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Citation
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Judgment date
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| November 2022 |
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Extension of time denied: applicant failed to account for delay and advocate error did not justify enlargement of time.
Civil procedure – extension of time to file Notice of Appeal; requirement to account for every day of delay; advocate negligence not ordinarily sufficient ground for enlargement of time; alleged illegality must be apparent on the face of the record to excuse strict accounting.
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14 November 2022 |
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10 November 2022 |
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Extension of time refused for failure to account for delay; civil prisoner released conditionally to repay outstanding debt.
Civil procedure – Extension of time – applicant must account for each day of delay and show good cause. Civil procedure – Illegality as ground for extension of time must be apparent on the face of the record. Civil procedure – Validity of affidavit where deponent is a company director
Execution – Stay of execution is inappropriate where decree has been executed; court may release civil prisoner under Order XXI Rule 39(3) subject to conditions
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10 November 2022 |
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Preliminary objections on limitation, cause of action and verification were overruled; factual disputes require evidence.
Land law – limitation and adverse possession – period runs from date cause of action arose; Preliminary objections – factual disputes unsuitable for disposal without evidence; Civil Procedure – cause of action; verification and signature of plaint – substantial compliance and amendability.
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10 November 2022 |
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Extension of time granted where delay was caused by defective and late supply of tribunal records; applicant acted diligently.
Extension of time – delay caused by defective/late supply of tribunal records – applicant’s diligence – good cause shown – extension granted without costs with time limit.
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10 November 2022 |
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Appellate tribunal properly disposed appeal on lack of locus standi, quashed void proceedings; costs remained discretionary.
Land law – locus standi; appellate courts may dispose of appeals on a single dispositive ground; time-bar issues not raised at trial may not be entertained on appeal; costs are discretionary, not automatic.
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10 November 2022 |
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Application for objection to attachment dismissed as time-barred under the Law of Limitation Act, with costs.
Civil procedure – Limitation – Where no specific period is prescribed, Item 21 Part III of the Law of Limitation Act (60 days) applies to objection proceedings against attachment in execution. Accrual of time – Time runs from date the order was made (s6(b)(i) LLA); lack of awareness requires application for extension of time
Execution/attachment – Application overtaken by events objection not decided once time-bar dispositive
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10 November 2022 |
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Filing a new High Court suit while an earlier related District Court action is pending amounted to abuse of process and forum shopping.
Civil procedure – res subjudice and abuse of process; forum shopping by commencing later suit on same subject matter; jurisdiction of District Court over pre-Act land disputes; procedural remedy: seek extension under Land Disputes Courts Act (s.54(3)).
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9 November 2022 |
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An appeal filed directly in the High Court contrary to s.38(2) LDCA was improper and was struck out.
Land Disputes Courts Act s.38 – Appeals from DLHT exercising appellate/revisional jurisdiction must be filed in the DLHT which transmits records to the High Court – Failure to comply renders the appeal improperly before the High Court and subject to striking out.
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8 November 2022 |
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A certificate of title is not conclusive without proof of valid issuance when a prior Letter of Offer and long acquiescence exist.
Land law – Certificate of title vis-à-vis prior Letter of Offer; burden of proof – he who alleges must prove; requirement to produce sale agreements and summon municipal/lands officials to explain issuance of title; effect of acquiescence/long delay on trespass and title claims; probative value of survey reports.
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7 November 2022 |
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An interim Mareva application representing unjoined third parties must comply with Order I Rule 8 representative‑suit procedure.
Civil Procedure – Order I Rule 8 – Representative suits – Requirement to comply where applicants represent other interested persons. Interim/Mareva injunction – procedural prerequisites – an interlocutory application involving unjoined third parties must follow representative‑suit rules. Preliminary objection – failure to comply with mandatory procedural provisions warrants striking out the application
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7 November 2022 |
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The applicant’s property rights were decided without being heard, warranting nullification and remittal for rehearing.
Land law – Revisional jurisdiction under s.43(1)(b) of the Land Disputes Courts Act – Audi alteram partem – Decision affecting property rights made without hearing is a nullity – Remittal for rehearing.
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7 November 2022 |
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Applicants failed to account for delay; extension of time to file revision was refused and application dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure – Extension of time – Application under s.41(2) Land Disputes Courts Act and s.14 Limitation Act – discretion to extend time – Lyamuya and Bushiri guidelines – requirement to account for every day of delay. Non-party status to earlier tribunal proceedings does not automatically justify extension once applicants are aware of decision. Inordinate/unexplained delay warrants dismissal of extension application
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7 November 2022 |
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A challenge to a sale in execution filed after the two‑year limitation is time‑barred and dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure – Execution – Challenge to sale in execution – Relief to set aside sale falls under execution remedies; governed by Item 4 Part I of the Limitation Act (two-year limit)
Limitation – Proceedings instituted after prescribed period are to be dismissed under section 3(1) of the Limitation Act
Order XXI Rule 88(1) CPC – procedural route for challenging auction (application rather than suit) noted but not finally determined
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7 November 2022 |
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A counter-affidavit sworn by an advocate without authority and containing hearsay and defective verification was expunged.
