Results.
86 judgments found.
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| December 2002 |
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Defaulting on a conditional judgment removes its protection; garnishee order made absolute for sums then owing (K2,703,300).
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Garnishee proceedings — debtor-creditor relationship required — Order 45 rule 10 — effect of default on conditional distribution under prior judgment — priority of diligent judgment creditor
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31 December 2002 |
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A driver negligently struck a child on a roadside verge; defendants held liable and damages awarded.
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Motor-vehicle negligence — duty of care to persons on verge — excessive speed and failure to keep proper lookout; contributory negligence rejected; vicarious/owner and insurer liability; conventional awards for loss of expectation of life and dependency
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9 December 2002 |
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Cancellation of an import licence without written reasons or hearing breached the applicant's constitutional right to fair administrative action.
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Administrative law — Procedural fairness and natural justice — Right to written reasons under section 43 of the Constitution — Judicial review of cancellation of import licence — Abuse of public power — Relief: quashing decision and release of goods
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5 December 2002 |
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Insufficient proof of cruelty or desertion; judicial separation granted with leave to seek divorce if reconciliation fails.
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Family law — Divorce Act grounds — Cruelty and desertion — Insufficient evidence of financial irresponsibility or psychological cruelty — Withdrawal of conjugal rights linked to conduct — Judicial separation appropriate where both parties contribute to breakdown
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3 December 2002 |
| November 2002 |
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Bank liable for conversion where it negligently accepted and paid plaintiff's cheques into a fraudster's account.
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Banking law — Conversion of cheques — Banker’s duty of care in account opening and cheque collection — Negligence and bad faith defeat Section 79 protection under the Bills of Exchange Act — Estoppel inapplicable where no banker–customer relationship — Interest from detection date
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19 November 2002 |
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Court continued interlocutory injunction pending determination, rejecting defendants' contention that internal remedies precluded court relief.
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Civil procedure — interlocutory injunction — ex parte order — alleged non-disclosure of material facts — discretion to continue injunction; Party disputes — internal remedies v. access to courts — exhaustion not an absolute bar to originating proceedings seeking declaratory relief; Natural justice — alleged breach in disciplinary proceedings; Balance of convenience — irreparable harm vs. delay.
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14 November 2002 |
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Court continued interim injunction preventing party dismissals, rejecting need to exhaust internal remedies and finding no material non-disclosure.
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Interlocutory injunctions — preservation of status quo — balance of convenience; Internal remedies and access to courts — exhaustion not prerequisite to interlocutory relief in originating proceedings; Ex parte injunctions — non-disclosure of material facts; Declaratory relief — irreparable harm and inadequacy of damages
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13 November 2002 |
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The plaintiff was defamed and conspiratorially targeted by defendants, entitling her to damages and costs.
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Defamation (libel) — staff memorandum containing false allegations — qualified privilege defeated by malice; Tortious conspiracy — agreement to procure publication to cause dismissal; Damages — compensation for lost employment and aggravated/exemplary damages
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11 November 2002 |
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Plaintiff awarded K40,000 for pain and suffering; no damages for loss of use where medical report showed no permanent loss.
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Assessment of damages — personal injury — default judgment — pain and suffering awarded; no award for loss of amenities where medical report shows no loss of use — reliance on comparative awards for quantum
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10 November 2002 |
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Application to restore was misconceived; re-hearing unavailable because the earlier order had been perfected; dismissal with costs.
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Civil procedure — Order 32 rule 5 (Supreme Court Rules) — restoration/re‑hearing of proceedings held in absence — distinction between dismissal for non-attendance (subrule (4)) and re‑hearing where order not perfected (subrule (3)) — perfected order precludes re‑hearing
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10 November 2002 |
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11-day false imprisonment and reputational harm awarded K100,000 plus costs following uncontroverted assessment.
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Tort — False imprisonment — Assessment of damages for wrongful arrest and detention — Personal liberty, injury to feelings and reputational loss — Quantum guided by period of detention, precedents and currency depreciation — Default judgment; uncontroverted evidence
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10 November 2002 |
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Plaintiff in road-traffic accident awarded K160,000 for pain, suffering and loss of amenities; costs awarded.
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Road traffic accident — assessment of damages — medical evidence of bodily injury — pain and suffering and loss of amenities — compensatory principle — award of K160,000 and costs.
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7 November 2002 |
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Plaintiff awarded K600,000 for pain, loss of amenities and disfigurement after default judgment.
