Paskazia d/o Bwahama v. Aloys Cyrilo, (Pc) Civ. App. 182-D-65; 19/5/67; Saidi, J.

Paskazia d/o Bwahama v. Aloys Cyrilo, (Pc) Civ. App. 182-D-65; 19/5/67; Saidi, J.

Plaintiff sued for the redemption of a clan shamba under the Buhara customary law. The land allegedly was sold by plaintiff’s brother, acting as administrator of plaintiff’s father’s estate, in 1937 to  defendant’s father, from whom he inherited it in 1953. The sale price was Shs. 3000/-. The signatures on the documents of sale appeared to have been forged.

            Held: (1) According to the customary law of the Haya tribe, land is considered to be the joint property of a clan and may be redeemed by a member of the clan if it is sold to a stranger by an individual member. However, suits for redemption should be brought within three months of the date of sale or of the date the interested clan member first hears of the sale. Citing Hans Cory and Hartnoll, Customary Law of the Haya Tribe. (2) Since the signatures on the sale documents were forgeries, and since the sale price appears to have been below the value of the land, the evidence supports a finding that no sale took place. Thus the question of redemption of the shamba would not arise. (3) In order to support a claim to the property based upon adverse possession, defendant must show that he has been in continuous and uninterrupted possession of the shamba for twelve years or more. (4) If he has not obtained title to the property by adverse possession, defendant would nevertheless be entitled to fair compensation for any improvements he may have made. The appeal was allowed and the case remitted to the District Court the court which had heard the first appeal of the case) for the trial of the issue of adverse possession.