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Citation
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Judgment date
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| April 2009 |
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Respondent admitted cruelty; court awarded K60,000 for house and K20,000 compensation, denied child maintenance.
Family law – divorce for cruelty; proof and effect of admitted cruelty; customary-law obligation to provide matrimonial house; monetary compensation in lieu of house; property redistribution without mandate; child maintenance and disputed paternity; insufficiency of evidence for adultery.
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23 April 2009 |
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Customary duty to provide a matrimonial home allows monetary compensation; respondent ordered to pay K80,000 to the applicant.
Family law — Divorce for cruelty — Admission of cruelty — Customary obligation to provide matrimonial home — Monetary compensation in lieu of house — Property distribution — Maintenance and disputed paternity.
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23 April 2009 |
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Interim injunction refused: serious issue to be tried, damages adequate and balance of convenience favours defendants.
Interlocutory injunction — American Cyanamid test — serious issue to be tried — adequacy of damages — balance of convenience — intra-family business dispute over ownership and profit-sharing.
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23 April 2009 |
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Accused convicted of manslaughter for unlawfully stabbing the deceased; provocation and self‑defense rejected.
Criminal law – Manslaughter (s.208 Penal Code) – Unlawful act causing death – Eyewitness credibility – Provocation and self‑defense rejected – Mental fitness examined.
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21 April 2009 |
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Accused convicted of murder: court rejected self-defence, finding unlawful intentional killing and disposal of victim's property as evidence of intent.
Criminal law — Murder — Elements: causation, unlawful act, malice aforethought — Self-defence and provocation rejected — Post-offence disposal of victim's property as evidence of intent.
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21 April 2009 |
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Appeal dismissed: conviction upheld despite reliance on uncorroborated co‑accused testimony; sentence of six years affirmed.
Criminal law – Armed robbery – Sufficiency of evidence – Accomplice/co-accused testimony and corroboration – Identification parade and mistaken identity – Rehearing on appeal from magistrate – Sentence adequacy for armed robbery involving firearms.
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21 April 2009 |
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Court grants decree nisi: cruelty by respondent and adultery by petitioner proven; shared custody endorsed, costs each party.
Family law – Divorce – Jurisdiction by domicile of choice – Cruelty (mental harm, insults, persistent refusal to accept food causing depression) – Adultery (cohabitation, overnight stays, opportunity and inclination) – Decree nisi granted – Shared custody endorsed – Costs each party to bear own.
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16 April 2009 |
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The respondent was held liable for false imprisonment and ordered to pay exemplary damages and costs.
Tort — False imprisonment — Private security personnel — Requirement of reasonable grounds for detention — Handcuffing and escort to police and employer — Exemplary damages for humiliating conduct — Award of damages and costs.
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15 April 2009 |
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Court upheld a valid partnership agreement and awarded the plaintiff unpaid partnership share with interest and costs.
Partnership law – formation and evidentiary proof of partnership agreement – genuineness of handwritten agreement and witness signature; contribution to partnership capital; statute-bar (limitation) – accrual from last payment; remedies – award of unpaid share, interest and costs.
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15 April 2009 |
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Summons for possession dismissed because the mortgage action was not properly commenced and material facts were disputed.
Mortgage law; Order 88 RSC — procedural commencement requirements; improper reliance on injunction proceedings; disputes of fact inappropriate for resolution on affidavit; power of sale; possession relief requires substantive proceedings.
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14 April 2009 |
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Court set aside order to sell and equally divide matrimonial land and vehicle; remitted that issue for further submissions.
Family law – Matrimonial property distribution – Inference of joint ownership from marriage – Sufficiency of evidence of contribution and intention – Sale and equal division of land and vehicle set aside for further hearing.
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14 April 2009 |
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Court set aside custody placed with grandmother, granting the father custody and emphasizing the child's right to be raised by parents.
Child custody — Best interests of the child — Right to be raised by parents (Constitution s23(3)) — Parental wishes paramount — Improper transfer of custody to relative without justification.
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14 April 2009 |
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Plaintiff failed to prove inducement by a valuation report misrepresentation; claim dismissed with costs.
Contract law – Misrepresentation – Inducement and reliance – Valuation report dated prior to sale – Relevance and credibility of evidence – Rescission and damages.
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5 April 2009 |
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Whether police firing at a fleeing vehicle constituted unlawful use of force causing manslaughter; third accused convicted, others acquitted.
Use of force by police – Section 30 Police Act – limits on firearms; right to life and human dignity (Constitution s16, s19); causation where police shot fleeing driver causing resultant crash and passenger deaths; joint enterprise and aiding/abetting – proof required; amicus curiae – Malawi Human Rights Commission admitted; international standards (UN Basic Principles) as interpretive aid.
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1 April 2009 |