|
Citation
|
Judgment date
|
| August 2022 |
|
|
Court preserves status quo preventing title rectification pending expiry of the 90‑day statutory notice to sue the Government.
Land law – Rectification of title – Maintenance of status quo – Interim injunction pending statutory 90‑day notice to sue the Government – Offer of substitute land – Balance of convenience.
|
31 August 2022 |
|
Tribunal's raising of limitation suo motu without hearing violated the right to be heard; proceedings quashed and remitted for retrial.
Land law; limitation period raised suo motu by tribunal; right to be heard (Article 13(6)) — procedural irregularity renders proceedings nullity; revisional powers under s.43(1)(b) Land Disputes Courts Act; remittal for retrial before another Chairman; priority scheduling.
|
31 August 2022 |
|
Delay in the court supplying certified judgment copies justified extension of time to seek leave to appeal.
Appellate Jurisdiction Act s.11(1) – discretionary power to extend time – requires "sufficient reason"; "Sufficient reason" is fact-specific – courts consider length of delay, reasons, diligence, and point of law/illegality; Delay by court in supplying certified copies of judgment/decree can justify exclusion of that period; Time spent pursuing an application struck out for technical irregularity may be excluded if no culpable negligence is shown; Extension of time granted to file application for leave to appeal within 14 days, costs each party to bear their own.
|
31 August 2022 |
|
Insufficiently described prior purchases failed to displace lawful village allocations and subsequent registrations.
Land law – sufficiency of description in claims to immovable property – proof of title and identification of suit land; Allocation of public/abandoned shamba (PORI) – lawfulness of village allocations; Registration of land following lawful allocation; Validity of sale/transfer by an allotted grantee; Remedy – re-evaluation and demarcation by land authorities.
|
31 August 2022 |
|
Applicant failed to prove the cumulative Attilio v Mbowe requirements for a temporary injunction; application dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure – interlocutory injunction – Attilio v Mbowe conditions (prima facie case, irreparable harm, balance of convenience) must be cumulatively proved; affidavit evidence obligatory; submissions are not evidence.
|
31 August 2022 |
|
Extension of time denied; delay unexplained and alleged illegality not apparent on the face of the record.
Land law – extension of time to appeal – requirement to account for each day of delay; illegality as ground for extension – must be apparent on the face of the record; allegations of lack of service, locus standi and defective locus visit not sufficient where they require evidence and long argument; execution may render some remedies overtaken by events.
|
31 August 2022 |
|
Plaintiff failed to prove matrimonial interest; bank's counterclaim for TZS 940,112,827 with interest and mortgage realization granted.
Land law – matrimonial home and spousal consent; burden of proof in civil cases; requirement to describe immovable property (Order VII r.3); admissibility of annexures and documentary evidence; counterclaim for loan recovery – proof of indebtedness, interest, and realization of mortgage security; expungement of deceased guarantor from proceedings.
|
31 August 2022 |
|
|
31 August 2022 |
|
Appeal permitted: time to obtain certified judgment excluded, appeal filed within 45 days and not time-barred.
Land law — Appeals from DLHT — section 41(1) & (2) Land Disputes Courts Act — 45-day time limit
Limitation — section 19(2) Law of Limitation Act — exclusion of time to obtain certified copies when computing appeal period
Civil Procedure — Order XXXIX, Rule 1(1) CPC — memorandum of appeal to be accompanied by judgment/decree copies
Procedure — time to obtain judgment copies may extend effective filing period; appeal filed within prescribed time where copies obtained later. Preliminary objection on limitation dismissed; matter to proceed on merits
|
31 August 2022 |
|
Application to compel accounting for goods seized during execution was time-barred; tribunal lacked jurisdiction.
Limitation of actions – jurisdictional nature of limitation – preliminary objection on limitation can be raised at any stage including on appeal; Law of Limitation Act, Schedule Part III item 21 (60 days) applicable to applications under the Civil Procedure Code; application filed seven years after execution held time-barred; tribunal lacked jurisdiction; proceedings quashed and application dismissed under section 3(1).
|
31 August 2022 |
|
Leave to appeal granted; certificate on points of law unnecessary for appeal against High Court refusal of extension of time.
