Court dismisses land case as heirs lack ‘locus standi’

KAGERA: THE High Court has reaffirmed that heirs who have not been appointed as legal administrators lack the locus standi (legal standing) to sue over a deceased person’s property.

The ruling stems from Land Case No. 11429 of 2025, filed by two Bukoba residents, Wilbard and Patrick Mwombeki. The plaintiffs sought to sue the Chief Executive Officer of the Tanzania National Roads Agency (TANROADS) and the Attorney General.

The plaintiffs challenged a demolition notice issued for premises located in Bukoba Township (Certificate of Title No. 003005/38). They argued that while the building allegedly encroached on a road reserve, no “full, fair and prompt compensation” had been provided by the state.

During the hearing of a Preliminary Objection (PO), State Attorney Nestory Lutambi, for the defendants, argued that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter as the plaintiffs had no locus standi to sue over the property of their deceased father, John Mwombeki.

He submitted that the plaintiffs were not administrators of the deceased’s estate, stressing that no one can claim ownership of a deceased person’s land or property without following proper legal procedures, which is a mandatory jurisdictional requirement.

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“An heir lacks locus standi to sue over the property of a deceased father in his or her personal capacity unless it is shown that the said property has been distributed to him or her,” Mr Lutambi argued.

Advocate Gervas Geneya, for the applicants, contended that Wilbard and Patrick, being children of the late John Mwombeki, had the right to sue in accordance with Section 3 of the Civil Procedure Code, Cap 33 (R.E, 2023), as legal heirs.

He argued that upon the death of a person, the property passes to the heirs and, once inherited, ceases to be the property of the deceased.

In his ruling, Judge Ferdinant Kiwonde noted that the Court of Appeal has established a precedent that heirs, even where they have an interest in a deceased’s estate, must follow the legal procedures that confer locus standi to sue on behalf of the deceased.

Judge Kiwonde emphasised that heirs who have neither inherited the property nor been appointed administrators lack locus standi to institute proceedings over a deceased person’s land or property