Barnabas A. Samatta
Tanzanian lawyer
Barnabas Albert Samatta (born 20 July 1940) is a retired Tanzanian lawyer and judge who was Chief Justice of the Judiciary of Tanzania from 2000 to 2007.
Early years (1940–1966)
Barnabas Albert Samatta was born on 20 July 1940 in Ng'ombo Village, Mbinga District.
His parents were Mwalimu Cuthbert Samatta, a teacher, and Mary Julia Kayuza.
He was the youngest of a family of five.
His father died when he was nine and his maternal uncle, also a teacher, took responsibility for raising him.
He joined standard one at Ng'ombo Primary School, near Mbamba Bay, when he was ten years old, and after two months was advanced to standard three.
In 1953, he was admitted to Kilosa Native Authority School, also near Mbamba Bay.
He completed standard six in 1954, then studied at Songea Boys Secondary School from 1955 to 1956, and at Tabora Boys Secondary School from 1957 to 1962, where he completed his secondary education.
In 1960, he took a temporary job at the Mwadui diamond mine near Shinyanga, at that time owned by De Beers of South Africa.
In 1962, he worked for the Mtwara District Court before joining the Faculty of Law of the University of Dar es Salaam in 1963.
The public source identifies “Barnabas A. Samatta” as tanzanian lawyer. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Barnabas, Samatta and Tanzanian.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Barnabas A. Samatta”, the useful work is to connect “tanzanian lawyer” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Oct 24, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q97573454. VIAF identifies the subject as 48705845. The Library of Congress control number is n2008074936. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1940, 2000, 2007 and 1966.
A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Barnabas A. Samatta”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Barnabas A. Samatta primary sources, Barnabas A. Samatta archive and Barnabas research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Barnabas A. Samatta”?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
- Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Barnabas A. Samatta” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.