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7,154 judgments found.
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March 2026
Failure to serve mandatory default and 14-days notices invalidated the mortgaged property's auction; sale set aside.
Land law
— bona fide purchaser protection requires clean process and evidence of payment
— mandatory service of default (60 days) and 14-days publication notices
— typographical name errors immaterial where identity proven
23 March 2026
Extension granted to file reference due to tribunal’s delay in supplying certified copies; alleged illegality warranted hearing.
Civil procedure — extension of time — sufficient cause
— alleged illegality as good cause
— delay in obtaining certified copies from tribunal
— Lyamuya and Bushiri principles
— non-inordinate delay
23 March 2026
Contractual clause vesting land on loan default is unenforceable; sale without lawful title void ab initio.
Land law — contract versus proprietary rights
Land law — Equity of redemption
— clog invalid
— defective root of title defeats bona fide purchaser protection
— nemo dat quod non habet
— self‑help in land matters unlawful
23 March 2026
Company lacked locus standi over properties allocated to a director; suit struck out and also implicated by res sub judice.
Civil procedure
— Locus standi — requirement of sufficient interest
— Res sub judice — related probate matters pending in the Court of Appeal bars High Court adjudication
— Separate corporate personality (Salomon) — director’s personal allocation not company property absent pleaded nexus
23 March 2026
The plaintiffs' counterclaim challenging a 1997 title was time‑barred and dismissed.
Land law — Limitation — Accrual of cause of action for recovery of land — Law of Limitation Act s.5 and Item 22 (12‑year period)
Civil procedure
— Preliminary objections — Preliminary objection on limitation (time‑bar)
— Joinder of parties — Non‑joinder of necessary party renders plaint incurably defective
23 March 2026
Temporary injunction struck out where court lacked main suit record and an applicant had no letters of administration.
Civil procedure
— Joint application — non-severable jurisdictional defect vitiates entire application
— Locus standi — acting as administrator of a deceased estate requires letters of administration
— Temporary injunctions — Ancillary nature requiring access to main suit pleadings
23 March 2026
Court granted a limited injunction preserving certain mortgaged properties pending trial due to serious triable issues.
Civil procedure — Auctions and tenders
— alleged pre-advertisement payment
— Equitable relief to prevent main suit becoming nugatory
— Protection of bona fide purchasers
Civil procedure — Interim injunctions — preservation of status quo pending trial
Civil procedure — mortgages — realization of mortgaged immovable property — statutory requirements (valuation, notice, public advertisement)
23 March 2026
Court recorded and adopted a deed of settlement as a consent judgment, making property transfers and payments binding and enforceable.
Civil procedure — Consent judgment
— enforceability as court decree
— land transfers and payment obligations
— Recording and adoption of a deed of settlement under Order XXIII r.3 CPC
— settlement binding on successors
— withdrawal of pending matters
20 March 2026
Suit dismissed as incompetent for suing improper parties and failing to obtain mandatory leave to sue a company in liquidation.
Banking law — appointment of Deposit Insurance Board as statutory liquidator — Appointment by Bank of Tanzania equated to court appointment
Civil procedure — Proper parties — Suing public officers in personal capacity — Director of Deposits Insurance Board not proper party
Company law — Liquidation — Suing a company under liquidation — Requirement for leave under section 291 of the Companies Act
19 March 2026
Affidavit lacking first‑person statements and containing arguments rendered the land application incurably defective and struck out.
Civil procedure — Affidavit requirements — When affidavit defects warrant striking out — Order XIX r 3(1) & Order XVIII r 2(3), Civil Procedure Code Cap 33 R.E. 2023
Land law — Appealability — Preliminary objection on competency of appeal — Land Registration Act ss 20(1), 102
19 March 2026
Claim dismissed for failure to plead and prove land size and boundaries; locus in quo cannot remedy documentary deficiencies.
Land law
— Locus in quo — inspection is supplementary to court evidence and cannot cure failure to prove essential particulars
— procedural irregularity — irregularities in site visit vitiate proceedings only if they occasion miscarriage of justice
— proof of ownership
19 March 2026
Appellant's encroachment claim failed due to contradictory boundary evidence and failure to summon material witnesses.
