Wakilii

Ndagijimana v Tanzania (Application No. 024-2019)

African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights · [2019] AfCHPR 37 · 2019 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for provisional measures before the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights
Decision
Application for provisional measures dismissed as moot following applicant's release to Rwanda

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions—always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights dismissed the applicant's request for provisional measures. The Court found that the applicant's prayer for release had become moot because he had already been released to Rwanda before the Court ruled. The Court declined to address the prayer for free movement within Tanzania to avoid prejudging the substantive issues raised in the main application.

Outcome

Application for provisional measures dismissed as moot following applicant's release to Rwanda

Facts

The applicant, a Rwandan national, was detained at the United Nations Detention Facility in Arusha, Tanzania, following his indictment by the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals for interfering with the administration of justice. On 29 March 2019, an IRMCT judge granted the applicant provisional release to Rwanda but dismissed his alternative request for release to an IRMCT safe house within Tanzania. The Government of Tanzania, by Note Verbale dated 9 April 2019, refused to permit provisional release onto its territory. The applicant filed an application before the African Court on 15 July 2019 seeking provisional measures including an order directing Tanzania to consent to and facilitate his provisional release on its territory. On 21 August 2019, before the Court ruled, the applicant was released to Rwanda after the Rwandan government agreed to implement the IRMCT's provisional release order.

Issues

  1. Whether the Court has prima facie jurisdiction to hear the application for provisional measures.
  2. Whether the applicant's request for provisional measures should be granted in circumstances where he seeks an order directing his release from detention and free movement within the respondent state's territory.

Orders

  • Application for provisional measures dismissed.

Rules and key headnotes

Human Rights — Provisional Measures — Prima Facie Jurisdiction
In considering whether to order provisional measures, the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights need not satisfy itself that it has jurisdiction on the merits of the case, but simply that it has prima facie jurisdiction over the case.
Human Rights — Provisional Measures — Mootness
Where an applicant's prayer for provisional measures seeks an order for release from detention, and the applicant is released to an alternative jurisdiction before the Court rules, the prayer for release becomes moot and the application for provisional measures will be dismissed.

Legislation cited (25)

  • Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 3(1)
  • Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 5(3)
  • Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 27(2)
  • 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 1
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 6
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 7(1)(b)
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 12(1)
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 56(7)
  • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 9(1)
  • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 9(3)
  • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 12(1)
  • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 14(2)
  • Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 3
  • Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 9
  • Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 11(1)
  • Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 13(1)
  • Agreement between the United Nations and the United Republic of Tanzania concerning the Headquarters of the IRMCT Article 38(2)
  • Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community Article 2
  • Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community Article 104
  • Protocol on the Establishment of the East African Community Common Market Article 7(1)
  • Protocol on the Establishment of the East African Community Common Market Article 7(2)(a)-(c)
  • Protocol on the Establishment of the East African Community Common Market Article 9
  • Rules of Court Rule 8(2)
  • Rules of Court Rule 51(1)

Cases cited (7)

  • Tembo Hussein v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 001/2018)
  • African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights v Libya (Provisional Measures) (2011) 1 AfCLR 17
  • African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights v Kenya (Provisional Measures) (2013) 1 AfCLR 193
  • Anudo Ochieng Anudo v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 012/2015)
  • Armand Guehi v United Republic of Tanzania (Provisional Measures) (2016) 1 AfCLR 587
  • IRMCT, The Prosecutor v Maximilien Turinabo, Anselme Nzabonimpa, Jean de Dieu Ndagijimana, Marie Rose Fatuma, Dick Prudence Munyeshuli, Decision on Jean de Dieu Ndajigimana's Motion for Provisional Release, 29 March 2019
  • IRMCT, The Prosecutor v Maximilien Turinabo, Anselme Nzabonimpa, Jean de Dieu Ndagijimana, Marie Rose Fatuma, Dick Prudence Munyeshuli, Decision on Anselme Nzabonimpa's Second Motion for Provisional Release, 19 June 2019

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

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

Ndagijimana v Tanzania (Application No. 024-2019) [2019] AfCHPR 37 (26 September 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.