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Citation
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Judgment date
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| 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 |
| October 2022 |
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Delay in obtaining certified judgment copies justified a 21‑day extension to file the appeal for the applicant.
Land law — extension of time to appeal — application under section 41(2) Land Disputes Courts Act; Limitation — computation of period — exclusion of time spent obtaining certified copies under section 19(2) Law of Limitation Act — exclusion not automatic; party must apply for extension of time.
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31 October 2022 |
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High Court lacked pecuniary jurisdiction where only the house value fell below statutory threshold; suit struck out.
Land jurisdiction – High Court (Land Division) – scope under section 37(1) – recovery/possession of immovable property exceeding statutory pecuniary threshold. Pecuniary jurisdiction – valuation excludes movables and chattels; only land and affixed structures count. Preliminary objections – proper determination of jurisdictional issues as points of law (Mukisa principle). Res judicata – raised but not decided after disposal on jurisdiction.
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31 October 2022 |
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An interested non-party may seek revision of a tribunal decision; courts will not entertain unpleaded preliminary legal points.
Land law – Revision under s.43(1)(a),(b) LDCA – Interested non-party may challenge tribunal proceedings by revision rather than appeal. Civil procedure – Preliminary objection – parties are bound by their pleadings; unpleaded points of law cannot be entertained as surprise. Tribunal practice – Distinction between set-aside applications and revision in relation to ex-parte/execution orders.
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31 October 2022 |
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Applicant's medical evidence failed to account for inordinate delay; extension of time to appeal was refused.
Civil procedure – Extension of time – Applicant must account for every day of delay – Sickness may justify extension if properly explained and evidenced – Inordinate delay and unexplained periods justify refusal to extend time (Bushiri principle).
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31 October 2022 |
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Failure to join the Attorney General in proceedings against a municipal defendant renders the Tribunal decision incompetent and is quashed.
Government Proceedings Act s.6(2) – Joinder of Attorney General as necessary party in suits against government institutions – Procedural amendment applies retrospectively where hearing not commenced – Non‑joinder renders proceedings incompetent and liable to be quashed.
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31 October 2022 |
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Failure to prove joint title; registered Certificate of Title upheld and tribunal’s decision affirmed.
Land law – proof of ownership – registered title as prima facie proof of ownership; absence of appellant’s name defeats claim of joint ownership. Evidence – admissibility and sufficiency of documentary and oral evidence in land disputes. Jurisdiction – matrimonial/dowry disputes are matters for matrimonial/probate fora, not the Land Tribunal. Procedure – assessors’ opinions must be considered; tribunal may depart if reasons given.
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31 October 2022 |
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The plaintiff’s separate suit attacking a sale in execution was unmaintainable; remedy lies under Order XXI r.88 and s.38 CPC.
Civil Procedure — execution of decree — challenge to sale in execution — remedy under Order XXI Rule 88(1) CPC to set aside sale for material irregularity or fraud; Section 38 CPC — executing court’s exclusive jurisdiction to determine execution issues; separate suit attacking execution sale unmaintainable.
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31 October 2022 |
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Revision dismissed: tribunal’s consent Deed of Settlement upheld and court records presumed accurate.
Land law; revision under s.43(1)(b) Land Disputes Courts Act; consent Deed of Settlement; presumption of accuracy of court records; forgery allegations require proper challenge (criminal or evidential proof); revision limited to errors apparent on face of record or injustice.
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31 October 2022 |
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Applicant's sickness and filing of a second leave application did not constitute sufficient cause for extension of time.
Extension of time – discretion and sufficient cause; sickness and medical evidence – adequacy to explain delay; "technical delay" vs negligence; counsel's conduct and failure to peruse file not excusing delay.
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31 October 2022 |
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Appellant not a necessary party where land was transferred and he testified as witness; appeal dismissed with costs.
Land law – joinder of necessary parties – necessary party test (direct legal interest and being bound by outcome) – material witness vs necessary party – appellate courts will not entertain new grounds raised for first time on second appeal.
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31 October 2022 |
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Appeal dismissed: respondent’s documentary village allocation and testimony proved ownership on the balance of probabilities.
Land law – proof of ownership – documentary evidence and village allocation; credibility and weight of competing exhibits; admissibility and challenge of documents; substitution of administrator after defendant's death; appellate deference to trial court’s credibility findings.
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31 October 2022 |
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Leave to appeal is not maintainable after dismissal for want of prosecution; the correct remedy is to apply to set aside the dismissal.
Civil procedure — Leave to appeal — Application for leave to appeal to Court of Appeal — Not maintainable where underlying appeal was dismissed for want of prosecution — Proper remedy is application to set aside dismissal order; Section 47(2) Land Disputes Courts Act and Order XLII Rule 2 CPC considered.
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31 October 2022 |
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Tribunal complied with Regulation 23; applicant was heard and execution order was properly made and completed.
Land law — Execution proceedings — Regulation 23 GN.174/2003 — 14-day compliance period — Right to be heard in execution proceedings — Revisionary powers under s.43(1)(b) Land Disputes Courts Act — Written statement of defence not required for execution.
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31 October 2022 |
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Application for extension to file leave to appeal struck out as premature because no notice of intention to appeal was filed.
Civil procedure – Appeals to Court of Appeal – Requirement that notice of intention to appeal be lodged before applying for leave to appeal (Court of Appeal Rules, Rules 45(a) and 46(1)); Extension of time – application for extension to apply for leave to appeal incompetent if no notice of intention to appeal filed; Premature applications – applicant should await outcome of application to extend time for filing notice of appeal; Relevant authority: DPP v A.M. Swai and High Court precedents.
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31 October 2022 |
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Applicant's unexplained five‑year delay and lack of diligence warranted refusal to grant extension of time to appeal.
