maria chrysostom lwekamwa vs palcid richard lekamwa another 2022 tzca 563 16 september 2022

maria chrysostom lwekamwa vs palcid richard lekamwa another 2022 tzca 563 16 september 2022

The High Court (Makani, J.) erred in law by entertaining and determining a preliminary objection on res judicata that had already been determined by her predecessor (Makuru, J.) in the same case, as the court was functus officio on that issue. Once a court has finally disposed of a matter, it ceases to have jurisdiction over it, and a subsequent judge should not revisit the same issue.

Citation
maria chrysostom lwekamwa vs palcid richard lekamwa another 2022 tzca 563 16 september 2022
Parties
Applicant: Maria Chrysostom Lwekamwa; 1st Respondent: Placid Richard Lwekamwa; 2nd Respondent: Lucas Richard Kami
Court
TZCA
Jurisdiction
Tanzania
Judgment Date
16 September 2022
Procedural Posture
Civil Application for Revision / Ruling on Application for Revision
Outcome
Application allowed
Legal Topics
Res Judicata, Functus Officio, Jurisdiction, Distribution of Estate, Ownership of Property
Source Language
English
Civil Procedure Land Law Probate and Administration Res Judicata Functus Officio Jurisdiction Distribution of Estate Ownership of Property

Case Brief

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Parties

Maria Chrysostom Lwekamwa

Applicant

Placid Richard Lwekamwa

1st Respondent

Lucas Richard Kami

2nd Respondent

Procedural Posture

Civil Application for Revision / Ruling on Application for Revision

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the High Court (Makani, J.) was functus officio to entertain a subsequent preliminary objection on res judicata after a previous ruling by Makuru, J.
  2. 2 Whether the preliminary objection on res judicata was properly determined by Makani, J. in light of the earlier decision by Makuru, J.

Ratio Decidendi

The High Court (Makani, J.) erred in law by entertaining and determining a preliminary objection on res judicata that had already been determined by her predecessor (Makuru, J.) in the same case, as the court was functus officio on that issue. Once a court has finally disposed of a matter, it ceases to have jurisdiction over it, and a subsequent judge should not revisit the same issue.

Court Disposition

Application allowed

Orders

  • Ruling by Makani, J. dated 22/10/2019 in Civil Case No. 385 of 2017 is nullified and set aside.
  • Hearing of Civil Case No. 385 of 2017 to proceed from just before the hearing of the preliminary objection raised before Makani, J.