Wakilii

Manyuka v Tanzania (Application No. 020-2015)

African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights · [2019] AfCHPR 45 · 2019 Application Dismissed — Inadmissible 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 domestic criminal conviction and sentence
Decision
Application declared inadmissible for failure to file within a reasonable time

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 held that it has jurisdiction to examine alleged violations of the African Charter arising from domestic criminal proceedings, and that such examination does not amount to sitting as a court of first instance or exercising appellate jurisdiction. The Court found that the applicant exhausted local remedies by appealing to Tanzania's highest court. However, the Court declared the application inadmissible because it was filed five years and six months after Tanzania deposited its declaration allowing individual access, and the applicant failed to provide compelling justification for this delay.

Outcome

Application declared inadmissible for failure to file within a reasonable time

Facts

The applicant, a Tanzanian national, was convicted of robbery with violence by the District Court at Mbinga on 15 May 2000 and sentenced to twenty years imprisonment. He appealed to the High Court at Songea, which on 9 August 2001 upheld the conviction but enhanced the sentence to thirty years imprisonment and twelve strokes of the cane. He further appealed to the Court of Appeal, which dismissed his appeal on 9 April 2003. Tanzania deposited its declaration under Article 34(6) of the Protocol on 29 March 2010, allowing individuals to access the African Court. The applicant filed this application on 16 September 2015, alleging violations of the African Charter arising from his conviction, sentence enhancement, corporal punishment order, and denial of legal representation.

Issues

  1. Whether the African Court has material jurisdiction to hear an application alleging violations of the African Charter arising from domestic criminal proceedings.
  2. Whether the African Court is being asked to sit as a court of first instance.
  3. Whether the African Court is being asked to assume appellate jurisdiction over domestic courts.
  4. Whether the applicant exhausted local remedies before filing the application.
  5. Whether the application was filed within a reasonable time after exhaustion of local remedies.

Orders

  • Objections to material jurisdiction dismissed.
  • Court has jurisdiction.
  • Objection to admissibility based on non-exhaustion of local remedies dismissed.
  • Application was not filed within a reasonable time within the meaning of Article 56(6) of the Charter.
  • Application declared inadmissible.
  • Each party to bear its own costs.

Rules and key headnotes

African Court Jurisdiction — Material Jurisdiction — Allegations of Charter Violations
The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights has material jurisdiction to examine applications alleging violations of the African Charter so long as the application alleges violations of provisions of international instruments to which the respondent state is a party, and such examination does not amount to sitting as a court of first instance.
African Court Jurisdiction — Appellate Jurisdiction — Assessment of Domestic Proceedings
The African Court does not exercise appellate jurisdiction with respect to claims already examined by national courts, but it retains the power to assess the propriety of domestic proceedings in light of a state's international commitments under the African Charter.
Admissibility — Exhaustion of Local Remedies — Extraordinary Remedies
An applicant is not required to exhaust extraordinary remedies such as constitutional petitions for review of Court of Appeal decisions in Tanzania's judicial system before seizing the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights.
Admissibility — Reasonable Time — Burden of Proof
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. While the Court considers personal circumstances such as imprisonment, indigence, illiteracy, and lack of legal assistance, an applicant bears the burden of adducing evidence explaining any significant delay in filing.
Admissibility — Cumulative Conditions — Effect of Non-Compliance
The conditions of admissibility under Article 56 of the African Charter are cumulative such that if one condition is not fulfilled, the application becomes inadmissible.

Legislation cited (25)

  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 1
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 2
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 3
  • 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 7(2)
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 7(c)
  • 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)
  • 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 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)
  • Rules of Court Rule 8(2)
  • Rules of Court Rule 30
  • Rules of Court Rule 38
  • Rules of Court Rule 39
  • Rules of Court Rule 39(1)
  • Rules of Court Rule 40
  • Rules of Court Rule 40(5)
  • Rules of Court Rule 40(6)
  • Constitution of Tanzania Article 13(6)(c)
  • Basic Rights and Duties Enforcement Act (Tanzania)
  • Minimum Sentences Act (Tanzania)

Cases cited (14)

  • Frank David Omary and Others v. United Republic of Tanzania
  • Armand Guehi v Tanzania (Application No. 001/2015)
  • Ernest Francis Mtingwi v. Republic of Malawi
  • Alex Thomas v Tanzania (Application No. 006/2015)
  • Kenedy Ivan v Tanzania (Application No. 025/2016)
  • Nguza Viking (Babu Seya) and Johnson Nguza (Papi Kocha) v Tanzania (Application No. 006/2015)
  • Minani Evarist v Tanzania (Application No. 027/2015)
  • Michael Majuru v. Republic of Zimbabwe
  • Beneficiaries of the Late Norbert Zongo, Abdoulaye Nikiema alias Ablasse, Ernest Zongo, Blaise Ilboudo and Mouvement Burkinabe de Droits de l'Homme et des Peuples v Burkina Faso
  • Amiri Ramadhani v Tanzania (Application No. 010/2015)
  • Christopher Jonas v Tanzania (Application No. 011/2015)
  • Werema Wangoko v Tanzania (Application No. 024/2015)
  • Godfred Anthony and Ifunda Kisite v Tanzania (Application No. 015/2015)
  • Dexter Johnson v Ghana (Application No. 016/2017)

Full judgment

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

Manyuka v Tanzania (Application No. 020-2015) [2019] AfCHPR 45 (28 November 2019)
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.