Appellate procedure — Leave to appeal under section 5(1)(c) AJA; Certification under section 47(3) LDCA applies where appeal originates from Ward Tribunal only; leave granted where grounds show prima facie/arguable appeal; inadvertent misdescription of impugned decision not fatal.
|
31 August 2022 |
|
Appeal dismissed: appellant failed to prove title/administratrix status and no procedural error warranted overturning lower tribunals.
Land law – ownership and locus standi; failure to prove title or appointment as administratrix; civil procedure – filing of written submissions and consequences of non-compliance; appellate review – limits on disturbing concurrent findings of fact.
|
31 August 2022 |
|
A review application filed by chamber summons contrary to Order XLII Rule 3 was held incompetent and struck out.
Civil procedure — Review applications — Form of instituting review — Order XLII Rule 3 Civil Procedure Code: provisions as to form of preferring appeal apply mutatis mutandis to review — Application by chamber summons and affidavit held incompetent and struck out.
|
30 August 2022 |
|
Failure to have assessors' opinions read to parties vitiates tribunal judgment, requiring a trial de novo.
Land tribunal procedure – Assessors’ participation – Regulation 19(2) and Section 23(1) LDCA – assessors’ written opinions must be given and read in presence of parties – failure is fatal and vitiates judgment – retrial de novo ordered.
|
30 August 2022 |
|
Court overruled preliminary objections, finding land-linked counterclaim within jurisdiction and not time-barred; guarantor-notification dispute factual.
Land jurisdiction – mortgage as security – deed of settlement and whether it discharged mortgage; Preliminary objections – limits of determination on pure points of law (Mukisa principle) – factual issues unsuitable for preliminary objection; Guarantor liability – notification/variation of loan facilities; Limitation – accrual of cause of action and continuation of breach.
|
30 August 2022 |
|
Court granted extension of time to appeal due to credible detention and family-related delays, allowing 21 days to apply for revision.
Extension of time – application for leave to appeal out of time – discretion to extend time – Lyamuya criteria (account for delay, inordinate delay, diligence, other sufficient reasons). Criminal detention and subsequent family obligations (funeral/estate administration) as grounds for delay. Ex parte judgment discovered late as precipitating factor for application
|
30 August 2022 |
|
The applicant proved ownership and obtained eviction, permanent injunction and TShs 100,000,000 damages for the respondents' trespass.
Land law – proof of ownership – sale agreements and village authority acknowledgment – balance of probabilities
Trespass – unlawful occupation and harvesting of crops – remedies include eviction, injunction, damages and recovery of produce. Civil procedure – consequences of non-appearance at mediation and striking out of defence – ex parte proceedings and uncontroverted evidence
|
30 August 2022 |
|
Applicants' delay in filing appeal dismissed: negligence in pursuing judgment copies and no apparent illegality on record.
Land law — Extension of time to appeal — Whether good and sufficient cause shown under s.41(2) Land Disputes Courts Act — Delay and duty to follow up copy of judgment — Alleged illegality must be apparent on the face of record to justify extension.
|
30 August 2022 |
|
A separate ownership suit by non-parties to execution is not time-barred under execution-specific limitation and is not an abuse of process.
Civil procedure – preliminary objections – distinction between pure points of law and issues requiring factual evidence; locus standi not appropriate as preliminary objection
Limitation – Law of Limitation Act s.6(b) and Item 5 Part I Schedule – applies to objection/dispossession proceedings in executing court, not separate ownership suits filed elsewhere
Execution – Civil Procedure Code s.38(1) – applies only to questions between parties to the decree; non-parties may sue elsewhere for ownership. Abuse of process – Order XXI r.101 permits separate suits by non-parties claiming rights over attached property
|
30 August 2022 |
|
An appeal filed after 45 days is time‑barred absent proof of timely request/supply of the tribunal’s certified decision.
