Legal Update – 6 August 2025

Administrator’s Appointment Revoked for Failure to File Inventory

On 1 August 2025, the Court of Appeal of Tanzania (the Court) delivered its judgment in Miscellaneous Civil Application No. 28 of 2023 (the Application). The Court applied section 49(1)(e) of the Probate and Administration of Estates Act, Cap. 352 [R.E. 2002] (the Act) and revoked the appointment of the administrator for failure to file an inventory within the statutory six-month period as required under section 107 of the Act.

The said case originates from the administration of the estate of Beda Lucas Moshi who died intestate in 2016, survived by 34 children including the appellants. The deceased left behind both movable and immovable properties. After the nomination of the administrator (the Respondent) by the family in 2021, the Respondent was granted letters of administration in 2022 with conditions. One of such conditions was to exhibit an inventory within 6 months and account of the estate within 1 year or as the court would allow. The Respondent failed to file the inventory within the stipulated timelines, and as a result, the Appellants filed the application seeking revocation of his appointment under section 49 of the Act.

The High Court dismissed the said Application by accepting the Respondent’s explanation that the delay was due to a pending land case which involved some of the deceased estate’s properties. The Judge further considered the fact that the Respondent was a lay person and appeared to act honestly, thus concluding the omission was not willful and revocation was not necessary. Being aggrieved with the decision of the High Court, the Appellants appealed to the Court.

The Court established that the Respondent had a clear and undisputed legal obligation to file the inventory, a duty he failed to discharge. Regarding the land case which the Respondent claimed as justification for the delay, the Court found that it was only filed nearly a month after the deadline had lapsed and therefore could not serve as a valid excuse. Moreover, the Respondent made no attempt to apply for or obtain an extension of time, as required by the Act.

The Court also observed that the High Court had improperly relied on unnecessary factors such as the Respondent’s status as a layperson and his alleged honesty, which were neither pleaded nor supported by the evidence on record. In reaching its decision, the Court invoked section 49 of the Act which empowers the Court to revoke the letters of administration where an administrator willfully and without reasonable cause omitted to exhibit an inventory, emphasizing that legal obligations cannot be excused by subjective considerations. On that basis, the Court allowed the appeal and revoked the Respondent’s appointment as administrator.

To read the judgment click here