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Personal injury — assessment of damages — default judgment — general damages for pain and suffering, loss of amenities of life and disfigurement — reliance on comparable awards and consideration of currency depreciation
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5 November 2002 |
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Implied admissions in correspondence can support summary judgment; interest denied where plaintiff terminated the agreement.
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Civil procedure — Order 27 Rule 3 — Judgment on admissions — Admissions may be express or implied in correspondence — Correspondence can constitute clear and unequivocal admission — Interest discretionary where party terminated agreement; unresolved issues to be tried
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5 November 2002 |
| October 2002 |
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A presidential rally ban on demonstrations was unlawful, not prescribed by law, overly broad and unconstitutionally vague; directives quashed.
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Constitutional law — freedom of assembly, demonstration and expression — limitations must be prescribed by law (s.44(2)) — presidential directives at rallies do not constitute law — vagueness of executive orders — Police Act s.25 regulates assemblies — certiorari and declaratory relief granted
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21 October 2002 |
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A third‑party compensation offer is not a party’s clear admission of negligence sufficient for judgment on admissions.
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Civil procedure — judgment on admissions (Ord. 27 r.3 RSC) — admissions must be clear, unequivocal and made by a party; third‑party communications not treated as admissions; negligence requires admission of both breach and damage
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17 October 2002 |
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Holding a party convention in defiance of an injunction is contempt; the convention was void and contemnors fined.
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Contempt of court — breach of injunction restraining party convention — service and actual notice — liability of non‑parties/assistants who knowingly aid breach — declaration void ab initio — fines with default imprisonment — costs.
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11 October 2002 |
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Injunction disobeyed: organisers and senior members held in contempt; convention declared void; fines imposed.
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Civil procedure — Injunction — Contempt — Non‑parties who knowingly assist in breach of an injunction liable to committal — Service or actual notice must be proved beyond reasonable doubt — Acts done in breach of injunction render proceedings void ab initio
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10 October 2002 |
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House‑to‑house bill of lading imposed carrier and clearing‑agent liability for seizure and sale; plaintiff awarded full relief.
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Carriage of goods — Multimodal/house‑to‑house bill of lading — Bill as prima facie evidence of movement and carrier obligations — Carrier and clearing‑agent liability for failure to procure clearance leading to customs seizure and sale — Damages and costs awarded
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8 October 2002 |
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On divorce, undetached rooms occupied by the respondent were not divided; appellant awarded K20,000.00 compensation.
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Family law — division of matrimonial property on divorce — characterization of undetached rooms versus rental houses — entitlement to share versus compensation — valuation evidence; fairness considering respondent's dependent children
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3 October 2002 |
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Whether a judgment-on-admission is interlocutory and whether a negotiation letter amounted to an unequivocal admission.
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Civil procedure — Judgment on admission — Whether interlocutory or final — Admissibility of hearsay/information and belief in affidavits under Order 41 r.5 — Requirement to disclose sources and grounds — Admissions: clarity, context and negotiations — Judicial discretion to grant or refuse judgment on admission.
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2 October 2002 |
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High Court reduced an excessive burglary sentence, emphasizing sentencing factors and treating six years as an adjustable starting point.
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Criminal law — Sentencing — Burglary/housebreaking — Sentencing principles: nature of offence, offender, victim, public interest — Six-year threshold in Chizumila as starting point — Simple non‑violent burglary may attract three years imprisonment minimum
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2 October 2002 |
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On review the court reduced an excessive six‑year burglary term to three years, confirming the bicycle‑theft sentence.
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Criminal law — Sentencing — Burglary/housebreaking — Six‑year starting point (Chizumila) — Simple burglary minimum three years — Relevant factors: offender’s age, first offender status, guilty plea, lack of violence, victim vulnerability — Confirmation of 1½ year bicycle theft sentence
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2 October 2002 |
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Reviewing court confirmed a three-year burglary sentence despite finding it manifestly inadequate and warranting enhancement.
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Criminal law — Sentencing — Burglary/housebreaking — sentencing principles; six-year starting point for threshold burglary; simple burglary minimum three years; aggravating factors (forceful entry, serious damage, armed offender, vulnerable/disturbed victim); review power to enhance sentence limited where offender not present
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2 October 2002 |
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Court reduced burglary sentence to three years, clarifying sentencing principles and limited weight of a single prior conviction.
