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Citation
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Judgment date
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| March 2025 |
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Court allowed executor to amend inventory and collect estate funds despite pending appeal; foreign-currency funds not deposited in Mirathi account.
Probate and Administration — Executor’s duties — Amendment and filing of inventory under s.107(1); Effect of pending appeal and struck-out stay application on jurisdiction; Collection of estate bank funds; Refusal to transfer foreign-currency funds into Mirathi (TSh) account due to exchange-rate prejudice; Beneficiary ordered to remit Codicil funds to executor.
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27 March 2025 |
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27 March 2025 |
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26 March 2025 |
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Failure to file court-ordered written submissions constitutes a failure to prosecute and justifies dismissal of the appeal.
Civil Procedure – Dismissal of appeal – Right to be heard – Consequences of missing submission deadlines.
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26 March 2025 |
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Appeal allowed: maintenance order quashed and remitted for a social inquiry to assess parents' financial capacity.
Family law — Maintenance — Duty to assess parents' financial capacity — Role of social enquiry report under Rule 85 — Discretion to order report; failure to order when circumstances require vitiates maintenance order.
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26 March 2025 |
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Filing for extension of time while court-granted leave to refile remains valid is an abuse of court process and was struck out.
Civil procedure – extension of time – leave to refile – where leave to refile appeal already granted, application for extension of time may amount to abuse of process
Jurisdiction – pendency of appeal in superior court – effect on lower court jurisdiction; court may decline to decide jurisdictional point if case disposed on other grounds. Procedural compliance – filing within granted leave period vs. applying for extension
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24 March 2025 |
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24 March 2025 |
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A caveat filed before a probate hearing suspends proceedings despite Rule 76’s 14‑day objection period.
Probate law — Caveat — Timing and effect — Caveat filed before hearing suspends probate proceedings — Interaction of Rule 76 (14‑day publication objection) with Sections 58–59 PAEA — Citation to caveators (Form 63) — Right to be heard; failure to suspend renders proceedings nullity.
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20 March 2025 |
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19 March 2025 |
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14 March 2025 |
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Recusal application dismissed: no real likelihood of bias and administrators acted within their legal role.
Recusal — standard: real likelihood of bias or other legally recognized ground required; mere disagreement with judicial explanations insufficient; Administratrixes — powers and duties to administer estate; Court — supervisory/umpire role; Company law — separate legal personality; only shares form part of deceased’s estate; Remedies — aggrieved heirs may seek accounts or legal challenge.
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14 March 2025 |
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Appeal dismissed: trial court correctly awarded 35% share under section 114 LMA for respondent's proven contribution to the matrimonial house.
Family law – Division of matrimonial property – Application of section 114 LMA – asset must be matrimonial, acquired during marriage, and by joint efforts; contribution quantification leads to percentage award. Appellate review – scope limited to matters raised and decided at trial; new factual claims cannot be entertained on appeal. Civil procedure – valuation of assets not mandatory at trial; can be handled at execution stage
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13 March 2025 |
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Application to set aside ex parte hearing dismissed as premature and supported by an undated, defective affidavit.
Civil procedure – Application to set aside ex parte hearing – Prematurity where judgment not yet pronounced – Rehearing remedy under Order XXXIX Rule 21 – Limitation (Item 10, First Schedule, Law of Limitations Act) and commencement of time when applicant becomes aware – Affidavit formalities (requirement to date jurat).
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13 March 2025 |
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First appellate court revises accommodation allocation and finds respondent failed to rebut appellant’s prima facie case on income for maintenance.
Child maintenance – assessment of income and wealth – burden of proof under Evidence Act s.110(1) – consideration of factors under s.44 Law of the Child Act – apportionment of accommodation costs – payments pegged in foreign currency to prevailing exchange rate.
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12 March 2025 |
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12 March 2025 |
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Where circumstances cast reasonable doubt on paternity, a court must order DNA testing despite marriage and birth registration evidence.
Family law — Parentage — Proof of paternity under Law of the Child Act s.35 — Marriage and birth registration as evidence of parentage — When DNA testing is necessary — Best interests of the child — Proper procedure under Law of the Child (Juvenile Court Procedure) Rules, Rule 56 and Form No.6.
