High Court of Malawi - 2003 April

12 judgments
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Results. 12 judgments found.

12 judgments
April 2003
Ex parte injunction set aside for suppression of material facts where sale under Registered Land Act rendered damages adequate remedy.
  • Ex parte injunction — duty of full disclosure; Registered Land Act — statutory notice and power of sale; completed sale — damages, not injunction; interlocutory relief inappropriate where adequate remedy in damages
27 April 2003
Failure to serve amended pleadings after amending the writ does not automatically justify dismissal for want of prosecution.
  • Civil procedure — Amendment of writ — Effect of amended writ in substituting original writ; Order 20 r.9 — time for amendment but no automatic requirement to serve amended pleadings; failure to serve renders amendment ineffective, not ground for automatic dismissal for want of prosecution; dismissal under Order 19 not warranted on these facts
27 April 2003
Detention beyond 48 hours without charge breaches the Constitution; applicants released on bail after balancing interest of justice.
  • Constitutional law — right to be brought before an independent court within 48 hours — breach of s.42(2)(b) — administrative excuses insufficient — continuous breach — remedy: release; Bail law — capital offences: exceptional circumstances and interest of justice balancing
23 April 2003
Assessment of damages for police assault, short false imprisonment, limited defamation and malicious prosecution after uncontested evidence.
  • Police misconduct — assault and battery by officers; false imprisonment for short period; limited-publication defamation; malicious prosecution; assessment of quantum on uncontested evidence after defendant defaulted
16 April 2003
Five-year sentence for breaking into a building confirmed; non-recovery of stolen property is an aggravating factor.
  • Criminal law — Breaking into a building — Sentencing guideline: three-year starting point — Non-recovery of stolen property as aggravating factor — Confirmation of five-year custodial sentence
16 April 2003
Court confirmed convictions and concurrent sentences for housebreaking, burglary and theft, upholding recent possession doctrine.
  • Criminal law — burglary, housebreaking and theft — conviction based on recent possession — confirmation of magistrate’s concurrent sentences — five‑year burglary sentence not manifestly excessive — sentencing factors: partial recovery, joint enterprise, premeditation, multiple victims
16 April 2003
Plaintiff awarded K65,000 for pain and suffering after default judgment; no award for loss of amenities.
  • Assessment of damages — default judgment — personal injuries (fractured arm, dislocated ankle) — pain and suffering award — no proof of loss of amenities — comparison with prior awards and adjustment for currency depreciation
15 April 2003
Convictions for assault and malicious damage upheld; sentencing reduced to an order resulting in the defendant’s immediate release.
  • Criminal law — assault occasioning actual bodily harm — self‑defence and excessive force; Criminal damage — s.344 ‘willfully’ includes intention or recklessness; appellate review of findings of fact; sentencing discretion and substitution resulting in immediate release
14 April 2003
Convictions for assault and malicious damage upheld; sentence set aside and replaced by a community order with immediate release.
  • Criminal law — assault occasioning actual bodily harm — self‑defence and excessive force; Criminal damage — 'willfully' includes recklessness; appellate review of findings of fact; sentencing — substitution with community order and immediate release
14 April 2003
High Court enhanced burglary sentences by two years, applying a six-year starting point and noting significant aggravating factors.
  • Criminal law — Burglary sentencing: guideline starting point six years; aggravating factors (multiple offenders, no plea, prior convictions) justify sentence enhancement; disparity in sentences may be justified by antecedents
11 April 2003
Confession and corroborative evidence upheld; self-induced drunkenness not automatism; appeal dismissed.
  • Criminal law — Arson; sufficiency of evidence — confession and corroboration; automatism — self-induced drunkenness not a defence; right to silence and to call witnesses; sentence discretion
10 April 2003
Court enhanced a six-year armed robbery sentence to 14 years due to victim injuries and multiple offenders despite guilty plea.
  • Criminal law — Armed robbery — Sentencing — Manifestly inadequate sentence — Starting point 10 years (Rep v Adamson Sanjika) — Aggravating factors: victim injury, multiple offenders — Mitigating factors: guilty plea, first offender — Enhancement to 14 years
10 April 2003