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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 2004 |
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Where two sales conflict, the earlier valid sale prevails; unreliable seller testimony defeated the later purchaser's claim.
* Land law – competing sales – priority of sale – earlier valid sale prevails over subsequent sale. * Evidence – credibility of vendor – inconsistent testimony undermines purchaser’s claim. * Civil procedure – appellate review – when appellate court may reverse trial court despite locus in quo inspection.
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14 December 2004 |
| November 2004 |
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Appeal allowed where prosecution failed to prove false pretences and intent to defraud; convictions and sentences quashed.
Criminal law – Obtaining credit by false pretences – Elements: incurring liability, false pretence, intention to defraud – Burden of proof on prosecution – Hearsay and inadequate police investigation – Conviction quashed.
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17 November 2004 |
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Conviction quashed where contradictory recovery evidence and uncorroborated repudiated confessions made the conviction unsafe.
* Criminal law – alternative verdicts – section 305 Criminal Procedure Act – permissible to convict on alternative offence under sections 294–296 when properly applied.
* Evidence – repudiated confessions – conviction unsafe without independent corroboration.
* Evidence – contradictions in recovery evidence – material inconsistencies can undermine prosecution case.
* Criminal procedure – joint charges – benefit of doubt must be applied consistently to all accused when identity of perpetrator is not proven.
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17 November 2004 |
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Conviction quashed where contradictions, lack of exhibits and no clear link failed to prove appellant received stolen property.
* Criminal law – Alternative verdicts (s.375 Criminal Procedure Act) – Permissible but requires proof connecting accused to alternative offence. * Evidence – Burden of proof – Recent possession and receiving stolen property – necessity of clear recovery, identification and exhibit. * Confessions/repudiated statements – need for independent corroboration. * Contradictory witness accounts and failure to tender exhibits undermine conviction. * Joint accused – where identity of perpetrator not proved, benefit of doubt applies equally.
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17 November 2004 |
| August 2004 |
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Conviction quashed where identification and evidence were insufficient and trial judgment and jurisdiction were defective.
* Criminal law – cattle/stock theft – sufficiency of evidence – identification of stolen property by colour is weak. * Evidence – caution statement of one accused inadmissible against another. * Criminal procedure – requirement under s.312(1) Criminal Procedure Act for points, decision and reasons in judgment. * Jurisdiction – Stock Theft Ordinance applies only to specified districts; court lacked jurisdiction in Ruvuma region.
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11 August 2004 |
| July 2004 |
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Appeal dismissed: subordinate court lacked pecuniary jurisdiction, appellant failed to prove 90‑day notice, and no cause of action existed against TRA.
Government proceedings – mandatory 90‑day notice to sue the Government – proof of service required; Civil jurisdiction – subordinate/district court pecuniary limits at time of filing; Corporate personality – statutory creation of Tanzania Revenue Authority and lack of contractual relationship means no cause of action against TRA for pre‑existence employment claims.
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29 July 2004 |
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Appeal dismissed: subordinate court lacked jurisdiction and appellant failed to prove statutory notice or cause of action against TRA.
Civil procedure – jurisdiction of subordinate courts – pecuniary jurisdiction and improperly constituted proceedings; Government Proceedings – requirement to give and prove 90‑day notice before suing the State; Corporate personality – Tanzania Revenue Authority distinct from Ministry, no cause of action where newly constituted corporate body did not employ claimant.
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20 July 2004 |
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Victim’s reliable visual identification upheld; alibi rejected as unspecific; illegal three-year burglary sentence increased to five years and appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – visual identification; reliability factors (opportunity, lighting, prior acquaintance); corroboration not required in proper circumstances; alibi must be specific to material time; judicial remarks and bail cancellation after case to answer; minimum sentence correction for burglary.
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12 July 2004 |
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Victim's reliable visual identification upheld; vague alibis rejected; unlawful three-year burglary sentence increased to five years and appeal dismissed.
* Criminal law – Identification evidence – visual identification by victim and bystander; conditions for reliability (time, distance, lighting, prior acquaintance).
* Evidence – No general requirement for independent corroboration of an adult victim’s identification evidence absent special circumstances.
* Criminal procedure – Alibi – requirement of specificity as to material time; vague alibis properly rejected.
