Ritha Charles Sagalani, the widow and Gasper Edmund Sagalani
(the deceased) were man and wife, who had contracted a Christian marriage in
Mwanza and had two issues. They were both Sukuma by tribe and both their
parents lived in Mwanza. The deceased was an employee of the bank (NMB),
working and living in Mafinga – Iringa where the family owned a number of
properties. After a long illness the deceased died there on 23/1/2007, and was
brought back to Mwanza and buried. Shortly thereafter began the scramble to
administer the deceased’s estate. Ritha filed a probate case in Mkuyuni Primary
Court and an order for citation was issued. The matter was then fixed for
hearing of objection on 7/5/2007. The objector did not turn up on several
occasions until it was fixed for another hearing on 15/8/2007. Instead of
following the judicial procedure the objector filed administrative complaints
in the district registrar against the widow’s action of filing the probate case.
The judge-in-charge then directed revision proceedings to be opened in the
District Court. The District Court made a revisional order in which it quashed
the proceedings in the Primary Court and ordered the widow to file a fresh
probate case if she wishes in Mafinga, the place where the husband died. The
widow filed an application for revision in the High Court