Land law — assessors' opinions — court's reasons for disagreement
Land law — encroachment
Land law — proof of boundaries
— balance of probabilities
— description of disputed land
— locus in quo discretionary
19 March 2026
Res judicata cannot be resolved as a preliminary objection where the applicant's pleadings dispute the prior judgment.
Civil procedure — preliminary objection — res judicata — Where resolution requires evidence on disputed facts, the point is not a preliminary objection (Mukisa test)
18 March 2026
A res judicata plea cannot be decided as a preliminary objection where its existence is disputed and requires evidence.
Civil procedure — Land dispute — ownership claim
Civil procedure — preliminary objection — Mukisa Biscuits principle
Civil procedure — Res judicata
— If existence or effect of prior suit is disputed, issue requires evidence and is not a preliminary objection
— plea
18 March 2026
Extension denied for failure to prove legal‑aid attempts, illness, and to account for each day of delay.
Civil procedure
— extension applications — Duty to account for each day of delay
— Extension of time to appeal — Sufficient cause — Appellate Jurisdiction Act s 14(1) Cap 141 R.E. 2023
Evidence — documentary proof — Need for documentary proof of attempts to obtain legal aid and medical incapacity to justify delay
18 March 2026
Court restored the applicant's dismissed land suit, finding good cause due to court system failure and granting relief without costs.
Civil procedure — Order VIII r.20(1)(a) dismissal for want of prosecution
— application to set aside dismissal
— costs denied
— court discretion
— electronic/system failure affecting notice
— requirement of good cause
— restoration of suit
17 March 2026
Land recovery suit dismissed as time‑barred for failing to plead a continuing trespass with requisite dates and particulars.
Limitation law — continuing trespass — court raising limitation issue proprio motu — non‑joinder and re‑institution objections raised but not determinative
17 March 2026
Failure to serve a proper statutory 90‑day notice under the Government Proceedings Act rendered the suit incompetent and it was struck out.
Civil procedure
— Government Proceedings Act, s.6(2) — statutory 90‑day notice requirement — defective service of notice fatal
— Pleadings — Defective plaint for omission of parties' details — Incompetence of suit
17 March 2026
Failure to serve a valid statutory 90‑day notice rendered the suit against the government incompetent and it was struck out.
Administrative law — Government proceedings act s.6(2)
— competence of proceedings against the State
— inconsistent pleadings
— mandatory requirement
— overriding objective cannot cure statutory non‑compliance
— striking out suit
17 March 2026
A tribunal's rejection of a registered title without involving land authorities is a serious procedural defect warranting retrial.
Land law — Registered title and Certificate of Occupancy — Evaluation of documentary evidence
Land law — validity of title — Joinder/summons of land authorities (Registrar/Commissioner) when title validity is challenged
— Procedural defect
— retrial ordered
16 March 2026
First plaintiff lacked standing after transfer of property; plaintiffs failed mandatory pre-action steps under section 13 CPC.
Civil procedure
— Locus standi — Whether a person without legal or proprietary interest may challenge a sale between vendor and purchaser
— Pre-action requirements — Mandatory compliance with section 13 of the Civil Procedure Code as a condition precedent to instituting proceedings
16 March 2026
Appellant failed to rebut evidence of a gifted transfer; tribunal and appellate court found respondent the owner and dismissed the appeal with costs.
Land law — ownership dispute — whether land was gifted or leased — burden of proof
Evidence — admissibility of documentary evidence — Hand‑over agreement (Exhibit DE2) and application for residential licence (Exhibit DE3)
Land disputes — assessors’ opinions — Mandatory requirement to give and consider assessors' written opinions before judgment — Land Disputes Courts Act s 24
13 March 2026
Affidavit containing legal argument and a defective verification made the application incompetent and it was struck out with costs.
Civil procedure
— Affidavits — Affidavits should be confined to facts within deponent's knowledge and not contain legal argument or prayers — Expungement and consequences
— Verification clause — Curable defect — Amendment may cure but not where affidavit rendered incompetent
12 March 2026
An application was struck out because the supporting affidavit failed to show express authorisation (power of attorney) to depose for co-applicant.