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Criminal law — Sentencing principles — Burglary/housebreaking — Chizumila starting point — simple burglary minimum three years — role of offender’s antecedents and single prior conviction — consideration of victim vulnerability and violence
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2 October 2002 |
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Court confirmed a 3.5-year burglary sentence, holding it not manifestly excessive for a simple, non-violent first offence.
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Criminal law — Sentencing — Burglary/housebreaking — sentencing factors (act, mens rea, offender, victim, public interest) — Chizumila six-year starting point — simple, non-violent burglary; manifestly excessive test
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2 October 2002 |
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Court confirmed a four-year rape sentence and restated sentencing principles and aggravating features applicable in rape cases.
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Criminal law — Rape — Sentencing principles — Factors to consider (nature of offence, offender, victim, public interest) — Aggravating features (planning, weapons, repetition, prior convictions, victim age, effect on victim) — Local sentencing guidance (benchmarks) — Confirmation of four-year sentence
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2 October 2002 |
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Court raised an inadequate burglary sentence to three years, applying Chizumila guidance for threshold burglaries.
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Criminal law — Sentencing — Burglary/housebreaking — Sentencing principles; Chizumila six-year starting point; simple/threshold burglary warrants three-year baseline; first offender; custodial sentence generally required
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2 October 2002 |
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Sentences of five years for simple housebreaking and bicycle theft were excessive; reduced to three and 1.5 years respectively.
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Criminal law — Sentencing for burglary/housebreaking — principles: nature and circumstances of offence, offender, victim and public interest — Chizumila starting point — simple burglary minimum three years — theft of unrecovered bicycle one-and-a-half years — previous convictions not by themselves a basis for higher sentence — avoidance of double punishment
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2 October 2002 |
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Court affirmed sentencing principles for burglary, noted six‑year benchmark but minimum three years for simple burglary, and confirmed the sentences.
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Sentencing — Burglary/housebreaking — Six‑year benchmark starting point (Chizumila) — Simple burglary minimum three years — Factors: actus reus, mens rea, offender's antecedents, victim vulnerability — Confirmation of sentence
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2 October 2002 |
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Court reduced a manifestly excessive five-year unlawful wounding sentence to two years after applying sentencing principles.
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Criminal law — Sentencing — Unlawful wounding (s.241(a)) — Sentencing principles: nature/weapon, injury severity, offender’s age and antecedents, victim impact, public interest — Weight of previous petty conviction — Review and reduction of manifestly excessive sentence
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2 October 2002 |
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Conviction based on precarious circumstantial identification of a cloth failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
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Criminal law — unlawful wounding — circumstantial evidence — burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt — identification of property — chain of inference — insufficient proof where recognition of common property is vague
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2 October 2002 |
| September 2002 |
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An administrator of an intestate estate holds fee-simple land in trust for heirs and may not appropriate or dispose of parcels individually.
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Intestate succession; Wills and Inheritance Act 1967; fee simple land; administrator holds estate in trust for heirs; prohibition on administrator appropriating or disposing of subdivided parcels; entitlement to declaratory relief and costs
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30 September 2002 |
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No customary marriage; respondent ordered to pay child maintenance K500/month under Affiliation Act until age 16.
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Family law — Cohabitation and customary marriage — No customary marriage or marriage by repute where parties are minors and relationship brief — Affiliation Act s.3(c), s.5(1) — Child maintenance and education — Quantum and duration until age 16 — Claims to household goods and land require evidence
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23 September 2002 |
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Appellate court recognized wife's equitable interest in the matrimonial home and increased structured compensation and maintenance orders.
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Family law — Customary marriage — Matrimonial property and equitable interest for non‑financial contribution — Custody under Lomwe customary law — Maintenance obligations — Variation of compensation orders on appeal
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23 September 2002 |
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Plaintiff failed to prove on a balance of probabilities that negligent electrical maintenance caused the house fire.
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Negligence; electrical installations; causation in fire cases; standard of proof in civil claims; credibility of witnesses; assumptions versus inspection evidence.
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19 September 2002 |
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A caution forbids registration and entitles to notice but does not grant sale power; an unregistered charge cannot support a valid sale.
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Registered Land Act — Caution: forbids registration of dispositions and entitles cautioner to notice but does not confer power of sale; Charge: unregistered or unperfected charge does not authorize power of sale; Registration by mistake—rectification under s139; Requirements for valid registration of charges.
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18 September 2002 |
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State vicariously liable for unlawful search and trespass causing privacy breach, defamation, and property loss.