Land appeals — limitation period under section 41, Land Disputes Courts Act; Law of Limitation Act s.19(2) — exclusion for time obtaining certified copies; requirement of proof of dates (decision, request, supply); necessity to apply for extension if no proof of timely request/supply.
|
30 August 2022 |
|
Res judicata bars a successive land suit on the same subject matter, even where the parties differ; appeal dismissed.
Civil procedure – res judicata – section 9 CPR – applicability where same subject matter was finally decided even if parties differ. Locus standi – previous finding that husband lacked locus standi did not amount to direction that appellant must sue
Appeal – dismissal for want of merit; no costs (legal aid)
|
30 August 2022 |
|
Medical evidence and apparent tribunal irregularity justified restoring the applicant's dismissed extension application and ordering rehearing.
Civil procedure – Restoration of struck-out/dismissed application – setting aside dismissal for non-appearance – adequacy of medical evidence and alleged afterthought
Evidence – effect of medical certificate dated after dismissal; foreseeability of dismissal and timing of proof. Administrative justice – apparent irregularity and locus standi in tribunal proceedings as ground for restoration
Remedy – restoration of application and rehearing by another chairperson; costs awarded to successful appellant
|
29 August 2022 |
|
Respondent’s earlier purchase and vendor’s defective title upheld; appeal dismissed with costs.
Land law — ownership dispute — burden of proof on balance of probabilities — evaluation of oral and documentary evidence — effect of vendor’s defective title (nemo dat quod non habet) — relevance of unsurveyed land measurement.
|
29 August 2022 |
|
Second appeal dismissed: respondent had locus to sue as administratrix; new ground disregarded; assessors’ opinions on record; appeal dismissed with costs.
Land law – appellate review – second appeal – limits on entertaining new grounds raised first time on second appeal. Civil procedure – locus standi – administrator of estate – proof by letter of administration suffices to sue as administratrix
Evidence – requirement to produce documentary proof when alleging pendency of other proceedings. Tribunal practice – assessors’ opinions must be on record and reflected in judgment; filing and reflection suffices
|
29 August 2022 |
|
Stay of execution application dismissed as overtaken by events after the underlying application was struck out.
Civil procedure – Stay of execution – Application rendered otiose where underlying proceeding struck out – Order XXI r.24(1); Civil Procedure Code ss.68(e), 95.
|
29 August 2022 |
|
Appeal dismissed where lower tribunals properly evaluated evidence and respondent's prior occupation established ownership.
Land law – ownership dispute – evaluation and weight of evidence on appeal – proof by prior occupation and possession – appellate interference only where lower tribunals erred in evaluation; evidential standard on balance of probabilities (Hemed Said v Mbilu considered).
|
29 August 2022 |
|
Leave to appeal granted where affidavit raised arguable issues including lack of consent to mortgage and limitation.
Civil procedure – Leave to appeal under section 47(2) Land Disputes Courts Act – test at leave stage is whether an arguable/prima facie appeal exists. Land law – mortgage – allegation of absence of consent
Limitation – whether time-bar issues raise arguable grounds for appeal. Abuse of process – court to assess arguability before concluding abuse
|
29 August 2022 |
|
Alleged illegality in a tribunal decision can justify extending time to file a revision despite unexplained delay.
Land law — Extension of time under Limitation Act s.14 — Court’s discretion — Good cause required; Pleaded illegality in the lower tribunal’s decision (mediation/non-executable award) constitutes sufficient cause to extend time — Authorities: Valambhia; Lyamuya.
|
26 August 2022 |
|
An application premised on a wrong statutory citation is incompetent and will be struck out; costs follow.
Civil procedure — preliminary objection — wrong citation of enabling provision — wrong citation renders application incompetent and liable to be struck out. Appellate procedure — extension of time to apply for leave to appeal — application must be properly grounded in the correct statutory provision
|
26 August 2022 |
|
Application to set aside dismissal failed for lack of evidence and because the main suit was not pending.