Civil procedure — competency of supporting affidavit
— administrative delay (failure to upload judgment) not determined on merits
— defective affidavit renders application incompetent
— one applicant may depose for others only upon express authorisation evidenced in affidavit or annexure
Civil procedure — Extension of time to appeal
12 March 2026
Review granted to correct clerical errors: amend bank name and require auction in accordance with procedures.
Civil procedure — Review — Clerical or arithmetical mistakes in judgment/decree
12 March 2026
Court granted a 14-day extension to file a notice of appeal due to applicant’s illness and procedural delays.
Civil procedure — extension of time to file notice of appeal — Lyamuya principles — temporary illness/unsound mind and next-friend representation as grounds for condonation — Court’s discretion to condone short delays
12 March 2026
Court granted 14-day extension to file notice of appeal due to applicant’s illness and procedural delays.
Civil procedure — extension of time to file notice of appeal — accounting for delay — illness and next friend’s representation as sufficient cause — exercise of judicial discretion
12 March 2026
Court granted Mareva‑style injunction to preserve applicant’s home pending suit after statutory 90‑day notice and alleged forgery threatened eviction.
Civil procedure — Mareva/inherent jurisdiction — interim injunction pending institution of suit where statutory 90‑day notice bars filing
— disputed mortgage, auction legality and alleged forgery
— prima facie case, irreparable harm, balance of convenience
12 March 2026
Non-joinder of the borrower and its director required joinder; omission of an explicit cause date was not fatal at preliminary stage.
Civil procedure — Law of Limitation Act s.26
— discovery of fraud
— non-joinder/joinder of necessary parties
Civil procedure — Order VII r.1(e)
Civil procedure — Preliminary objections — Mukisa test — pure point of law
12 March 2026
Failure to join the Commissioner for Lands where pleadings and an approved map implicate survey/registration renders the suit incompetent.
Land law — Non-joinder
— Approved map/ survey/registration
— Pleadings inconsistency
— Incompetent suit
— Necessary party
12 March 2026
Failure to join the Commissioner for Lands rendered the suit incompetent where plaint implicated an approved map and offer letter.
Land law — Joinder of necessary parties — Commissioner for Lands as necessary party where title/resurvey central to dispute
Civil procedure — Preliminary objection on point of law — Non-joinder of necessary party
Land law — Survey and allocation — Effect of an approved map and letter of offer on the necessity to involve the land authority
12 March 2026
Applicant failed to show a triable issue; injunction to restrain bank's mortgage sale was refused.
Land law — temporary injunction — power of sale — pendency of other proceedings does not automatically bar exercise of contractual sale rights
12 March 2026
Where over one‑sixth of claimed costs is disallowed, the entire taxed bill must be set aside; unjustified fees were also vacated.
Legal profession — Advocates Remuneration Order G.N. 263 of 2015 — one‑sixth rule — disallowance of entire bill where more than one‑sixth taxed off
Legal profession — taxation of costs
— conversion of foreign currency claims to TZS for computation
— Judicial review of taxing officer’s exercise of discretion
10 March 2026
A counterclaim pleaded within a defence must meet plaint formalities; failure to do so renders it incompetent and struck out.
Civil procedure — Counterclaim in written statement of defence treated as cross-suit
10 March 2026
A counterclaim in a defence must comply with Order VII and be in plaint form or be struck out.
Civil procedure — Counterclaim in written statement of defence treated as cross-suit — Compliance with Order VII requirements
10 March 2026
9 March 2026
Whether fraud delays limitation and if administratrix has locus standi; suit struck out for suing a defendant in wrong capacity.
Limitation law — capacity in which a defendant is sued
— misjoinder/incorrect designation
— striking out for incompetence
Limitation law — Limitation — fraud discovery rule
Limitation law — preliminary objections
— locus standi of personal representative
— mixed questions of law and fact
9 March 2026
Revision granted where a non-party materially affected by a DLHT decision was denied the right to be heard.
Land law — Revision — Right to be heard — Non-party materially affected by DLHT decision may seek revision — Ex-parte judgment and natural justice
9 March 2026
Application against government struck out for failing to prove service of mandatory 90‑day notice.
