Tanzania: Litigant Loses Case Against Bishop Kakobe

Tanzania: Litigant Loses Case Against Bishop Kakobe

Tanzania Daily News (Dar es Salaam)-THE Court of Appeal has dismissed with costs an application which had been lodged by a resident of Bukoba, John Katonda, against the Archbishop of the Full Gospel Bible Fellowship, Zakary Kakobe, in a case involving payment of 30m/- as bill of costs.

In the application, Katonda had sought an order for extension of time to apply for filing written submissions in the matter on grounds that the delay to do so was due to sufficient cause, including travelling up-country to attend to a family member who was seriously sick.

“I find no good cause for extending time as prayed. The application is accordingly dismissed with costs,” Justice Ibrahim Juma said in a ruling delivered last Friday. The justice agreed with submissions presented by advocate Miriam Majamba, for the bishop, that the applicant (Katonda) had not advanced good reasons to justify an extension of time as required under the law.

The advocate had contended that what were presented were unsubstantiated matters of facts. According to the justice, the affidavits in support of the application conveyed bare assertions and unsubstantiated allegations of facts over the matter which ordinarily should have been accompanied with additional documentary evidence.

“The unsubstantiated assertions made on the applicant’s behalf are at best an afterthought. In the circumstances of the application, no court of law, and certainly not this court, can be so lackadaisically moved to grant the extension,” Justice Juma ruled.

Facts of the case show that Katonda was a respondent in a civil case before the High Court filed by Archbishop Kakobe, as plaintiff, on May 25, 2006, claiming various reliefs, including general damages to the tune of 1bn/-. As a procedure, the defendant filed his written statement of defence on July 21, 2006.

On the same day, the defendant lodged a notice of objection to the effect that the said case had been preferred before the wrong registry at Dar es Salaam instead of Bukoba where he lives. When the matter came up for hearing on the objection, the plaintiff prayed to withdraw the suit.

The court granted the request on September 1, 2006 with costs, which were to be taxed. The defendant filed the bill of costs and on October 19, 2007, the taxing master assessed the same at 30m/-. The plaintiff was dissatisfied by the decision and filed an application for reference.

However, the application for reference was thrown out with costs for being incompetent on July 4, 2008, by then High Court Judge Thomas Mihayo. In attempt to bring the matter back, the plaintiff preferred an application for extension of time to file another reference against the taxing master’ ruling.

But on August 19, 2009, the application was dismissed. Dissatisfied with the dismissal, the plaintiff lodged a notice of appeal to the Court of Appeal on August 26, 2009 and on September 1, 2009 he filed an application for leave to appeal to the court. Another High Court Judge, Projest Rugazia, granted the application on October 21, 2010.

Thereafter, the Registrar of the High Court informed the parties on the case that copies of proceedings, ruling and drawn order for purpose of preparation of the appeal were ready for collection by September 26, 2012.

However, it is alleged that the plaintiff has not lodged the appeal in question and hence the defendant failed to lodge his written submissions as required under Court of Appeal Rules in time. The defendant had no other option than filing the application in question for extension of time to file the submissions.

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