Category: Justice

{Accused persons are pleading guilty to crimes they did not commit not to “complicate” matters, a High Court judge has said.}

Homa Bay High Court Judge David Majanja said that the lack of legal knowledge had also deterred many inmates from filing appeals against court judgments.

“There are people who look innocent but due to language barrier and fear of being remanded for long, they simply plead to the charges by saying “yes afande” for fear that continuing with the case to full trial would complicate their cases,” said Mr Justice Majanja.

He spoke when he opened a paralegal training workshop convened by International Commission of Jurists for Homa Bay prison inmates.

“Lack of knowledge on basic legal affairs have made many convicts who deserve appeals suffer in prisons because they do not know where to start from. I hope this training will offer our inmates opportunity to understand legal channels that can enable them get justice,” Mr Majanja said.

{{FEAR FACTOR}}

The judge said the Judiciary is currently undergoing transformation aimed at offering every accused person an opportunity to be heard and get justice.

The officer in charge of Homa Bay Prison, Jonas Gotondo, said his experience had revealed that many prisoners suffer jail terms mainly because of fear.

He said such fear makes remandees plead guilty of cases that they would have easily won.
Local Chief Magistrate Ms Patricia Gichohi told suspects, including children who are accused of murder and robbery, that they would have lawyers hired by the State.

“Many inmates get jailed due to failure to articulate their issues clearly. Our courts are now committed to ensuring that suspects access justice,” said Mr Gichohi.

International Commission of Jurists Deputy Executive Director Elsy Sainna expressed optimism that the training would help in decongesting the prison.

“I feel this knowledge will help a number of inmates defend themselves and get freedom and hence decongest prisons,” said the official.

Source:Daily Nation:[Fear forcing innocent people to plead guilty, judge says->http://www.nation.co.ke/news/Fear-forcing-innocent-people-to-plead-guilty–judge-says/-/1056/3080350/-/mnk111z/-/index.html]

{THE Court of Appeal made a good start in handling tax appeal cases having by disposed two of them worth over 20bn/- involving TSCAN Limited and Tanzania International Container Terminal Services (TICTS) out of the four cases scheduled for determination.}

It was a win-win situation between the two companies and the Commissioner General of the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) after a legal panel comprising Justices Nathalia Kimaro, Katherine Oriyo and Augustine Mwarija granted some requests made by the two parties to the cases.

The case, involving TSCAN and relating to over 14bn/- tax dispute lodged by the TRA against the company, was marked ‘withdrawn’ following a request by their advocate, Mr Felix Haule, that the same should be disposed of in that manner after noting some legal defects on the proceedings.

Another case involving TICTS, which lodged a matter against TRA to challenge tax assessment of over 6.5bn/- was also marked ‘withdrawn’ after the parties informed the court that they have reached a resolution to settle the matter “through an amicable approach’’.

The remaining two cases slated for determination, involving Quality Group Limited and Pembe Flour Mills Limited, were adjourned due to some legal technicalities.

The case under which Quality Group opposes tax assessment of over 1.3bn/-, was not heard because the company was not represented.

There were reports given that the counsel who had been served to represent the company, Lloyd Nchunga, could not receive the summonses because he had withdrawn from representing the company to avoid conflict of interests relating to his leadership in Premier League side Young Africans Sports Club, popularly known as YANGA.

Mr Nchunga was club’s chairman before his post was taken over by the current holder, Mr Yusuf Manji, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Quality Group. The justices, however, adjourned the matter to Friday and directed the parties to be dully served with summons.

The outcome of the case involving Pembe Flour Mills Limited will be known on a date to be set later after the justices heard a preliminary point regarding the competence of the appeal challenging TRA’s assessment of tax amounting to 313m/-.

In the case, Mr Haule, for TRA, requested the court to “strike out” the appeal on grounds that the decree of the Tax Revenue Appeals Tribunal attached to the proceedings was signed by the Chairperson alone instead of all the members, as required under the Rules.

However, Advocate Michael Ngalo, for the company, requested the panel to overrule such ground of objection for lacking merits.

He submitted that there was no requirement under the rules that the decree should be signed by all members who heard the matter by the Tribunal.

The advocate told the court further that the non-signing of the decree has not prejudiced anyhow the TRA as in the court of proceedings he had attached a copy of the judgment of the Tribunal showing the subject matter in dispute, which has been signed by the Chairman and all members involved.