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12 March 2025 |
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6 March 2025 |
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Civil imprisonment for maintenance arrears is a last resort; applicant must prove willful default and exhaustion of other remedies.
Family law – Maintenance enforcement – Applicant must prove non-compliance with credible evidence; burden rests on applicant under Evidence Act (ss.110–111). Enforcement remedies – Civil imprisonment is a measure of last resort; other execution methods (garnishment, attachment) must be considered/exhausted. Payment method – Isolated deviation in payment method (mobile money) does not necessarily amount to willful non-compliance
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6 March 2025 |
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Alleged denial of the right to be heard was an apparent illegality justifying extension of time to file a revision.
Civil procedure — extension of time under Law of Limitation Act — sufficiency of cause; illegality as ground for enlargement of time. Constitutional law — right to be heard — denial of fair hearing renders decision a nullity
Evidence — absence of proof of service; participation in religious annulment proceedings not equivalent to service in court
Procedure — promptness after awareness; applicant given 30 days to file revision
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4 March 2025 |
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3 March 2025 |
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3 March 2025 |
| February 2025 |
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Court held health is not a valid reason to withhold division of matrimonial property; equal 50% shares awarded.
Family law – Division of matrimonial property – Court must apply section 114 LMA and consider monetary and non-monetary contributions; title in one spouse’s name under section 60 is rebuttable; health of a spouse is not a ground to withhold division; sale of matrimonial property is last resort after valuation and attempts at compensation.
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28 February 2025 |
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28 February 2025 |
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Appeal dismissed: unchallenged evidence showed respondent complied with the maintenance order; execution claim lacked merit.
Family law – Enforcement of maintenance orders – Modes of execution (attachment and sale; civil imprisonment) – Choice and limits of execution procedures under Civil Procedure Code
Evidence – Effect of unchallenged counter-affidavit and documentary receipts; burden on decree-holder to prove non-compliance. Appellate procedure – New grounds not pleaded at trial or in grounds of appeal cannot be entertained on appeal
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28 February 2025 |
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Court granted resealing of foreign probate after statutory compliance, permitting administration of estate assets in Tanzania.
Probate resealing – jurisdiction under PAEA Ss. 4 and 95 – resealing of foreign grants from Commonwealth courts
Procedure – compliance with Probate Rules (Rules 97–101) including deposit of copy grant, publication and inventory
Evidence – acceptance of certified copy of foreign probate where original not conveniently procurable (section 98 invoked)
Relief – resealing authorized to enable administration of estate assets in Tanzania; endorsement by Deputy Registrar under Rules 102–103
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27 February 2025 |
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Court declared a missing person presumed dead after over seven years, enabling estate administration and registration.
Presumption of death; Evidence Act ss.117 and 122 – burden of proof and inference; High Court jurisdiction under Judicature and Application of Laws Act and inherent powers; newspaper citation and notice requirement; registration under Births and Deaths Registration Act s.26A; entitlement to petition for letters of administration.
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27 February 2025 |
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Applicant’s two-year delay to file notice of appeal dismissed for failing to show sufficient cause and account for days of delay.
Extension of time – discretionary relief – requirement to show sufficient cause; accounting for each day of delay; illness as ground for delay – proof required; illegality as ground – must be apparent on face of record and of sufficient importance; failure to account for delay fatal to application.
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27 February 2025 |
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Appellants who filed a caveat and accepted the will's validation cannot later challenge distribution made pursuant to that will.
Probate law – caveat converts probate into a contested suit – caveator acquires party status and locus standi
Procedure – appeal vs revision – parties to original proceedings may appeal; revision reserved where not originally party
Succession – administratrix obliged to distribute strictly in accordance with a validated will; inability to accept validity and later challenge distribution
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26 February 2025 |
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26 February 2025 |
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25 February 2025 |
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Court certified three legal issues on sale validation, revocation versus res judicata, and reliance on non‑record material.
Appellate procedure – certification of point of law under section 5(2)(c) Appellate Jurisdiction Act – court may certify points of law but must not determine merits. Evidence and procedure – distinction between factual matters (evaluation of evidence, failure to consider submissions, misrecording) and pure points of law. Probate law – validation of sale of deceased’s property and role of title/evidence. Probate law – revocation of grants versus res judicata. Appellate practice – reliance on material not forming part of court record may raise a point of law
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25 February 2025 |
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24 February 2025 |
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The appellant's matrimonial appeal was struck out as time‑barred under the Law of Marriage Act's 45‑day limit.
