Results.
100 judgments found.
Citation
Sort by Citation ascending
Judgment date
Sort by Judgment date ascending
July 2023
A jurat failing to state how the Commissioner identified the deponent renders the affidavit incurably defective; application struck out.
Civil procedure — Affidavit jurat — identification of deponent
31 July 2023
A preliminary objection for non-joinder fails where necessary-party status is a factual issue requiring evidence.
Land law — Non-joinder of necessary parties
Land law — preliminary objection — Mukisa Biscuits test
— factual disputes unsuitable for preliminary objection
— joinder procedure
— trespass claim
31 July 2023
A certificate of title is prima facie proof of ownership but can be rebutted if it was issued by mistake.
Land law
— Compensation — Proof by Form No. 69 and administrative correspondence — Allocation as basis for proprietary right
— Land registration — Certificates of Title as prima facie (and conclusive) proof of ownership under land titles system — Land Registration Act, Cap. 334
31 July 2023
31 July 2023
Failure to cite enabling provisions in a memorandum of appeal is not fatal; respondent's preliminary objection overruled.
Civil procedure
— Appeals — Distinction between appeals and chamber summons applications
— Costs — Respondent ordered to pay costs for raising unmeritorious objection
— Preliminary objections — Mukisa Biscuits test — Objection failing Mukisa test is overruled
31 July 2023
Failure to state the value of the subject matter in the plaint renders the suit incompetent and it was struck out.
Civil procedure — jurisdiction — Pecuniary jurisdiction
— court to ascertain jurisdiction
— Plaintiff's duty to plead value
Civil procedure — Pleadings — adequacy of Plaint’s paragraph disclosing jurisdiction and value
Land disputes — interlocutory injunction — Distinction between secured debt and value of property sought to be restrained
31 July 2023
Applicant failed to account for delay or show apparent illegality sufficient to extend time to appeal.
Land law — Land — Extension of time to appeal
31 July 2023
Applicant's challenge to taxing officer's costs award dismissed as time-barred; competence objection unnecessary.
Civil procedure
— limitation (time-bar) — filing a Reference after expiry of extended period and after a struck-out Reference required leave to enlarge time
— Procedure — Competence — use of Notice of Application versus chamber summons (not decided as matter disposed on limitation)
— Taxation of costs — challenge to Taxing Officer’s award — procedural timing and jurisdictional effect
31 July 2023
Applicant’s leave-to-appeal application was time-barred; leave to refile did not extend the 30-day limitation.
Civil procedure — Appeal — leave to appeal
— Law of Limitations
— prior order granting leave to refile does not extend the 30‑day limit
— Time limitation
31 July 2023
Plaintiff’s commercial use of a residential‑only leased property amounted to breach; claim dismissed with no costs.
Land law — Lease
— burden of proof
— claimant in breach cannot recover damages or equitable relief
— Interpretation of lease terms
— lessee’s misuse of leased premises as breach justifying lessor’s interference with access.* Evidence
— plaintiff failed to prove claimed losses.* Remedies
— residential‑only covenant versus commercial use.* Breach of contract
31 July 2023
A revision application is incompetent to challenge a consent judgment; the proper remedy is a fresh suit.
Civil procedure — Revision — Whether revision is competent to challenge a consent judgment — Consent judgments can generally only be assailed by instituting a fresh suit where settlement is alleged to be illegal or improper — Mohamed Enterprises (T) Ltd v Massoud Mohamed Nasser
31 July 2023
Court adopted parties’ Deed of Settlement as consent judgment and entered decree; each party to bear its own costs.
Banking law — Banking/secured lending — Loan restructuring dispute — mortgage and alleged auction of mortgaged property
Civil procedure
— Consent judgment — Deed of Settlement adopted as Court decision under Order XXIII Rule 3, Civil Procedure Code
— Costs — Parties to bear their own costs as per settlement
31 July 2023
High Court lacks jurisdiction to hear matters arising from a judgment once a notice of appeal to the Court of Appeal is filed.
