High Court of Malawi - 2008 September

16 judgments
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Results. 16 judgments found.

16 judgments
September 2008
Appeal rejects father's bid for custody, reduces maintenance to K2,000, lowers house payment to K90,000, and leaves matrimonial property with respondent.
  • Family law — divorce — custody of minor children — best interests of the child; maintenance — assessment of ability to pay and variation of amount; customary obligation to build house for wife — substitution of monetary award; matrimonial property — effect of abandonment and bad faith.
30 September 2008
An eleventh-hour application to adduce fresh evidence on appeal was rejected as irrelevant and unlikely to affect the trial judge’s decision.
  • Civil procedure — Fresh evidence on appeal — Ladd v Marshall criteria — Relevance and probative importance of late evidence — Interpleader and execution of judgment — Ownership disputes over seized goods.
30 September 2008
Court allowed applicant’s correction under Order 20 r.11 to clarify dismissal of respondent’s application with costs.
  • Civil procedure — Order 20 r.11 — correction of clerical mistakes/omissions in judgments — exception to functus officio — clarity of judgments — dismissal of application to set aside default judgment — costs.
30 September 2008
26 September 2008
Application to set aside default judgment dismissed where defendant lacked a real prospect of success and issue had been decided on appeal.
  • Civil procedure — setting aside default judgment — test of meritorious defence: real prospect of success and degree of conviction; Interest — whether interest claim may be independent cause of action when not pleaded with principal — appellate decision precluding re-litigation; res judicata/abuse of process; delay in making application.
23 September 2008
Bail denied where identification parade linked applicants to armed robbery and murder, creating a real risk of absconding.
  • Criminal procedure — Bail — Refusal of bail for serious offences (armed robbery and murder) where identification parade links suspects to crime — Risk of absconding and application of s4(a) Bail Guidelines (Act No. 8 of 2000) — Presumption of innocence and State’s burden to justify continued detention.
21 September 2008
Bail granted because applicant’s cooperation and likelihood to attend trial outweighed prosecution’s case; strict conditions imposed.
  • Bail — Constitutional right (s42(2)(e)) and statutory power (s118 Crim Proc) — primary inquiry: likelihood of attendance at trial — strength of prosecution not sole ground to refuse bail — medical illness not per se basis for bail unless caused by detention — bail granted with strict conditions.
21 September 2008
Claim for refund of stolen travellers’ cheques dismissed for insufficient evidence and failure to prove compliance with reporting requirements.
  • Banking law — travellers’ cheques — contractual 24‑hour reporting requirement; burden of proof for refund claims; adequacy of issuer’s reasons for refusal; agent liability; costs for absent party.
17 September 2008
Consent is immaterial where the complainant is under 13; conviction and sentence for defilement affirmed.
  • Criminal law — Defilement (child under 13) — Consent immaterial; Appeal — belated factual disputes after plea; Sentencing — aggravating factors: repeated acts, threats, pregnancy.
16 September 2008
Court granted interim injunction against police pending review of refusal to permit political whistle-stop tours.
  • Constitutional Law — Freedom of Assembly/Expression/Association — Whether police decision disapproving political whistle-stop tours unlawfully limited constitutional rights — Consideration of Section 44 limitations
  • Civil Procedure — Interlocutory Injunction — Grant against police — Requirements: triable issues, inadequacy of damages, balance of convenience
15 September 2008
Applicant's appeal against conviction and sentence for aggravated robbery dismissed; identification and accomplice evidence upheld.
  • Criminal Law
    • — Identification Evidence — Identification parade procedure and reliability
    • — Evidence — Hearsay and Accomplice/Confession Evidence — Admissibility and corroboration
    • — Sentence — Aggravated Robbery — Custodial sentence appropriate; not manifestly excessive
14 September 2008
Prolonged unlawful detention established as false imprisonment; K600,000 awarded; defamation claim failed.
  • False imprisonment — unlawful detention beyond permissible period — assessment of general (non-pecuniary) damages; Defamation — requirement of communication of untrue matter likely to disparage — not established.
3 September 2008
An agreed adjudication/arbitration clause must be honoured; no special reasons existed to bypass it, so proceedings stayed pending adjudication.
  • Arbitration and adjudication clause — enforcement and stay pending adjudication; Termination for convenience — fact‑dependent exercise; Contractual dispute resolution — special reasons required to bypass; Commercial jurisdiction — High Court Commercial Division.
3 September 2008
Appellant's admissions and corroborating witness evidence established theft beyond reasonable doubt; conviction and sentence affirmed.
  • Criminal law — theft — sufficiency and admissibility of evidence — corroboration by accused's admissions — inconsistencies in witness statements not fatal — trial court’s factual findings upheld; sentence affirmed.
2 September 2008
Appeal against conviction and eight-year sentence for repeated defilement of a child dismissed; identification and medical corroboration upheld.
  • Criminal law — Defilement of a child under 13 — Identification by eyewitness and complainant — Medical corroboration of repeated sexual intercourse and STI — Delay in medical examination — Unreliability of speculative allegations of witness coaching — Sentence: appropriateness for repeated sexual abuse.
2 September 2008
Whether close-range identification and presence in the getaway vehicle established robbery; conviction and sentence affirmed.
  • Criminal law — robbery — identification evidence and recognition at close range — presence in getaway vehicle — right of association — adequacy of opportunity to call and cross-examine witnesses — sentence upheld.
2 September 2008