Civil procedure – setting aside dismissal for want of prosecution – requirement to show sufficient cause; competence of restoring interlocutory injunction where main suit dismissed; evidential sufficiency of affidavits – hearsay where affidavit refers to others without corroborating affidavits; need for medical or corroborative evidence to explain non‑appearance.
|
26 August 2022 |
|
|
26 August 2022 |
|
An interlocutory Mareva injunction was refused because the applicant had already instituted the substantive suit, rendering the interim application nugatory.
Land law — Mareva/freeze injunction — interim relief pending statutory notice — requirement to take preliminary steps (serve notice and wait) before seeking interlocutory freezing orders — pending substantive suit defeats interim Mareva application.
|
26 August 2022 |
|
A judgment given against a deceased person without proper substitution is irregular and thus quashed on revision.
Land disputes — Substitution of deceased party — Locus standi — Non-joinder of interested parties — Revision under section 43(1)(b) LDCA — Judgment delivered against deceased is nullity — Parties at liberty to institute fresh suit.
|
26 August 2022 |
|
Leave to appeal granted on arguable issues about matrimonial property, spouse's consent to transfer, and estoppel.
Land law – matrimonial property; transfer of land without spouse's consent; estoppel; leave to appeal – discretionary, granted where grounds raise arguable points of law; appellate restraint from deciding substantive issues.
|
25 August 2022 |
|
Alleged illegality in tribunal proceedings (lack of quorum and improper membership) justified an extension of time to appeal.
Civil procedure – extension of time – discretionary relief – good cause required. Illegality as ground for extension – Ward Tribunal quorum and composition – jurisdiction over unregistered land. Ex parte proceedings where respondent duly served but absent
|
25 August 2022 |
|
|
25 August 2022 |
|
Improper citation of an obsolete law in a chamber summons is fatal and renders the application incompetent.
Civil procedure – chamber summons – improper citation of an obsolete Revised Edition of statutes – citation of dead law fatal to competence; affidavit formalities (Order VI r.15(2)) raised but not decided.
|
25 August 2022 |
|
Unclear and inconsistent pleadings about which tribunal decision to revise led the court to strike out the application.
Land revision — Revision of tribunal proceedings — Limitation period for revision applications (item 21, Part III, Schedule to the Law of Limitation Act — 60 days); Civil Procedure — Chamber summons and supporting affidavit govern court’s jurisdiction to entertain an application (Order XLIII Rule 2) — written submissions cannot contradict chamber summons; Procedure — inconsistency in pleadings — appropriate remedy is striking out application where identity of proceedings to be revised is uncertain.
|
25 August 2022 |
|
Failure to cross‑examine allowed the appellate tribunal to accept the respondent's evidence and justify quashing the refund order.
Land law – appeal from Ward Tribunal to District Land and Housing Tribunal – first appellate tribunal’s power to re‑appraise evidence and draw its own inferences
Evidence – effect of failure to cross‑examine a witness – unchallenged testimony may be treated as accepted. Civil procedure – quashing of a trial tribunal’s order where appellate court finds evidence uncontroverted
|
25 August 2022 |
|
Temporary injunction granted to restrain demolition pending main suit where prima facie case and irreparable harm established.
Land — Temporary injunction — Requirements: prima facie/triable case, balance of convenience, irreparable injury — Demolition pending compensation — Restraint granted pending Land Case No.30/2021.
|
25 August 2022 |
|
Irregular involvement or absence of assessors rendered the tribunal’s judgment null and required retrial.
Land procedure — Assessors — requirement that a trial begun with a set of assessors must be concluded with the same set — absence or unclear involvement of assessors renders proceedings and judgment null; Revisionary jurisdiction — invocation of s.43(1)(b) Land Disputes Courts Act to quash and remit for retrial; Evidence — challenges to admissibility/attestation and stamp duty of sale agreements raised but not decided due to procedural nullity.
|
25 August 2022 |
|
Application filed under wrong statute lacked jurisdiction; court allowed withdrawal with leave to refile subject to limitation.
