Tanzania Case Law

ALEX SAWAKA JUDGMENT edited

Court

TANZLII

Appellant's age was not properly determined; trial court failed to conduct inquiry as required by law. Evidence of PW5 and PW6 expunged for lack of oath. Remaining evidence sufficient to sustain conviction, but sentencing contravened child law. Appellant was a first offender under 18; custodial sentence unlawful. Conviction stands, sentence set aside, appellant ordered released.

Source excerpt

• Rape
• Unnatural offense
• Impregnating a school girl
• Proof of age
• Oath and affirmation
• Juvenile sentencing

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Philemon Charles Judgment Final

Court

TANZLII

The trial court's failure to properly administer and record an oath or affirmation for all witnesses constituted a fundamental procedural irregularity, rendering all evidence inadmissible and the entire proceedings incurably defective.

Source excerpt

• Abduction
• Admissibility of evidence
• Oath and affirmation
• Procedural irregularity
• Retrial

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7 ocr tanzlii CIVIL APPEAL NO

Court

TANZLII

The trial court's failure to administer oath to the appellant before taking her testimony and failure to frame issues before trial were fatal procedural errors that vitiated the entire proceedings, judgment, and orders, necessitating a retrial before another magistrate.

Source excerpt

• Matrimonial proceedings
• Right to be heard
• Judicial bias
• Recording of evidence
• Framing of issues
• Oath and affirmation

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stephen emmanuel vs republic 2022 tzca 704 15 november 2022

Court

TZCA

The Court of Appeal allowed a criminal appeal after finding the child complainant’s evidence was improperly admitted, leaving insufficient proof for the conviction.

• Unnatural offence
• Evidence of child witnesses
• Oath and affirmation
• Standard of proof
• Procedure in criminal trials
• Criminal-law

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bulyanhulu gold mines limited vs keneth robert fourie 2022 tzca 460 22 july 2022

Court

TZCA

The failure to administer an oath or affirmation to a witness whose evidence was relied upon by the CMA rendered the proceedings and award a nullity, necessitating expunging the evidence, nullifying the award, and remitting the matter for a fresh hearing.

Source excerpt

• Unfair termination
• Evidence law
• Oath and affirmation
• Remittal for retrial

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CIVIL APPEAL NO

Court

TANZLII

The sole witness statement for the appellants was incurably defective for not being sworn and having a defective jurat, contrary to mandatory procedural rules; this vitiated the entire proceedings and rendered the trial court's decision a nullity.

Source excerpt

• Witness statement requirements
• Oath and affirmation
• Defective proceedings
• Remedies for procedural defects

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augustino daniel mwimbe another vs republic 2021 tzca 446 27 august 2021

Court

TZCA

Where crucial evidence is taken without oath or affirmation, and both prosecution and defence are equally affected, justice requires a retrial from the stage where the anomaly occurred, following judicial precedent.

Source excerpt

• Evidence
• Retrial
• Oath and affirmation
• Judicial precedent

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nmb bank plc vs quality motors ltd and others 2020 tzhccomd 2046 18 september 2020

Court

TZHCCOMD

A preliminary objection challenging the admissibility of a witness statement must be raised before the evidence is admitted and the case is closed. Once the witness statement and exhibits are admitted and form part of the court record, belated objections are barred by the doctrine of waiver and cannot be entertained. The defendants' objection was an afterthought and lacks merit.

Source excerpt

• Witness statements
• Oath and affirmation
• Doctrine of waiver
• Timing of objections
• Admissibility of evidence

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laurent msabila vs republic 2016 tzca 251 25 october 2016

Court

TZCA

The Court of Appeal set aside a rape conviction after finding the accused was denied the right to be heard and the defence procedure was improperly handled.

• Right to be heard
• Procedure for taking defence
• Conviction on plea
• Oath and affirmation
• Nullification of proceedings
• Criminal-appeal

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20160804 TZCA Arusha

Court

TZCA

The conviction was quashed because the trial court improperly relied on unsworn evidence of an adult witness, the doctrine of recent possession was wrongly invoked due to lack of admissible evidence, the cautioned statements were illegally obtained and irregularly admitted, and the sentence imposed exceeded the magistrate's jurisdiction and was therefore illegal.

Source excerpt

• Reception of evidence
• Oath and affirmation
• Doctrine of recent possession
• Illegal sentencing
• Hearsay evidence

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