Civil procedure
— Execution — Appeal and execution
— Inherent powers — invocation of s.95 CPC where rules are silent
— jurisdiction — Lodging of notice of appeal in the Court of Appeal divests the High Court of jurisdiction
31 July 2023
An advocate may swear a client's counter-affidavit on matters within personal knowledge; omission of an authorisation clause is not fatal.
Legal profession — Advocate sworn affidavits
— authorisation statement not mandatory
— validity and limits
— verification on personal knowledge
Legal profession — preliminary objections
— admissibility of counter-affidavit
— costs awarded
31 July 2023
Court granted extension to file revision due to alleged illegality despite incomplete accounting for delay.
Civil procedure — extension of time — Application for revision — requirements to account for all days of delay (Bushiri) and exercise diligence (Lyamuya) — allegation of illegality as sufficient reason to grant extension
31 July 2023
The plaintiff's land claim was held time‑barred under Item 22, Part I of the Law of Limitations Act.
Civil procedure — preliminary objection — time bar — Dismissal with costs where application filed out of time and without leave
Land law — Limitation — Accrual of cause of action for recovery of land — Law of Limitations Act, Cap 89 R.E.2019, Item 22, Part I
31 July 2023
Illness and death of the original litigant justified extension of time to file an appeal; applicants given 14 days to file.
Land law — Extension of time
— application for leave to appeal
— discretion to extend time
— illness and death of original litigant as cause for delay
— letters of administration
— prompt action after grant
— sufficiency of reasons
30 July 2023
28 July 2023
Surveyed plots were wrongly included in plaintiff's title and belong to the deceased's estate; demolition under tribunal order lawful.
Land law — ownership dispute between surveyed and unsurveyed parcels — identity of land determined by survey plan, Ward Tribunal judgment and locus visit — execution of tribunal decree and lawfulness of demolition — no damages where plaintiff not owner
28 July 2023
Court preserved status quo on charged properties until statutory notice expiry, finding prima facie case and risk of irreparable harm.
Land law — Land/secured transactions — application for temporary/mareva injunction to restrain sale of charged land and factories pending dispute resolution Interim relief — application of Attilio v Mbowe test: prima facie case, irreparable harm, balance of convenience Procedural law — status quo injunction pending expiry of statutory notice
28 July 2023
Leave to appeal struck out for improperly adding a non-party without first correcting court records.
Land law — Land procedure — leave to appeal — joinder of parties at appellate stage — a person not party to original suit cannot be added in a leave application without prior order to correct record
28 July 2023
Application challenging taxation award struck out for non-joinder of parties; costs awarded to the respondent.
Civil procedure — preliminary objection — Non-joinder of parties in a reference against a Bill of Costs — Competency of application
28 July 2023
Applicant's challenge to execution for lack of hearing rejected where record shows presence and legal representation.
Civil procedure
— Enforcement — non‑compliance with prior tribunal orders — legitimate basis for proceeding with execution
— Execution proceedings — right to be heard — presence of party and legal representation as evidence of opportunity to be heard
Land law — Revision — inspection of record for material error causing injustice
28 July 2023
Court may join land-allocation authorities as necessary parties without enforcing the statutory 90-day government notice.
Administrative law — Government proceedings act — interplay of 90-day notice requirement with court-ordered joinder of government entities in special circumstances
Civil procedure
— Civil procedure code, order 1 rule 10(2) — court's power to add necessary parties, including suo motu joinder
— Necessary parties — criteria for addition where their absence would prevent an executable decree
Land law — ownership dispute — competing title deeds and allegation of double allocation
28 July 2023
Court granted interim injunction restraining respondents from developing disputed land pending trial.
Civil procedure
— interim relief — Restraint on entering or undertaking activities on disputed plots pending trial
— Temporary injunction — Requirements: prima facie case, irreparable loss, balance of convenience — Atilio
Land law — Disputed title and alleged fraud/forgery — preservation of status quo pending main suit
27 July 2023
Whether the applicant may obtain a Mareva injunction to protect land pending expiry of a 90‑day statutory notice to sue the government.