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Vicarious liability of State for acts of diplomatic agent; unlawful search of personal effects; trespass and invasion of privacy; defamation by implication; compensable loss of use and property damage; aggravated/exemplary damages must be pleaded
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17 September 2002 |
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Leave for judicial review refused because a mere intention to act is not a reviewable decision.
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Judicial review — Justiciability — Prematurity — Intention or threat by public officer is not a reviewable decision — Leave refused; consider Mtikila v Attorney General [1995] T.L.R. 31
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12 September 2002 |
| August 2002 |
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Court enhanced manifestly inadequate burglary and theft sentences due to violence, weapons use, multiple offenders and high value loss.
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Criminal law — Sentencing — Burglary/housebreaking starting point six years — recovery of property irrelevant to burglary sentence — first offender mitigation outweighed by use of weapons, violence and multiple offenders
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13 August 2002 |
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Violent, aggravated burglary warrants the Chizumila six-year starting point; recovery of property does not mitigate burglary sentencing.
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Criminal law — Burglary/housebreaking — Sentencing — Starting point six years (Republic v Chizumila) — Recovery of property relevant to theft but not to burglary — First offender mitigation limited by aggravating violence, weapons, multiple perpetrators — Risk of double punishment if burglary sentence influenced by subsequent offence
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13 August 2002 |
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Five-year prison term for theft of a pig was manifestly excessive; immediate release ordered.
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Criminal law — Sentencing — Theft of cattle (s281) — Manifestly excessive sentence — Mitigation: guilty plea, restoration, youth and cooperation — Single petty prior conviction insufficient for harsher sentence
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7 August 2002 |
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Court reduced excessive five‑year sentence for attempted burglary to one year, stressing sentencing principles and offender/circumstance mitigation.
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Criminal law — Sentencing principles — attempted burglary — consideration of nature and circumstances of offence, offender and victim — attempts ordinarily attract lesser sentences — Chizumila guideline as threshold — manifestly excessive sentence reduced
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7 August 2002 |
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Conviction based on visual identification without adequate Turnbull warnings and flawed alibi assessment is unsafe.
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Criminal law — Visual identification — Turnbull guidelines — cautionary directions required — credibility and recognition issues — alibi and failure to call witness — conviction and sentence set aside
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7 August 2002 |
| July 2002 |
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A guilty plea is inappropriate where the accused asserts facts negating an essential element (consent); conviction quashed and retrial ordered.
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Criminal procedure — Plea of guilty — Acceptance of guilty plea improper where accused raises facts negating an essential element (consent) — Magistrate should record not guilty and hold full trial — Conviction quashed and retrial ordered (s.362(1) read with s.353(2)(a)(1) C.P.&E. Code)
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30 July 2002 |
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Ex-parte arrest/attachment obtained simultaneously with writ and served on a differently named person was irregular and set aside with costs.
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Civil procedure — Order VIII r.1 — Ex parte order for arrest/attachment — requirement of defendant’s awareness and intent to defeat/delay claim — personal service of writ — substitution/amendment of defendant’s name — ineffective service and abuse of process
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21 July 2002 |
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Leave to file an early divorce was refused because the applicant failed to prove a change to Malawian domicile.
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Family law — Divorce jurisdiction — Domicile: domicile of origin versus domicile of choice; burden on proponent to prove change of domicile de animo et facto; Section 2 and Section 8(1) Divorce Act — failure to prove Malawian domicile defeats jurisdiction and leave to file early petition
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17 July 2002 |
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Prison clinic drug shortages and high blood pressure do not by themselves justify bail without inability to obtain treatment.
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Bail — Medical grounds — High blood pressure and prison clinic drug shortages — Clinical recommendation insufficient without evidence applicant cannot access treatment
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10 July 2002 |
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Respondent’s sale of applicant’s charged property lawful; auctioneer’s alleged illegality did not invalidate sale.
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Security and sale of charged land — notice of default and sale — unilateral payments held in suspense — auctioneer registration under Land Economy Act — illegality doctrine (ex dolo malo) — claim for compensation dismissed
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10 July 2002 |
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Decree nisi granted: petitioner’s adultery and desertion proved; respondent’s adultery not established.
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Matrimonial law — divorce — adultery — proof by inference and circumstances; hearsay inadmissible to establish adultery — desertion and constructive desertion — decree nisi granted where spouse’s conduct forced separation.
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3 July 2002 |