Extension of time – discretionary remedy – applicant must provide sufficient reasons and account for all delay; delay must not be inordinate. Requirement of diligence – ignorance of a judgment is not a sufficient excuse where record shows presence at delivery of ruling. Application for extension of time in land matters – principles in Mumello and Lyamuya applied.
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31 October 2022 |
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Extension of time to appeal granted where appellant obtained certified tribunal judgment and remained within statutory appeal period.
Civil procedure — Extension of time — Application under section 41(2) Land Disputes Courts Act and section 95 CPC — Judicial discretion and requirement of good cause. Limitation — Computation of appeal period — Section 19(2) Law of Limitation Act (exclude day of judgment and period to obtain copy). Delay attributed to tribunal's supply of certified judgment copy and personal/family difficulties — sufficiency of explanation.
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31 October 2022 |
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Applicant failed to establish Atilio v Mbowe requirements for interim injunction; application dismissed with costs.
Civil Procedure – Interim injunctions – Requirements in Atilio v Mbowe: serious question to be tried; risk of irreparable harm; balance of convenience – Order XXXVII Rule 1(a) CPC – necessity to prove likely damage or loss in affidavit.
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31 October 2022 |
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Applicant’s medical evidence failed to account for inordinate delay; extension of time to file review refused, no costs.
Extension of time – applicant must account for all delay – medical evidence insufficient to explain delay – inordinate delay – reliance on Mumello and Lyamuya guidelines – unproven execution claims inadmissible where not deponed to in affidavit.
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31 October 2022 |
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Appeal dismissed; trial tribunal's admission of exhibits, findings on capacity, ownership and damages upheld.
Land law – admissibility of exhibits and annexures; capacity to contract – minority and burden of proof; admissibility of land offer letters and registration; estoppel and proper party to sue; assessment of general damages; sufficiency of tribunal's reasons.
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29 October 2022 |
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29 October 2022 |
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Delay awaiting tribunal decision copy excluded; extension to appeal granted, appeal to be filed within 21 days.
Land law – Extension of time to appeal under s.41(2) Land Disputes Courts Act; exclusion of delay while awaiting judgment copy under s.19(2) Law of Limitation Act; requirements for good cause (Lyamuya factors); allegation of illegality on face of record.
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28 October 2022 |
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An appeal filed beyond the 45‑day statutory period is time‑barred; online submission is incomplete until formally admitted.
Appeals — Limitation — Section 41(1),(2) Land and Disputes Courts Act — 45-day appeal period; Electronic filing — submission incomplete until admission, control number and payment; Correction of mis-cited statute — permissible where respondent can respond; Overriding objective and court vacation — cannot cure mandatory time-bar limits.
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28 October 2022 |
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Sale under a decretal settlement must be challenged in the executing court under Section 38 and O.XXI r.88.
Civil Procedure — Section 38 CPC — exclusive jurisdiction of executing court over execution, discharge and satisfaction of decrees; Order XXI r.88(1) CPC — remedy to set aside sale in execution for material irregularity or fraud; settlement deed adopted as decree; improper separate suit; suit struck out.
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28 October 2022 |
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The applicant must exhaust statutory execution methods before seeking arrest and detention of the judgment debtor.
Execution — civil imprisonment — application premature where other statutory modes of execution (delivery, attachment and sale) not exhausted; discretionary nature of detention; section 42, Civil Procedure Code; Order XXI execution rules.
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28 October 2022 |
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An ex parte tribunal decision must first be challenged by setting aside the order at the tribunal before seeking revision in High Court.
Civil procedure – Extension of time under Law of Limitations Act, s.14(1); Ex parte judgments – appropriate remedy is application to originating tribunal to set aside ex parte order before pursuing revision; Competence of forum – High Court may decline extension for revision if tribunal remedy remains available.
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28 October 2022 |
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Court ordered respondents to produce transfer-related documents under oath due to contradictory denials and lack of proof.
Discovery – Order XI Rules 10 & 12 CPC; production of documents relating to land sale and transfer; facilitator's custody and knowledge of documents; contradictions in counter-affidavits; failure to prove lawful non-possession or seizure; court-ordered discovery before trial; costs awarded to applicant.
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28 October 2022 |
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Applicant’s unexplained, inordinate delay and insufficient reasons warranted dismissal of the extension of time application.
Civil procedure – extension of time – discretion to grant – applicant must show sufficient cause and account for each day of delay. Court of Appeal Rules, Rule 83(5) – Notice of Appeal does not require attachment of the judgment. Illegality – must be apparent on the face of the record to justify extension of time. Procedural objections – objections raised late in submissions without justification may be disregarded.
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28 October 2022 |
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The applicant failed to prove customary ownership; the respondent's sale agreement and municipal records established superior title.
Land law – ownership – proof of title – documentary evidence and registration outweigh uncorroborated customary occupation. Burden of proof – he who alleges ownership must prove it; oral evidence unsupported by documents is insufficient. Admissibility and evidential weight of sale agreements, municipal verification forms, survey records, and payments towards certificate of title. Reliefs – claim for declaration, damages and eviction dismissed where applicant fails to prove ownership.
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28 October 2022 |
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Purchaser at a lawful bank auction acquires title under power of sale and can recover damages for denial of possession.
Land law – auction sale under power of sale – transfer of ownership and protection of a bona fide purchaser under the Land Act (ss.133,135). Civil procedure – counterclaim – ex parte proceedings where service admitted and no reply filed (Order VIII r.14 CPC). Damages – specific (special) damages must be pleaded and strictly proved; unproven periods not awarded. Reliefs – declaration of ownership, eviction order, permanent injunction, specific and general damages, costs.
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28 October 2022 |