Land law — interlocutory/Mareva (preservative) injunction — protection of land pending institution of suit after 90‑day statutory notice to sue government Interim relief — application in absence of pending suit where statutory notice served Injunction tests — application of Atilio v Mbowe criteria (serious question, likelihood of success, irreparable harm, balance of convenience) Preservation of property pending litigation
27 July 2023
Extension of time to appeal execution orders is incompetent because execution orders are not appealable; remedy is revision.
Land law — Execution orders — Appealability
— Execution orders are not appealable
— extension of time to appeal execution proceedings is incompetent
— remedy is revision in higher court
27 July 2023
Plaintiff failed to prove ownership of unsurveyed land; defendant's sale agreements established title and suit was dismissed.
Land law — ownership of unsurveyed land — proof by sale agreements, inheritance and allocation documents — Burden of proof and evidential requirements for sale agreements
Probate law — administration of estate and inventory — Requirement to file inventory within six months of grant
Tort — Trespass to land — unjustifiable intrusion by one person upon land in possession of another
27 July 2023
Appellate court quashed judgment and ordered retrial for trial tribunal's procedural errors in relying on post‑decision surveyor evidence.
Land law — ownership and encroachment — burden of proof
Land law — procedural fairness
— counterclaim struck out for contravening court order
— retrial ordered where error goes to root of case
27 July 2023
Applicants failed to prove a prima facie title; mareva injunction dismissed with costs.
Evidence — Burden of proof
27 July 2023
High Court jurisdiction upheld where plaint pleads land value over TZS300,000,000; mixed-fact preliminary objection overruled.
Land law; pecuniary jurisdiction of High Court under s.37(1) Land Disputes Courts Act; requirement to plead jurisdiction (Order VII r.1(f) CPC); preliminary objection inadmissible where it raises disputed facts (Mukisa principle).
26 July 2023
Purchaser's failure to pay under land sale agreements found breach; plaintiff awarded limited injunction, damages and costs.
Land law — Sale agreement — Existence and enforcement of written sale and reconciliation agreements — Purchaser’s default in paying purchase price
— refusal of general declaration of title or immediate refund where contract provides otherwise
— Remedies: limited permanent injunction, damages and costs
— third-party purchasers joined and settled
26 July 2023
Court granted extension to file notice of appeal for diligent prosecution; leave to appeal unnecessary for High Court land appeals.
Civil procedure
— Delay and diligence — Whether pleaded illegality may outweigh unexplained delay — Medical evidence as proof of incapacity to explain delay
— omnibus applications — combining related prayers allowed absent specific prohibition — Section 11(1), Appellate Jurisdiction Act
Land disputes — leave to appeal — Whether leave to appeal for High Court original land matters was abolished by Written Laws (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act No. 8 of 2018 — Appellate Jurisdiction Act s5(1)(a)
25 July 2023
Plaintiffs failed to prove ownership; court upheld defendant’s prior possession and dismissed the claim with costs.
Civil procedure — pleadings bind parties — Misdescription of property (location/acreage) and contradictions between pleadings and evidence fatal to claim
Land law
— possession and title — Survey, beaconing and development establish prior occupation and priority (first‑occupier principle)
— proof of title and ownership — burden of proof rests on party alleging ownership — Evidence Act ss 110 — 112
25 July 2023
Plaintiffs failed to prove title; prior surveyed possession and first occupancy gave the defendant priority.
Land law — proof of ownership — Burden of proof on claimant — Priority of prior surveyed possession/first occupier
25 July 2023
Applicant failed to account for an inordinate delay and did not show good cause for extension of time; application dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure
— extension of time — application under Land Disputes' Courts Act and Law of Limitation Act
— inordinate/unexplained delay — ground for dismissal
— Lyamuya factors — account for each day, promptness, diligence
— medical incapacity — evidential requirement to link illness to delay
— technical/administrative delay — one-day late filing and incompetence of appeal
25 July 2023
Committal for contempt under Order XXI requires prior execution proceedings; absent such proceedings the application is premature.