Hearing of other 24 remaining cases continues today. Other tax appeals cases scheduled for determination includes North Mara Gold Mines Limited, Bulyanhulu Gold Mines Limited, Geita Gold Mining Limited, Intestate Mining and Minerals Tanzania Limited and Mabangu Mining Limited.

Others are National Microfinance Bank PLC, KCB Bank Tanzania Limited, Tanzania Breweries Limited (TBL), BP Tanzania Limited, Pan African Energy Tanzania Limited, Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) and Kilombelo sugar Companies.

Other companies are Tanga Cement Company Limited, SBC Tanzania Limited, Tanzania Leaf Tabocco Company, G.S Contractors Limited, J.S.C. Atomredmetzoloto (ARMZ), Ms Uturn Grocery Store, South Com. East Africa Limited and Orxy Company Limited.

Hearing of the cases comes few days after President John Magufuli directed the Judiciary to fast track the disposal of 442 tax cases that have been pending in courts since 2010, denying the government earnings amounting to 1 trillion/-.

The president promised the Judiciary to 250bn/-, being 25 per cent of such amount to boost its development budgets and enhance capacity in determination of rights of parties to litigation within the shortest possible time.

Source:Daily News:[Appeal Court disposes two cases worth 20bn/–>www.dailynews.co.tz/index.php/home-news/46986-appeal-court-disposes-two-cases-worth-20bn]

{THE Court of Appeal is today expected to start hearing tax appeal cases that have denied the government some billions of shillings; the ‘Daily News’ has learnt.}

In one such session today, a panel comprising Justices Nathalia Kimaro, Katherine Oriyo and Augustine Mwarija would hear four appeals among 26 that have been scheduled for determination within eight days.

The four cases involve giant companies, including Quality Group Limited, Tanzania International Container Terminal Services (TICTS), TSCAN and Pembe Flour Mills Limited.

Other tax appeals cases that would be determined in a two-week session include North Mara Gold Mines Limited, Bulyanhulu Gold Mines Limited, Geita Gold Mining Limited, Intestate Mining and Minerals Tanzania Limited and Mabangu Mining Limited. Others are National Microfinance Bank PLC, KCB Bank Tanzania Limited, Tanzania Breweries Limited (TBL), BP Tanzania Limited, Pan African Energy Tanzania Limited, Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) and Kilombero Sugar Company.

Other companies are Tanga Cement Company Limited, SBC Tanzania Limited, Tanzania Leaf Tobacco Company, G.S Contractors Limited, J.S.C. Atomredmetzoloto (ARMZ), Ms Uturn Grocery Store, South Com. East Africa Limited and Orxy Company Limited.

Hearing of the cases comes few days after President John Magufuri directed the Judiciary to fast track the disposal of 442 tax cases that have been pending in courts since 2010, denying the government earnings amounting to 1 trillion/-.

The president promised the Judiciary 250bn/-, being 25 per cent of such amount to boost its development budgets and, thus enhance capacity in determination of rights of parties to litigation within the shortest possible time.

In his annual general report he presented before the National Assembly in Dodoma mid-last year, the Controller and Auditor General (CAG), Professor Mussa Assad, disclosed that there were tax appeal cases worth over 1.7tri/- that were pending before the Tax Appeals Bodies and Court of Appeal of Tanzania.

Recently, the Chief Court’s Registrar, Katherine Revocati, was quoted as saying that the Judiciary decided to give such cases high priority to speed up their disposal as recommended by the CAG in his report for the year ending June 30, 2014.

She disclosed that in every course list of cases that would be lined up for hearing, cases involving the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) relating to tax matters would be given first priority and, thus, included without missing.

“We want these cases determined the earliest possible,” the Registrar said. In his report, the CAG had pointed out that during the audit he noted that TRA has long outstanding cases before the appeals tax bodies and the Court of Appeal amounting to 1,716bn/-.

He stated that cases worth 261bn/- were stuck at the Court of Appeal while the remaining balance of cases whose value amounting to 1,455bn/- were before the Tax Appeals Bodies.

Prof Assad pointed out that the potential tied up revenues on appeals is 10 per cent of the total revenue estimates and three per cent of the nominal GDP for 2013/2014. He stated the the value of taxes in dispute at the Tax Revenue Appeals Board and the Court of Appeal was high while it also cost the government a lot of resources to run cases for such a long time.

The CAG recommended that case hearing should be expedited, proposing an Independent Complaint Commission to expedite handling of appeals.

Source:Daily News:[Four tax matters go to Appeal Court today->http://www.dailynews.co.tz/index.php/home-news/46977-four-tax-matters-go-to-appeal-court-today]