Automated Summary
Key Facts
The High Court of Tanzania nullified the proceedings of the Babati Ward Tribunal and the subsequent District Land and Housing Tribunal decision in Land Appeal No 03 of 2017. The court found the trial tribunal's record contained only 'Mwenendo wa Shauri' (proceedings), not a formal judgment capable of appeal. Confusion arose regarding the chairperson's identity: Eliasa Abdi Kallo was listed as chairperson initially, but Farida Juma signed the document, leading to an incurable defect in the tribunal's composition. The case was remitted for trial de novo, with no order on costs.
Issues
- The first appellate tribunal is legally flawed for not recording and including the opinions of assessors during the appeal hearing, which led to an erroneous judgment.
- The first appellate tribunal erred in law and fact for failing to properly evaluate the evidence presented by the appellant, resulting in a decision and decree that are not maintainable at law.
- The first appellate tribunal should have determined that the trial tribunal's decision was illegal due to the quorum not being in accordance with the law.
- The first appellate tribunal erred in law and fact by asserting that the appellant did not make any submissions during the hearing, despite the appellant having submitted based on his grounds of appeal.
- The decision of the first appellate tribunal is legally invalid due to the absence of proper legal reasoning.
- The first appellate tribunal erred in law and fact by not recognizing that the chairperson who visited the locus in quo was different from the one who issued the judgment and orders.
Holdings
- The court nullified the proceedings of the trial tribunal due to an incurable defect in the composition of the tribunal. The chairperson's name was inconsistently recorded, leading to uncertainty about who actually presided. Additionally, no proper judgment was composed by the trial tribunal, only 'proceedings,' making it impossible to appeal.
- The court also nullified the decision of the District Land and Housing Tribunal for Manyara (first appellate court) because it was based on the invalid trial tribunal proceedings. The case was remitted to the trial court for a new trial, and no costs order was made.
Remedies
- The trial tribunal's proceedings are nullified because the chairperson's identity was unclear and the quorum was not properly maintained, as required by section 14(1) of the Land Disputes Court Act.
- The court remits the case back to the trial tribunal for a new trial (trial de novo) due to incurable defects in the previous proceedings.
Legal Principles
The court applied judicial review principles to nullify proceedings of the trial tribunal and its appellate decision, finding the trial tribunal lacked a proper judgment and had an irregular composition. The appellate tribunal's decision was deemed ultra vires as it relied on invalid lower court proceedings.
Cited Statute
Land Dispute's Court Act
Judge Name
DR. M. OPIYO
Passage Text
- In my view 'mwenendo wa shauri' is something different from judgment, in that footing, the reasonable conclusion to be reached is that the ward tribunal did not compose any judgment capable of being appealed against. Judgment is what determines the rights of the parties. In absence of the same, nothing can be done out of the proceedings appearing in record. There was nothing to appeal against to the District Land and Housing Tribunal of Babati.
- Confusion noted above leads to incurable defect in the conduct of tribunal proceedings. Having finding so, I hereby nullified the proceedings of the trial tribunal and consequently nullify the proceedings and decision of the District Land and Housing Tribunal for Manyara (first appellate court) for being based on proceedings of a trial court that had been nullified.