Automated Summary
Key Facts
The plaintiffs challenged the validity of Certificate of Title No. DSMT1046800 for Plot No. 199, Block N, alleging it was fraudulently obtained by the first defendant. The first defendant raised a preliminary objection under res subjudice, citing Land Application No. 16 of 2025 before the Ubungo District Land and Housing Tribunal involving the same plot. The court found the case constructively res subjudice due to overlapping subject matter and parties, despite some differences in involved parties, and struck out the suit with costs.
Issues
The court determined whether the plaintiffs' case was an abuse of process under the doctrine of res subjudice, given a pending Land Application No. 16 of 2025 at Ubungo District Land and Housing Tribunal involving the same plot and parties. The first defendant argued the suit should be struck out as res subjudice, while plaintiffs' counsel contended the objection required fact-finding and did not meet res subjudice requirements. The court found constructive res subjudice exists, leading to the suit being struck out with costs.
Holdings
The court found the present suit constructively res subjudice to Land Application No. 16 of 2025 pending before the Ubungo District Land and Housing Tribunal. The court ruled that the matter in issue is directly and substantially the same in both cases, with the final verdict in either case likely to impact the other. The suit was struck out with costs under the doctrine of res subjudice.
Remedies
The court struck out the entire suit with costs, finding it to be constructively res subjudice to Land Application No. 16 of 2025 pending before the Ubungo District Land and Housing Tribunal.
Legal Principles
The court applied the doctrine of res subjudice to determine that the plaintiffs' case constituted an abuse of court process. It found that the matter was already pending before the Ubungo District Land and Housing Tribunal (Land Application No. 16 of 2025) involving the same parties and subject matter, necessitating dismissal to avoid conflicting judgments.
Precedent Name
- Abdullatif Kadiri Mussa v. Idrisa Mustafa
- Deus Gracewell Seif & Another v. Chama Cha Walimu Tanzania (CWT)
Cited Statute
Civil Procedure Code, Cap 33 R:E 2023
Judge Name
A. Msafiri
Passage Text
- I find this suit constructively res subjudice to Land Application No. 16 of 2025 which is still pending before Ubungo District Land and Housing Tribunal. I thus proceed to strike out the entire suit with costs.
- Section 8 of the CPC from which the principles emanates, operates as a bar for the multiplicity of suits and it's subject to certain conditions. As correctly submitted by Mr. Mwinyimvua that both suits have the same parties and both suing under the same title, and both suits are pending before the competent courts and both are directly and substantially the same.