Affidavit law – Deponent’s authority – Joint counter-affidavit – Advocate swearing affidavit for clients – Hearsay in affidavits – Defective verification clause – Curability of procedural errors – Expungement of defective affidavit.
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7 November 2022 |
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Medical sickness justified extension of time to appeal where delay was excusable and properly accounted for.
Land law – extension of time to appeal – discretionary relief requiring good cause – sickness/COVID with medical records as sufficient excuse – accounting for delay and technical delay after an earlier incompetent/struck-out proceeding – exercise of judicial discretion.
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4 November 2022 |
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4 November 2022 |
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Court records parties’ Deed of Settlement under Order 23 Rule 3 and marks the land appeal settled.
Land law – Appeal – Consent judgment – Parties’ Deed of Settlement recorded under Order 23 Rule 3 Civil Procedure Code – Settlement constituting compromise and marking appeal settled.
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4 November 2022 |
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Sickness supported by medical evidence justifies setting aside a dismissal for want of prosecution and restoring the suit.
Civil procedure – setting aside dismissal for want of prosecution – restoration of suit – sickness/medical evidence as sufficient cause – Orders IX r.9, XLIII r.2, VIII r.20 and section 95 CPC.
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4 November 2022 |
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Appeal dismissed for want of prosecution where appellants failed to file ordered written submissions and showed procedural irregularities.
Civil procedure – Want of prosecution – Failure to file written submissions within court-ordered time amounts to non-appearance and warrants dismissal. Civil procedure – Written submissions filed out of time without leave – Not placed on record and to be disregarded. Procedural irregularities – Petition and pleadings signed by only one appellant and legal aid certificate limited to one appellant – affect status of appeal
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4 November 2022 |
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An executing court cannot annul a decree or decide suo motu issues without placing them on record and hearing parties.
Land law – Execution proceedings – scope of executing court’s powers – executing court confined to enforcing decree and cannot quash or annul it; Procedural fairness – suo motu issue – court must place new issues on record and afford parties opportunity to be heard; failure to do so vitiates proceedings; Remedy – quash proceedings and remit for rehearing before another chair.
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4 November 2022 |
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The appellants failed to prove purchase; unadmitted sale agreement and contradictions upheld the respondent's long possession.
Land law – ownership and possession – long possession as evidence of ownership; Evidence – documents not admitted in evidence do not form part of the record; Civil procedure – parties bound by their pleadings; Credibility – contradictions and inconsistencies may defeat a claim of title; Burden of proof – civil standard, Sections 110–111 Evidence Act.
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4 November 2022 |
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Appellant failed to prove land ownership; new grounds not allowed; appeal dismissed with costs.
Land law — burden of proof in ownership disputes — admissibility and challenge to documentary evidence — parties’ duty to call relevant witnesses; appellate review of grounds not raised in memorandum of appeal; adverse inference for failure to produce material evidence.
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3 November 2022 |
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Leave to appeal granted on contested res judicata issues about ownership and the right to re‑litigate.
Civil procedure – leave to appeal – application under s.5(1)(c) Appellate Jurisdiction Act and s.47(2) Land Disputes Courts Act – whether matter res judicata; whether ownership was conclusively determined; right to institute fresh suit after objection proceedings.
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3 November 2022 |
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Revision application struck out as incompetent where applicant had already appealed and lost the same tribunal decision in the High Court.
Land law — Revision versus appeal — Competence of revision application where same tribunal decision was previously appealed to and decided by the High Court; procedural duty to disclose prior appeal; time-bar objection and availability of certified ruling.
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3 November 2022 |
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An applicant's alleged village allocation in a declared planning area was void; respondent's certified titles established ownership.
Land law – planned area declaration (G.N
No. 231 of 1993) – effect on village authority; Village Land Act – requirements for valid village land allocation (Village Assembly approval); evidentiary weight of Certificates of Occupancy and registered transfers; ownership and reliefs in land possession suits
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2 November 2022 |
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Applicants showed a triable issue but failed to prove irreparable harm or greater hardship; injunction dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure – interlocutory/temporary injunction – requisites: serious question to be tried; irreparable loss; balance of convenience – sale of mortgaged property on default not necessarily irreparable – commercial lender’s lending capacity and prejudice as factor in balance of convenience.
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2 November 2022 |