illiteracy, lack of awareness of the existence of the Court, intimidation and fear of reprisals10 and the use of extraordinary remedies.11 49. The Court observes that the reckoning of time within which to assess reasonableness in filing the Application should, ordinarily, begin from the date when the Court of Appeal rendered its judgment that is on 7 March 2005. However, in the instant case, the actual starting date for computing the time is 29 March 2010 when the Respondent State filed its Declaration because that is when individuals could seize the Court with cases against the Respondent State. Given that the application was filed on 20 October 2017, the time to be assessed is seven (7) years, six (6) months and twentytwo (22) days. The issue for determination, therefore, is whether such time is reasonable within the meaning of Article 56(6) of the Charter and Rule 50(2)(f) of the Rules. 50. In this respect, the Court has held that failure to file an application within a reasonable time due to indigence and incarceration must be proved and cannot be justified by blanket assertions or assumptions.12 51. The Court recalls that it held, in Godfred Anthony and Another v. United Republic of Tanzania, that a period of five (5) years and four (4) months was an unreasonable lapse of time before the filing of an application. The Court reasoned that while the applicants were incarcerated and, therefore, restricted in their movements, they had not asserted or provided any proof that they were illiterate, lay, or had no knowledge of the existence of the Court.13 10 Association pour le Progrès et la Défense des Droits des Femmes Maliennes and the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa v. Republic of Mali (merits) (11 May 2018) 2 AfCLR 380, § 54. 11 Armand Guehi v. United Republic of Tanzania (merits and reparations) (7 December 2018) 2 AfCLR 477, § 56; Werema Wangoko v. United Republic of Tanzania (merits) (7 December 2018) 2 AfCLR 520, § 49 Alfred Agbes Woyome v. Republic of Ghana, (merits and reparations) (28 June 2019) 3 AfCLR 235, §§ 83-86. 12 Abdallah Sospeter Mabomba v. United Republic of Tanzania, ACtHPR, Application No. 017/2017, Ruling of 22 September 2022 (ruling) § 51. 13 Godfred Anthony and Ifunda Kisite v. United Republic of Tanzania (26 September 2019) (admissibility) 3 AfCLR 470, § 48. 13