Wakilii

Isiaga v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 032-2015)

African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights · [2021] AfCHPR 38 · 2021 Application Partly Allowed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for reparations following judgment on merits finding violation of right to free legal assistance
Decision
Application for reparations partly granted; Applicant awarded TZS 300,000 for moral prejudice; claims for material damages and release from custody dismissed

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights dismissed the Applicant's claim for material damages for lack of proof of causal link between the violation and the alleged prejudice. The Court awarded the Applicant TZS 300,000 for moral prejudice arising from the Respondent State's failure to provide free legal assistance during his trial, as established in the earlier merits judgment. The Court declined to award reparations to indirect victims due to lack of proof of familial relations and declined to order the Applicant's release from custody, having already addressed that prayer in the merits judgment.

Outcome

Application for reparations partly granted; Applicant awarded TZS 300,000 for moral prejudice; claims for material damages and release from custody dismissed

Facts

The Applicant, Kijiji Isiaga, was convicted and sentenced by Tanzanian domestic courts for armed robbery and inflicting bodily injury. In a judgment on merits dated 21 March 2018, the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights found that the Respondent State violated the Applicant's right to a fair trial under Article 7(1)(c) of the African Charter by failing to provide him with free legal assistance during his trial, despite him being indigent. The Court reserved its ruling on reparations. The Applicant subsequently filed submissions on reparations on 9 May 2018, claiming pecuniary damages for material loss (loss of income as a peasant farmer supporting his family) and moral prejudice for the fourteen years he spent in custody. He also sought an order for his release from prison. The Respondent State disputed the claims, arguing that the Applicant's conviction resulted from his own illegal actions and that he failed to prove the causal link between the violation and the alleged prejudice.

Issues

  1. Whether the Applicant is entitled to pecuniary reparations for material loss arising from the violation of his right to free legal assistance.
  2. Whether the Applicant is entitled to pecuniary reparations for moral prejudice arising from the violation of his right to free legal assistance.
  3. Whether indirect victims (the Applicant's family members) are entitled to reparations for moral prejudice.
  4. Whether the Court should order the Respondent State to release the Applicant from custody as a form of non-pecuniary reparation.

Orders

  • Does not grant the Applicant's prayer for damages for material prejudice.
  • Does not grant damages for moral prejudice to the indirect victims as the Applicant failed to pray reparations for indirect victims and did not provide proof establishing his familial relations and alleged family members.
  • Grants the Applicant's prayer for damages for the moral prejudice he suffered from the violation of his right to free legal assistance and awards him the sum of Tanzanian Shillings Three Hundred Thousand (TZS 300,000).
  • Orders the Respondent State to pay the amount indicated above free from taxes effective six (6) months from the date of notification of this Judgment, failing which it will pay interest on arrears calculated on the basis of the applicable rate of the Central Bank of Tanzania throughout the period of delayed payment until the amount is fully paid.
  • Does not grant the Applicant's prayer for an order of release from custody.
  • Orders the Respondent State to submit to the Court, within six (6) months of the date of notification of this Judgment, and every six months until the Court is satisfied thereof, a report on the implementation of the payment order.
  • Orders each party to bear its own costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Human Rights — Reparations — Material Prejudice — Burden of Proof and Causal Link
Where an applicant claims reparations for material prejudice arising from a human rights violation, the applicant must not only establish a causal link between the violation found by the Court and the prejudice suffered, but must also specify the precise nature and extent of the material damage and offer evidence proving that the prejudice was caused by the specific violation established.
Human Rights — Reparations — Moral Prejudice — Presumption and Assessment
Moral prejudice is presumed in cases of human rights violations and need not be proven by the applicant. The quantum of damages for moral prejudice is assessed by the Court based on equity, taking into account the circumstances of the case, and the Court adopts the practice of granting a lump sum in such instances.
Human Rights — Reparations — Quantum of Damages for Denial of Free Legal Assistance
In instances where a State has violated an applicant's right to free legal assistance in a criminal trial for a serious offence and there are no extenuating circumstances, the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights awards an average amount of Three Hundred Thousand Tanzanian Shillings (TZS 300,000) as fair compensation for moral prejudice.
Human Rights — Reparations — Indirect Victims — Proof of Familial Relations
Where an applicant does not expressly pray for reparations for indirect victims and fails to adduce documentary evidence proving familial relations with alleged family members, the Court will not grant reparations to indirect victims.

Cases cited (12)

  • Mohamed Abubakari v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 007/2013)
  • Alex Thomas v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 005/2013)
  • Lucien Ikili Rashidi v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 009/2015)
  • Ingabire Victoire Umuhoza v Rwanda (7 December 2018) 2 AfCLR 202
  • Reverend Christopher R. Mtikila v United Republic of Tanzania (13 June 2014) 1 AfCLR 72
  • Lohé Issa Konaté v Burkina Faso (3 June 2016) 1 AfCLR 346
  • Kijiji Isiaga v Tanzania (21 March 2018) 2 AfCLR 218
  • Armand Guehi v United Republic of Tanzania (7 December 2018) 2 AfCLR 477
  • Christopher Jonas v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 011/2015)
  • Norbert Zongo and Others v. Burkina Faso (reparations)
  • Minani Evarist v United Republic of Tanzania (21 September 2018) 2 AfCLR 402
  • Anaclet Paulo v United Republic of Tanzania (21 September 2018) 2 AfCLR 446

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Isiaga v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 032-2015) [2021] AfCHPR 38 (25 June 2021)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.