Administrative law
— Government proceedings act s.6(2) — mandatory 90‑day notice as condition precedent
— Reply to Counter‑Affidavit cannot introduce new matters — extraneous paragraphs expunged
9 March 2026
Failure to decide ownership vitiated the mortgage ruling; appeal allowed and matter remitted for rehearing.
Civil procedure — Framing of issues — Mandatory duty to frame issues covering all matters for determination
Evidence — admissibility of documentary evidence — Admission of documentary exhibits
Land law — Mortgage — Whether ownership must be determined before validity of mortgage is adjudicated
9 March 2026
Whether a Taxing Master’s instruction fee award exceeded the Tshs 1,000,000 statutory cap under GN No. 263/2015.
Civil procedure — Taxation of costs — Instruction fees — Whether awarded instruction fees were excessive and subject to reduction on reference under Advocates Remuneration Order, 2015
9 March 2026
Negligence in recording the hearing time is not sufficient cause to set aside a dismissal under Order IX r.6(1).
Civil procedure — Order IX r.6(1) CPC — Setting aside dismissal for non-appearance — Negligence of counsel in misrecording hearing time not sufficient — Duty to peruse court record
9 March 2026
Registered land title upheld where plaintiff failed to prove fraud and forensic evidence lacked originals and chain of custody.
Land law — Registered title — Fraud exception to conclusive title — Burden and standard of proof to set aside title
Evidence — Forensic evidence — Admissibility/value of Government Chemist report versus break in provenance — Chain of custody and production of originals for fingerprint comparisons
Civil procedure — Adverse inference for failure to call witness (Hemedi Saidi) — Failure to call material witness; municipal custodian not called
9 March 2026
Fresh suit wrongly struck out as res judicata; non-party not bound and was denied right to be heard.
Civil procedure
— Objection proceedings — fresh suit
— Res judicata — Identity of parties and subject matter — Person not party to earlier proceedings not bound
— Right to be heard — premature striking out nullifies opportunity to present merits
9 March 2026
Breach of lease claims fall exclusively within District Court jurisdiction under section 111; the plaintiff's suit was struck out.
Land law — Jurisdiction — Breach of lease agreements
9 March 2026
Affidavit riddled with legal arguments and conclusions rendered the revision application unsupported and struck out with costs.
Civil procedure
— Affidavits — Prohibition of legal arguments or conclusions in affidavits — Order XIX r.3(1) CPC
— Remedy for defective affidavit — Offensive paragraphs may be expunged but not necessarily strike out entire application — When defect goes to the root and is incurable
6 March 2026
Limitation cannot be resolved on the pleadings where a continuing wrong is alleged; non-joinder of co-owners (no representative suit) is fatal unless cured by amendment.
Civil procedure — Land — co-ownership and non-joinder of co-owners
Civil procedure — limitation — continuing wrong and section 7 Law of Limitation Act
Civil procedure — Pleadings
— Amendment to cure procedural defects
— verification
Civil procedure — Preliminary objections — pure question of law
Civil procedure — Registrar of Titles — when joinder is necessary
Civil procedure — Representative suits — Order I Rule 8 CPC
5 March 2026
Sickness of an advocate and bereavement justify setting aside dismissal only if inability to notify or secure representation is shown.
Land law — Land Disputes Courts Regulations
— availability of alternative representative
— bereavement
— duty to notify court
— inference of acceptance of consequences
— Regulation 11(1)(b) dismissal for non-appearance
— Regulation 11(2) restoration
— sickness of advocate
— sufficient cause
5 March 2026
Court granted extension to file and serve notice of appeal due to technical delay and diligent pursuit.
Land law — Registrar of Titles — Extension of time to give notice of appeal — Technical delay as good cause
Civil procedure — Extension of time to appeal — Discretion to extend time (Lyamuya factors) — Law of Limitation Act s.21
4 March 2026
Applicant failed to show sufficient cause to set aside dismissal; submissions cannot replace affidavit evidence.
Civil procedure
— Diligence — Repeated failures by counsel may amount to lack of diligence
— Evidence — affidavit evidence — Submissions cannot substitute for affidavit evidence
— setting aside dismissal for want of prosecution — sufficient cause
3 March 2026