Lufungilo Karume vs Adam Lucas Administrator of the Estate of the Late Tobo Lubuga

IN THE HIGH COURT OF TANZANIA SUB-REGISTRY OF GEITA AT GEITA LAND APPEAL NO. HC/GTA/LND/LND/7021/2024 (Originating from the decision in Misc. Land Application No. 98 of 2022 at District Land Housing Tribunal for Geita delivered on 13 February 2024, Hon. Kato, Chairman) LUFUNGILO KARUME...................................................................APPELLANT VERSUS ADAM LUCAS (The administrator of the late TOBO LUBUGA.......................................................................... RESPONDENT RULING Date of last Order: 05/04/2024 Date of Judgment: 05/04/2024 K. D. MHINA, J. This is the first appeal. It stems from the District Land and Housing Tribunal ("the DLHT") for Geita in Misc. Land Application No. 98 of 2022, in which Adam Lucas (as the administrator of the estate of the late Tobo Lubuga), the applicant who is now the respondent, applied for an extension of time to file a revision against the decision of the Nyamalimbe Ward Tribunal in Application No. 1 of 2017. On 13 February 2024, the Chairman of the DHLT granted the prayer of extension of time to file revision. 2 | Pa ge Undaunted, the appellant lodged this appeal with three grounds of appeal. When the matter was called for hearing, the respondent objected that the appeal was filed by a dead person. Therefore, parties were invited to address the court on that crucial issue. The objection was argued by way of oral submissions. Both parties appeared in person and were unrepresented. At the hearing, the respondent argued that Lufungilo Karume, who passed away on 19 November 2016, is deceased. Therefore, he prayed for the appeal to be dismissed with costs. In response, the person who filed the appeal conceded that Lufungilo Karume passed away on 19 November 2016. However, he submitted that he lodged the appeal as an administrator of the estate of the late Lufungilo Karume. Having heard the brief submission by the parties, there is no dispute that Lufungilo Karume, the name of the person who appeared as the appellant in this appeal, is a dead person who passed away way back in 2016. Further, it is not disputed that this appeal was filed in 2024. Therefore, it was filed by a dead person. In addition, the memorandum of appeal does not indicate if the person who filed the appeal was the administrator of the late Lufungilo Karume's estate. Flowing from above, the issue before me is simple and straightforward. The issue is "whether a dead person can file a suit'. To answer this question, I have the following observations; One, it is a logical issue that a dead person cannot file a suit. Two, the Court of Appeal in Exim Bank (T) Ltd vs. Yahaya Hamisi Musa (As the Administrator of the Estate of the Late Hamisi Musa Mohamed t/a Mapilau General Traders, Civil Appeal No. 275 of 2019 (Tanzlii), held that; "... according to the settled position of law, the suit filed against the dead person is a nullity". 4 | Pa ge Therefore, the same applies also to a scenario which I alluded to earlier when the suit happens to be filed by the dead person. Since a dead person cannot file a suit, thus if it appears on the record that the suit was filed by a dead person, that suit is also a nullity, and the law prohibits the same. As to the way forward, again, the cited case of Exim (Supra) provides a "leeway" when it was held that; "Although the suit preferred against a dead person is a nullity, it is As well as incompetent and not capable of being dismissed, the proper remedy herein was to struck out...... " Therefore, since it is not disputed that the appeal was filed by the dead person, this appeal is null and void ab initio.