* Judicial conduct – Remarks at close of prosecution do not necessarily amount to pre-judgment if a ‘case to answer’ was properly found.
* Sentencing – Minimum Sentence Act – custodial sentence below statutory minimum is unlawful and must be corrected on appeal.
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12 July 2004 |
| June 2004 |
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Unreliable identification and conflicting testimony in darkness produced reasonable doubt and an acquittal for alleged murder.
Criminal law – murder – identification in darkness – reliability of eyewitness evidence – right to pursue/arrest suspected intruder – contradictions in prosecution witnesses – doubts to benefit accused; alternative verdict of manslaughter considered but not adopted.
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23 June 2004 |
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23 June 2004 |
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Appellate court quashed conviction where prosecution evidence was contradictory, uncorroborated and failed to prove possession beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – possession of firearm – sufficiency of evidence and corroboration – contradictions between prosecution witnesses – admissibility under s.34B(2)(a) Evidence Act – burden of proof in criminal cases – private seizure of exhibit and potential self‑interest.
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18 June 2004 |
| May 2004 |
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Recent possession (recovered ~38 days later) can sustain burglary and stealing convictions; substituted lesser conviction was wrongly imposed.
* Criminal law – Burglary and stealing – Application of doctrine of recent possession – Recovery of stolen goods 38 days after offence may be reasonable depending on nature of articles. * Trial error – Substitution of lesser offence (possession of suspected stolen property) where evidence supports conviction for original counts. * Benefit of doubt – Accused’s plausible explanation and corroboration can justify acquittal. * Restitution – Seized property to be returned to rightful owner; wrongful fines refundable.
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21 May 2004 |
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21 May 2004 |
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11 May 2004 |
| April 2004 |
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Out‑of‑time appeal dismissed where appellant gave no reason for delay despite procedural errors in lower courts.
• Civil procedure – execution by attachment – objection proceedings – need to hear evidence and determine locus standi before dismissing objections on ground of delay.
• Civil procedure – appellate review – necessity for appellate courts to give reasons for decisions.
• Limitation – appeals to High Court – time bar under section 25(b) Magistrate’s Courts Act and discretion to extend time requires an explanation for delay.
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15 April 2004 |
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Wrongful joinder does not automatically vitiate proceedings, and borrowing from others does not alone defeat liability to a lender.
* Civil procedure – misjoinder – wrongful joinder of defendants does not necessarily vitiate proceedings or constitute a miscarriage of justice; * Evidence – separate borrowings – borrowing from others does not automatically negate liability to another lender.
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5 April 2004 |
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Appeal dismissed where earlier civil marriage presumed monogamous and objection procedure raised registrar competence and evidentiary issues.
Marriage law – Law of Marriage Act 1971 – s10(2) presumption of monogamy for civil marriages; s20(1)/s21(1)(a) objection procedure via registrar; competence to forward objections where no notice of intention registered; validity concerns where intended marriage to be officiated by unlicensed person; evidentiary threshold for showing hardship or notorious character to block intended marriage.
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5 April 2004 |
| March 2004 |
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A prior public naming of a man as father under local custom estops a woman from later denying paternity.
Paternity — estoppel by prior naming under local customary law; Declaration of Local Customary Law ss.183–184; second appeal — prohibition on raising new issues; customary-law questions and absence of assessors.
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31 March 2004 |
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Under local customary law, a woman who names a man as father is estopped from later denying paternity.
* Family law – paternity – effect of a mother’s prior naming of a father under local customary law – estoppel under Declaration of Local Customary Law (secs. 183–184).
* Appellate procedure – second appeal – new issues of custom not raised below cannot be introduced; need for assessors or evidence on customary practice.
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31 March 2004 |
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Revision dismissed; magistrate properly adopted expert valuation and compensation stands; possession follows full payment.
Land dispute — compensation for permanent crops — valuation by District Agricultural Officer — magistrate’s adoption of expert report — standard for revision — compensation payable before transfer of possession.
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31 March 2004 |
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Extension of time to appeal denied where delay was attributed to an agent but allegations were uncorroborated and insufficient.
Limitation of time – application for extension of time to appeal – delay attributed to agent (labour officer) – applicant’s allegations about third party unsupported by affidavit – courts will not act on uncorroborated assertions about another’s conduct.
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29 March 2004 |