By Kusekwa Kusekwa
Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) in Longido district has lost a legal battle over ownership of a piece of land it had claimed belonged lawfully to the ruling party and not the property of a resident, Godfrey Lema.
The High Court at Arusha declared Lema the rightful owner of the disputed piece of land after it threw overboard an appeal by CCM that had sought to overturn the decision of the District Land and Housing Tribunal, which declared Lema the rightful owner of the land.
“The appeal is devoid of merit. It is dismissed in its entirety with costs. The trial tribunal decision is hereby upheld. The Appellant shall bear costs of this Appeal,”
— Judge Yohana Masara, in the judgement delivered recently.
It was earlier alleged that CCM encroached on the suit land in 2019 and forced Lema to pay them rent. When he refused, CCM ordered him to vacate. Lema was aggrieved and took his case to the District Land and Housing Tribunal, which ruled in his favour.
The judge elaborated that a mere tenant and landlord relationship and payment of rent cannot negate ownership over the land, if there exists evidence of a title holder.
