Wakilii

Kulukuni v United Republic of Tanzania

African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights · [2020] AfCHPR 28 · 2020 Application Struck Out AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights alleging violations of the African Charter arising from criminal conviction and imprisonment in Tanzania
Decision
Application struck out for failure to prosecute; Applicant may file a new application

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court struck out the Application from its Cause List pursuant to Rule 58 of the Rules of Court. The Applicant filed the Application in February 2018 but failed to respond to four requests for clarification sent by the Registry over more than one year. The Court held that parties must pursue their cases with diligence and that failure to do so leads to the logical conclusion that a party is no longer interested in pursuing their claim, even without express withdrawal.

Outcome

Application struck out for failure to prosecute; Applicant may file a new application

Facts

The Applicant, a Tanzanian national, was convicted of burglary and stealing by the District Court of Handeni on 7 May 2017 and sentenced to seven years' imprisonment. He appealed to the High Court, which dismissed his appeal on 25 April 2016. He then appealed to the Court of Appeal, which quashed his conviction and set aside the sentence on 12 July 2017. The Applicant filed an application with the African Court on 6 February 2018, alleging violations of the African Charter arising from his conviction and imprisonment, including lack of legal assistance during trial. The Registry requested clarification on whether he was still in prison and asked him to substantiate his claim that domestic proceedings were prolonged. Despite four reminders sent between March 2018 and May 2020, the Applicant failed to respond.

Issues

  1. Whether the Applicant's failure to respond to requests for clarification over more than one year demonstrates an intention not to pursue the Application.
  2. Whether the Application should be struck out pursuant to Rule 58 of the Rules of Court where the Applicant has not expressly withdrawn but has failed to actively pursue the case.

Orders

  • Application No. 007/2018 Abdallah Ally Kulukuni v. United Republic of Tanzania struck out from the Cause List of the Court.
  • Striking out is without prejudice to the Applicant filing a new application.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Striking Out — Failure to Prosecute — Duty of Diligence
Parties to an application before the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights must pursue their case with diligence, and failure to do so leads to the logical conclusion that a party is no longer interested in pursuing their claim, even where the party does not expressly indicate an intention to withdraw.
Civil Procedure — Striking Out — Application of Rule 58 — Implied Abandonment
Rule 58 of the Rules of Court, which provides for striking out where an applicant notifies the Registrar of an intention not to proceed, applies by analogy to situations where an applicant neither notifies the Court of an intention to withdraw nor actively pursues the case.
Civil Procedure — Striking Out — Effect — Without Prejudice to New Application
The striking out of an application for failure to prosecute is without prejudice to the applicant's right to file a new application.

Legislation cited (8)

  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 3
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 5
  • Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 22
  • Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 34(6)
  • Constitution of Tanzania Articles 12-29
  • Constitution of Tanzania Article 13
  • Penal Code of Tanzania Section 294(1)
  • Penal Code of Tanzania Section 250

Cases cited (1)

  • Andrew Ambrose Cheusi v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 004/2015)

Full judgment

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

Kulukuni v United Republic of Tanzania [2020] AfCHPR 28 (25 September 2020)
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.