Civil procedure – jurisdiction – application filed under wrong statute – High Court (Land Division) lacks jurisdiction if moved under Appellate Jurisdiction Act and Court of Appeal Rules. Procedural law – court may raise suo moto jurisdictional defects. Withdrawal with leave to refile – allowed where application improperly constituted; subject to limitation
Costs – each party to bear own costs when withdrawal is granted and respondent does not object
|
25 August 2022 |
|
Appeal dismissed: tribunal correctly awarded rent arrears and damages based on pleadings, oral evidence and credibility findings.
Land law – Tenancy (oral) – proof of monthly rent and rent arrears – admissibility of oral evidence under Evidence Act; Civil procedure – assessment of special damages – requirement to plead and prove but oral proof permissible where tenancy is oral; Evidence – credibility findings and rejection of expert evidence; Locus in quo – procedural irregularity not raised timely; Judgment requirements – Order XX Rule 4 compliance.
|
24 August 2022 |
|
Court granted interlocutory injunction to restrain sale of mortgaged residential property pending trial due to triable issues and irreparable harm.
Interlocutory injunction — Attilio v Mbowe test — prima facie/triable issue as to release of mortgaged property — irreparable harm (loss of family residence) — balance of convenience — statutory notice to sell mortgage security.
|
24 August 2022 |
|
Combining extension of time and a stay of execution was omnibus; application struck out for lack of interrelatedness and jurisdiction.
Civil procedure – omnibus application – interrelatedness test – whether extension of time and stay of execution can be combined; Jurisdiction – Order XXXIX Rule 5(1) stay lies with decree‑issuing or appellate court; Application struck out for incompetence.
|
24 August 2022 |
|
Failure to record, read or consider assessors' opinions vitiated the tribunal's judgment, requiring nullification and retrial.
Land tribunal procedure — assessors' opinions mandatory — must be given in writing and read to parties — chairman to state whether he agrees and give reasons if he differs — failure to record/consider assessors' opinions vitiates proceedings and attracts nullification and retrial.
|
24 August 2022 |
|
Applicant’s extension of time denied for unexplained delay; alleged illegality not apparent on the record.
Extension of time – Section 41(2) Land Disputes Courts Act – applicant must show sufficient cause; Delay – all days must be accounted for; unexplained delay defeats application; Alleged illegality – must be apparent on the face of the record and be vital to constitute sufficient cause (Principal Secretary v. Devran); Waiting for certified copies or pursuing earlier appeal does not automatically excuse unexplained delay
|
24 August 2022 |
|
Taxing Master’s excessive instruction fee reduced for lack of justification and inconsistent supporting receipts.
Costs — Bill of Costs — Instruction fees — Advocates Remuneration Order, 2015 (G.N
No. 263) — Eleventh Schedule item 1(m); Taxing Master’s discretion — limits and justification; reliance on receipts/EFD; principles for assessing quantum of instruction fees (Premchand Raichand principles)
|
24 August 2022 |
|
Court granted extension and certified mixed points of law, finding registry delay and alleged failure to consider assessors' opinions justified appeal.
Land appeal — Extension of time under s.11(1) AJA — Good cause test (Lyamuya factors) — Registry delay in supplying certified copies as sufficient cause — Certification of mixed points of law and fact — Failure to record/consider assessors' opinions as serious irregularity.
|
24 August 2022 |
|
Court granted leave for applicants to bring a representative action over disputed land compensation under Order I Rule 8(1).
Civil procedure – Representative suits – Order I Rule 8(1) CPC – leave to sue on behalf of numerous persons – requirement of common interest and proof of authorization (meeting minutes, signatures). Procedural safeguard – court must be satisfied persons exist and have mandated representation to prevent abuse. Land law – dispute over valuation and compensation – representative action permitted where requirements met
|
22 August 2022 |