Appeal has been seized of the matter, as this is an extraordinary remedy.11
In the instant Application, the Court observes that the Court of Appeal ruled
on the Applicant’s appeal on 1 August 2013. The Applicant is, therefore,
deemed to have exhausted local remedies as his Application went through
all the echelons of the judicial system up to the Court of Appeal, which is
the highest court of the land.12
39. In view of the foregoing, the Court holds that the Applicant exhausted local
remedies as provided for in Article 56(5) of the Charter and Rule 50(2)(e) of
the Rules. It, therefore, dismisses the Respondent State’s objection to
admissibility based on non-exhaustion of local remedies.
B. Objection based on the failure to file the Application within a reasonable
time
40. The Respondent State submits that the Application was not filed within
reasonable time. According to the Respondent State, the case was settled
by the Court of Appeal on 31 July 2013. The Application was filed before
this Court on 10 May 2016, that is, after a period of almost twenty (20)
months. According to the Respondent State, this period cannot be said to
constitute a reasonable time.
41. The Respondent State contends that despite the fact that Rule 50(2)(f) of
the Rules does not prescribe the time-limit within which individuals are
required to file applications, going by the norms of other regional
mechanisms similar to those of the African Union, a period of six (6) months
has been considered reasonable time. In this regard it references the
decision of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in
Majuru v. Zimbabwe.
11Gozbert
Henrico v. United Republic of Tanzania, ACtHPR, Application No. 056/2016, Judgment of 10
January 2022, § 61; Mgosi Mwita Makungu v United Republic of Tanzania (merits) (7 December 2018)
2 AfCLR 550, § 46, Mohamed Abubakari v United Republic of Tanzania (merits) (3 June 2016) 1 AfCLR
599, §§ 66-70; Thomas v. Tanzania, supra, §§ 63-65.
12 Hamis Shaban aka Hamis Ustadh v. United Republic of Tanzania, ACtHPR, Application No. 026/2015,
Judgment of 2 December 2021, § 51; Abubakari v. Tanzania (merits), supra, § 76.
11