PAUL NAGABONA KIDEVU VS GABASEKI MAGAYANE

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA (MWANZA SUB REGISTRY) AT MWANZA LAND APPEAL NO. 1305 OF 2024 (Arising from the Judgment and decree of the DLHT at Nansio Ukerewe before Hon Kato C. Chairperson of the District Land and Housing Tribunal) date the 08 the 08th day November 2023 in the Sub Registry of Mwanza, He Misc Land Appeal no 32 of2022 Originated from DLHT OF Ukerewe at Nansio, Order of Land Appeal no 37 of 2018 Arising from the Namilembe Ward Tribunal Land no 66 of 2018.) PAUL NAGABONA KIDEVU...................................................... APPELLANT VERSUS GABASEKI MAGAYANE............................................................ RESPONDENT JUDGEMENT 23™ & 23™ July, 2024 A. MATUMA, J. The appellant lost the suit to the Respondent in the ward Tribunal for Namilembe Ward (Suit no.66/2018). Being aggrieved he promptly made an appeal to the District Land and Housing Tribunal for Ukerewe vide Land Appeal No.106 of 2018 but such appeal was dismissed for want of prosecution on 20/05/2022. The appellant was further aggrieved with the dismissal order and thus appealed to this court whereas Hon. M.O. Ndyekobora PRM with Extended Jurisdiction struck out such appeal for the same was wrongly filed instead of the appellant applying to the tribunal to set a side the dismissal order and restore the dismissed appeal. With that decision the appellant went i back to the District Land and Housing Tribunal and through Misc. Land Application No.63/2023 applied to have the dismissal order set aside but he faced a legal impediment in terms of regulation 11(2) of G.N no. 174/2003 which provides for time limitation of 30 days to apply for setting aside the dismissal order and restore the suit dismissed for want of prosecution. The applicant still aggrieved he has preferred this appeal with several grounds but the parties agreed that all the grounds can be determined in one issue on whether the Appellant's Misc. Land Application no.63 of 2023 was filed in the District Land and Housing Tribunal in time and thus wrongly dismissed for time limitation. At the hearing of this appeal, the appellant was represented by his legal representative Mr. Benjamin Mtebe and had his advocate Mr. Masoud Mwanaupanga. The respondent was as well present and assisted by Mr. Edwin Josephat Maiga (Paralegal). At first Mr. Benjamin thought that time limitation should have been accounted from the date when the Principal Resident Magistrate with extended jurisdiction delivered his decision and by doing so his application to the tribunal would have been found to be within 30 days and thus in time. But after some reflections of the law both parties agreed that the chairman of the District Land and Housing Tribunal was right in his decision that Misc. Land Application no. 63 of 2023 was filed out of time because from the date when Land Appeal no. 106 of 2018 was dismissed on 20/05/2022 to 19/7/2023 when Misc. Land Application no.63 of 2023 was filed it was a period of one year and almost five months. They argued that the appellant had no automatic extension of time to lodge such application and thus ought to seek extension before lodging such application. I entirely agree with both parties that the trial chairman was right in his decision that Misc. Land Application no. 63 of 2023 was filed extremely out of time. The applicant should have first sough an extension before lodging such application which had no leave to be lodged out of time. This appeal was thus misconceived and accordingly dismissed. The appellant is at liberty if he so wishes to go back in the District Land and Housing Tribunal to seek extension of time within which he may lodge 3 an application to set aside the dismissal order of Land Appeal No. 106/2022. No orders as to costs. 4