IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF TANZANIA

AT DAR ES SALAAM

CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 140 OF 2012

TITO SHUMO & 49 OTHERS ••••••••••••••••••.••••••.•••••••••••••••••..••.•.•

APPLICANTS

VERSUS

KITETO DISTRICT COUNCIL ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.•••

RESPONDENT

(Application for an order setting aside a dismissal order)

(Luanda. lA.)

dated the 6th day of August, 2012

in
Misc. Civil Application No. 31 of 2012

RULING
13th February, & 20th August, 2014
LUANDA. l.A.:
.,.;

On 6/8/12 I dismissed the application of TITO SHUMO and 49 others

(henceforth the Applicants) who applied for extension of time so that they

be allowed to file a review in the Court. I did so because neither did the

applicants enter appearance in person nor by their advocates.

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 ...

The applicants are eager to pursue the matter, they have filed
(
this application to restore the same. So, this is the Ruling in

connection with that application for restoration.

When I dismissed the application for extension of time, I was

satisfied that the applicants were duly served but defaulted

appearance. Indeed the Court's summons/Notice bears the stamp of

Mr. Godfrey Ukong'was firm of advocates but it was not endorsed.

So, it is not known who received it. Mr. Ukong'wa who advocated for

the applicants argued with force that it is not enough a

;.;..

Notice/Summons to bear a stamp of the Law firm only; it should be

endorsed to indicate the person who received it. According to Mr.

Ukong'wa, endorsement is an essential element of any r

Summons/Notice to show service. But he did not cite any law to that

effect.

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 Be that as it may, Mr. Alex Mgongolwa learned Counsel for the

respondent opposed the application saying the stamping is enough

that the applicants were served through their advocate.

The question is whether the mere stamping of Notice/Summons ,

,

is .enough to indicate service. So the question is: How services of

Summons/Notice of this Court are effected?

Rule 22 of the Court of Appeal Rules, 2009 (the Rules) reads.

22.-(1) Subject to the provisions of these Rates.

where any document is required to be served on

any person/ service may be effected in accordance r

_.
with the procedure and practice of the High Court

under the provisions of the Civil Procedure Act

read together with the provisions of these Rules or

such other way as the Court may in any case

direct.

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 The procedure and practice of the High Court under the

provisions of the Civil Procedure Code, Cap 33 RE 2002 (the Code) is

complete when it is endorsed by putting a signature by a person who

receive it. This is provided under O.V Rule 16 of the Code. It

provides:-

16. Where the serving officer delivers or tenders a

copy of the summons to the defendant personally

or to an agent or other person on his behalf, he

shall require the person to whom the copy is so

delivered or tendered to sign an

acknowledgement of service endorsed on

the original summons:

Provided that where the detendeot; his agent

or such other person refuses to sign the

acknowledgement the serving officer shall leave a

..copy thereof with him and return the original to

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 the court together with an affidavit stating that the

person upon whom he served the summons

refused to sign the acknowledgment, that he left a

copy of the summons with such person and the

name and address of the person (if any) by whom

the person on whom the summons was served was

identified. [Emphasis mineJ

In our case we have seen that no endorsement by signing the notice

was made. So, in law no service was effected on the applicants. The

application for restoration of the application for extension of time is hereby

granted. Costs in the cause.

DATED at DAR ES SALAAM this 1st day of August, 2014.

B.M. LUANDA
JUSTICE OF APPEAL

I certify that thl is a t 'pe copy of t

I
original.