Civil procedure — Execution of decree
25 July 2023
Plaintiff proved title; defaulting occupiers declared trespassers and ordered evicted with costs.
Civil procedure — ex-parte proceedings — service by publication and non-appearance — Validity of substituted service by affixation and publication enabling ex-parte relief
Land law — Ownership and title — municipal records and registered survey plan as proof of title
Trespass — Trespass to land — Whether occupiers who decline service and participation are trespassers liable to eviction
25 July 2023
25 July 2023
Applicant failed to account for delay and justify extension of time to set aside an ex parte judgment.
Civil procedure — Requirement to act diligently and account for delay
— Extension of time: good cause and accounting for every day of delay
— unexplained five‑month delay can be inordinate
Civil procedure — extension of time — Application to set aside ex parte judgment — governed by Lyamuya factors (account for delay, inordinate delay, diligence, sufficient reasons)
Civil procedure — substituted service by publication — effectiveness depends on proper commencement and proof of service — proof of absence from jurisdiction requires passport/immigration evidence
25 July 2023
Revision application struck out as interlocutory DLHT order was premature and not revisable under s.79(2) CPC.
Land law — Revision — Interlocutory orders — District Land and Housing Tribunal
24 July 2023
An application conceded as containing omnibus prayers is incompetent and must be struck out; amendment after preliminary objection is not allowed.
Civil procedure
— Amendment — Whether amendment may be permitted after a preliminary objection has been raised — Amendment not allowed where it would pre-empt objection
— preliminary objection — Application containing omnibus prayers — Competency of pleadings
— remedy — Striking out incompetent application — No order as to costs
24 July 2023
The plaintiff lacked locus standi because statutory legal personality and the power to sue vest in the registered trustees; suit struck out with costs.
Trust law — Trustees incorporation act s.8(1)(b) — legal personality and capacity to sue — locus standi
— preliminary objection decidable as a point of law
— registered trustees, not the church entity, possess power to sue and be sued
24 July 2023
A revision application filed after the 60‑day statutory limitation is time‑barred and will be struck out.
Civil procedure — Revision — time bar — Revision application under s.43 of the Land Disputes Courts Act must comply with the 60‑day limitation in Item 21 Part III, Schedule to the Law of Limitations Act, Cap 89 R.E.2019
24 July 2023
Applicant failed to account for delay and alleged illegality was not apparent; extension of time refused with costs.
Civil procedure
— extension of time — application for certificate on point of law
— Sickness as ground for extension — effective only if it prevented action during the relevant period
21 July 2023
Failure to record reasons for proceeding without an assessor vitiated tribunal proceedings, prompting retrial from that date.
Land disputes — District Land and Housing Tribunal composition
— Mandatory presence of Chairperson and two assessors — Land Disputes Courts Act s 23(2)
— Proceeding in absence of assessor — Requirement to record reasons in the proceedings — Failure to record vitiates subsequent proceedings — Land Disputes Courts Act ss 23(2), (3)
21 July 2023
A land recovery claim was dismissed as time-barred for failure to plead exemption from the statutory limitation period.
Limitation law — recovery of land — accrual when claimant knows of dispossession — limitation as jurisdictional bar — dismissal with costs
21 July 2023
Extension of time granted where alleged illegality and active prosecution of remedies explained delay in appealing ex parte judgment.
Land law — extension of time to appeal — Alleged illegality (ex parte hearing while setting-aside application pending; amendment filed out of time/no filing fee) as sufficient cause — Court’s discretion to extend time — Need to account for delay vs. active prosecution of other remedies
20 July 2023
Failure to prove advocate’s attendance in superior court and refusal to prosecute justified dismissal of extension application.
Land law — Land procedure
— dismissal for refusal to prosecute
— representation before District Land and Housing Tribunal
20 July 2023
Interim (Mareva) injunction struck out for failure to prove service of mandatory 90‑day statutory notice to the Attorney General.
Civil procedure — Order XXXVII rule 2 proviso
— declaratory relief as alternative
— temporary injunctions barred against the Attorney General
20 July 2023