The Appellant and the Respondent are brothers from the same father but different mothers. Their father owned 40 acres of land at Raranya Village within Tarime District in Mara Region, which upon his death was occupied by the Appellant. The Respondent served in the army for many years. When returned home, he acquired a piece of land on which he built a house. He then demanded an equal share of his late father’s land that was occupied by his brother but the brother (the Appellant) refused. The dispute was first referred to the Village Land Council which divided the suit land in two portions of 20 acres each to be distributed equally between the Appellant and the Respondent. The Appellant was not satisfied and he referred the matter to the Ward Land Tribunal of Mkoma Ward which decided in his favour. The basis of the Ward Tribunal’s decision was that by building a house elsewhere meant that the Respondent had abandoned his father’s land. The Respondent was aggrieved with the findings and decision of the Ward Tribunal and he successfully appealed to the District Land and Housing Tribunal of Tarime District. The Appellant was aggrieved and subsequently filed an appeal to the High Court of Tanzania.