminal Sessions Case No. 81 of 1980) [1981] TZHC 2395 (19 October 1981)
Provocation and fear of harm found, but excessive retaliation converted an otherwise provoked killing into manslaughter with a seven-year sentence.
Criminal law – Homicide – Self-defence and provocation – Excessive retaliation vitiates justification; reliance on extra-judicial statement and burden to disprove it; reduction of murder to manslaughter where provocation established but response disproportionate.
 19 October 1981
Republic vs Jumanne Myawi Makiya (Criminal Sessions Case No. 44 of 1980) [1981] TZHC 2391 (10 October 1981)
A single fatal punch lacked proof of intent to kill; conviction reduced to manslaughter and ten-year sentence imposed.
Criminal law – Homicide: murder versus manslaughter – intention to kill or cause grievous harm required for murder; single fist blow causing fatal cervical injuries insufficient to prove intent – unlawful act manslaughter established. Defences of drunkenness and provocation rejected. Sentence: ten years' imprisonment with remand period as mitigation.
 10 October 1981
Republic vs Msagala Maloda (Criminal Sessions Case No. 38 of 1980) [1981] TZHC 2389 (5 October 1981)
Accused convicted of murder; intoxication and provocation defences rejected; sentenced to death despite being under 18 at time of offence.
Criminal law – murder – proof of intent to kill or cause grievous harm – use of lethal weapon to vulnerable part of body. Defences – intoxication and temporary insanity – when intoxication negates specific intent; factual lucidity defeats defence. Defences – provocation – requirement of grave and sudden provocation and no cooling‑off. Evidence – witness credibility and post‑mortem corroboration. Sentencing – capital punishment; age at offence noted but did not preclude death sentence under prevailing law.
 5 October 1981