Matrimonial appeals – governed by Law of Marriage Act s.80(2) – 45‑day appeal period. Judgment date – delivery to parties is operative; e‑CMS upload/publication is not the judgment date. E‑filing – courts treat payment/stamp date as filing date for limitation calculations. Appeal filed beyond 45 days is time barred and may be struck out; records should be rectified where dates conflict
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21 February 2025 |
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Confirmation of estate accounts quashed for denying an objecting beneficiary (guardian of a minor) the right to be heard.
Probate law – Beneficiary inspection of inventory and accounts – s.107(5) PAEA – entitlement to inspect and to be heard on objections. Natural justice – audi alteram partem – denial of hearing where objection on record renders confirmation irregular. Procedural irregularity – inconsistent/non-sequential hearing dates and unexplained adjournments vitiating proceedings
Remedy – quash and remit to trial court for rehearing from time inventory filed
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21 February 2025 |
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20 February 2025 |
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Incomplete or unregistered transfers and insufficient proof determine inclusion of assets and liabilities in the estate inventory.
Probate & administration — Inventory of estate — Determination of which assets and liabilities form part of an estate — Incomplete/unregistered transfers ineffective to divest estate — Proof required for charging treatment and funeral liabilities — Co-administrators’ disagreement remedied by court-ordered amendment and filing of accounts.
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19 February 2025 |
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Appellate court held unproven pre-grant division cannot exclude estate property; appeal allowed and matter remitted.
Probate and Administration — administrator's duties under section 108 PAEA — inventory and accounts
Intermeddling — "executor of his own wrong" — section 16 PAEA — unlawful pre-grant division and development of estate property
Evidence — burden on those alleging extrajudicial family division; requirement for proof (minutes or other evidence). Delay in petition for letters — Rule 31 Probate Rules; delay does not validate unlawful intermeddling
Remedy — appellate quashing of trial ruling and remittal for fresh orders on inventory and accounts
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18 February 2025 |
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An appeal filed directly in the High Court without subordinate‑court endorsement is incompetent and must be struck out.
Law of Marriage Act s.80(2) and Matrimonial Rules 37(1),(3) – mandatory filing/endorsement in subordinate court; Electronic filing (JALA/e‑CMS) does not displace statutory requirement; Overriding‑objective principle cannot cure non‑compliance with mandatory procedural provisions; Appeal incompetence and striking out.
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18 February 2025 |
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17 February 2025 |
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17 February 2025 |
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14 February 2025 |
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12 February 2025 |
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12 February 2025 |
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Application for extension of time dismissed: once appeal struck out under section 3(1), same court cannot grant enlargement of time.
Law of Limitation – section 3(1) effect – struck out/dismissal for being time barred bars return to same court for extension of time; remedy is review or appeal to higher court; section 14(1) application for enlargement must ordinarily precede instituting time‑barred proceedings.
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12 February 2025 |
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11 February 2025 |
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Failure to tender and admit the marriage conciliation certificate renders a divorce petition incompetent.
Family law – Divorce – Mandatory referral to Marriage Conciliation Board and certificate requirement (s.101, s.106(2) LMA)
Evidence – Certificate must be tendered and admitted as an exhibit; annexures are not evidence
Jurisdiction – Failure to tender the conciliation certificate renders divorce petition incompetent and deprives court of jurisdiction
Remedy – Proceedings, judgment and decree quashed; liberty to refile subject to compliance
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11 February 2025 |
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7 February 2025 |
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Appellate court upheld maintenance order, finding appellant's inconsistent affidavit defeated his claim of financial incapacity.
Child maintenance – assessment of financial capacity – contradictory and untruthful affidavits undermine claims of incapacity; court may re-evaluate evidence on appeal
Evidence – affidavits as evidence; an affidavit tainted with falsehoods is unreliable
Procedure – submissions are not evidence, but admissions in submissions/affidavits may inform maintenance orders. Family law – payment modality for maintenance may include direct bank deposits to recipient's account
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6 February 2025 |
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5 February 2025 |
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5 February 2025 |