Arusha. A long-running legal battle by Pantaleo Awe to reclaim three-quarters of an acre of land in the Mrara area, Babati District in Manyara Region has ended in defeat after the Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal, ruling that it was filed outside the statutory time limit.
The court found that Mr Awe waited more than 12 years beyond the legal limitation period after being notified in 1998 that the land had been allocated to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania (ELCT), Central Diocese.
The ruling was delivered on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, by a three-judge bench of the Court of Appeal comprising Justices Gabriel Ndika, Omar Othman Makungu and Mustafa Ismail.
The appeal, No. 545 of 2023, was filed against the Registered Trustees of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania (ELCT), Central Diocese, Babati Town Council, and the Attorney General, challenging a High Court decision of May 3, 2023, in Land Case No. 5 of 2022.
The dispute dates back to September 10, 1998, when Mr Awe received a letter from the Babati District Lands Office informing him that part of his land had been allocated to the ELCT and instructing him to cease all development activities on the plot.
Court records show that Mr Awe claimed he was never compensated for crops and developments on the land, including orange trees, banana plants, a two-room house, and 12,000 bricks.
He further told the court that in 2014, he came across a public notice issued by the church indicating that the land had been set aside for worship purposes, which he said reinforced his belief that his rights had been violated.
He subsequently filed the case in 2022 seeking recovery of the land.
However, during proceedings at the High Court, Babati Town Council and the Attorney General raised a preliminary objection, arguing that the matter was time-barred, as land recovery claims must be filed within 12 years from the date the cause of action arises.
The High Court upheld the objection and dismissed the case, prompting Mr Awe to appeal, arguing that his cause of action arose in 2014 when compensation was not provided and when the church publicly asserted ownership of the land.
During the appeal hearing, respondents maintained that the case was filed out of time, insisting that Mr Awe lost possession of the land in 1998 when he received the official notification letter.
The Attorney General’s office supported this position, arguing that the limitation period begins once a claimant becomes aware of the facts giving rise to the claim.
Since Mr Awe was informed in 1998, the 12-year statutory period had expired long before he filed the case in December 2022.
In their judgment, Justice Ndika said the central issue was determining when Mr Awe lost ownership and possession of the land for purposes of calculating the limitation period.
The court held that the 1998 letter constituted the first clear act of dispossession, as it prevented him from further using or developing the land.
The judges also noted that Mr Awe’s claims that the church cut trees, destroyed crops, and demolished structures on the land further confirmed that he had been effectively dispossessed from that time.
The court concluded that the 12-year limitation period began in 1998 and had long expired before the case was filed in December 2022.
On that basis, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal with costs, bringing an end to Mr Awe’s 28-year struggle over the land.
