Wakilii

Luchagula v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 039-2016)

African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights · [2020] AfCHPR 19 · 2020 Application Dismissed 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 rights under the African Charter following conviction and death sentence in Tanzania
Decision
Application declared inadmissible for failure to file within a reasonable time after exhaustion of local remedies

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The African Court held that it has jurisdiction to examine whether domestic courts' evaluation of evidence complies with international human rights standards without acting as an appellate court. The Court found that the Applicant exhausted local remedies by appealing to Tanzania's Court of Appeal. However, the Application was inadmissible because it was filed six years, three months and fifteen days after exhaustion of local remedies, which exceeded a reasonable time under Article 56(6) of the African Charter, particularly where the Applicant provided no evidence of indigence or restrictions justifying the delay.

Outcome

Application declared inadmissible for failure to file within a reasonable time after exhaustion of local remedies

Facts

On 9 February 1989, the Applicant and accomplices abducted five people in Kahama District, Tanzania, demanding money and a logging permit. Four captives were killed; one escaped and reported to police. The Applicant was arrested on 2 April 1989 after the escapee recognised him. He was convicted of murder by the High Court of Tanzania on 31 May 2001 and sentenced to death by hanging. The Court of Appeal upheld the conviction and sentence on 2 July 2003. Following presidential pardons, the Applicant's death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment and he was later released on 9 December 2017. The Applicant filed this Application on 14 July 2016, alleging violations of his rights under the African Charter.

Issues

  1. Whether the African Court has material jurisdiction to examine allegations of human rights violations relating to the evaluation of evidence by domestic courts.
  2. Whether the African Court has personal jurisdiction given Tanzania's withdrawal of its Article 34(6) Declaration.
  3. Whether the Applicant exhausted local remedies before filing the Application.
  4. Whether the Application was filed within a reasonable time after exhaustion of local remedies.

Orders

  • Dismissed the objection to jurisdiction.
  • Declared that it has jurisdiction.
  • Dismissed the objection based on non-exhaustion of local remedies.
  • Found that the Application was not filed within a reasonable time within the meaning of Article 56(6) of the Charter and Rule 40(6) of the Rules.
  • Declared that the Application is inadmissible.
  • Ordered each party to bear its own costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Human Rights — African Court Jurisdiction — Material Jurisdiction — Evaluation of Evidence by Domestic Courts
The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights has material jurisdiction to examine whether domestic courts' evaluation of evidence complies with international human rights standards set out in the African Charter, and exercising such jurisdiction does not render the Court an appellate court.
Human Rights — African Court Jurisdiction — Personal Jurisdiction — Effect of Withdrawal of Article 34(6) Declaration
Withdrawal of a State's Declaration under Article 34(6) of the Protocol has no retroactive effect and does not affect matters pending before the African Court prior to the filing of the withdrawal, and such withdrawal takes effect twelve months after the filing of the instrument of withdrawal.
Human Rights — Admissibility — Exhaustion of Local Remedies — Extraordinary Remedies
An applicant is not required to exhaust extraordinary remedies such as applications for review of Court of Appeal judgments or constitutional petitions, which national courts are not required to apply, before filing an application before the African Court.
Human Rights — Admissibility — Reasonable Time — Assessment Factors
The reasonableness of the time limit for filing an application before the African Court depends on the particular circumstances of each case and must be determined on a case-by-case basis, with relevant factors including whether the applicant is incarcerated, indigent, a layman in law, the time taken to access documents, and the recent establishment of the Court.
Human Rights — Admissibility — Reasonable Time — Burden of Proof
Failure to file an application within a reasonable time due to indigence and incarceration must be proven and cannot be justified by blanket assertions or assumptions, and where an applicant provides no evidence of indigence or restrictions despite being incarcerated, a delay of six years, three months and fifteen days is not reasonable.

Legislation cited (30)

  • Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 3
  • Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 6(2)
  • Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 21(1)
  • 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)
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 2
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 3(1)
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 3(2)
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 4
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 5
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 6
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 7(1)
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 9(1)
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 9(2)
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 19
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 56
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 56(5)
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 56(6)
  • Rules of Court Rule 8(2)
  • Rules of Court Rule 26(1)(a)
  • Rules of Court Rule 29(1)(a)
  • Rules of Court Rule 30
  • Rules of Court Rule 35(3)
  • Rules of Court Rule 35(4)
  • Rules of Court Rule 39(1)
  • Rules of Court Rule 40
  • Rules of Court Rule 40(5)
  • Rules of Court Rule 40(6)
  • Tanzania Court of Appeal Rules Chapter III.B Rule 66
  • Basic Rights and Duties Enforcement Act

Cases cited (20)

  • Andrew Ambrose Cheusi v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 004/2015)
  • Ernest Francis Mtingwi v. Republic of Malawi
  • Alex Thomas v. United Republic of Tanzania
  • Peter Joseph Chacha v. United Republic of Tanzania
  • Lohé Issa Konaté v Burkina Faso (Application No. [not specified])
  • Beneficiaries of late Norbert Zongo, Abdoulaye Nikiema alias Ablasse, Ernest Zongo, Blaise Ilboudo and Mouvement Burkinabè des Droits de l'Homme et des Peuples v. Burkina Faso (preliminary objections) (21 June 2013) 1 AfCLR 197
  • Ingabire Victoire Umuhoza v. Republic of Rwanda (jurisdiction) (3 June 2016) 1 AfCLR 562
  • Werema Wangoko Werema v. United Republic of Tanzania (merits) (7 December 2018) 2 AfCLR 520
  • Linus Daudi Manyuka v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 020/2015)
  • Kennedy Owino v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 025/2015)
  • Michael Majuru v. Zimbabwe, AChPR, No. 308/2005, 24 November 2008
  • Kijiji Isiaga v. United Republic of Tanzania (merits) (21 March 2018) 2 AfCLR 64
  • Diocles William v. United Republic of Tanzania (merits) (21 September 2018) 2 AfCLR 426
  • Juma Viking and Johnson Nguya v. United Republic of Tanzania (merits) (23 March 2018) 2 AfCLR 287
  • Amiri Ramadhani v. United Republic of Tanzania (merits) (11 May 2018) 2 AfCLR 344
  • Christopher Jonas v. United Republic of Tanzania (merits) (28 September 2017) 2 AfCLR 101
  • Godfred Anthony and Another v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 015/2015)
  • Armand Guehi v. United Republic of Tanzania (merits and reparations) (7 December 2018) 2 AfCLR 477
  • Sebastien Germain Ajavon, Roger Gombelt v. Côte d'Ivoire (jurisdiction and admissibility) (22 March 2018) 2 AfCLR 270
  • Dexter Eddie Johnson v Republic of Ghana (Application No. 016/2017)

Full judgment

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Luchagula v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 039-2016) [2020] AfCHPR 19 (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.