Results.
14 judgments found.
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| April 2009 |
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Admission of cruelty entitled the wife to compensation and house-building funds; no child maintenance ordered due to disputed paternity.
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Family Law
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Divorce — Cruelty — Effect of admission of cruelty on proof requirements
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Matrimonial Property — Customary obligation to provide a house — Monetary compensation in lieu of house
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Child Maintenance — Paternity dispute and insufficiency of evidence
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23 April 2009 |
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Court awarded K80,000 to appellant for fault and house-building under customary law; denied child maintenance for lack of clear evidence.
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Family Law
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Divorce — Cruelty as ground for dissolution and entitlement to compensation
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Matrimonial Property — Customary-law obligation of husband to provide a house; monetary compensation in lieu
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Property Distribution — Court’s redistribution of household property should follow a party’s application and not be done suo motu
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23 April 2009 |
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Court refused the applicant's interim injunction, finding damages adequate and balance of convenience favoured the respondents.
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Civil Procedure — Interim Injunctions — Application of American Cyanamid principles: serious issue to be tried — Adequacy of damages — Balance of convenience
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23 April 2009 |
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Accused convicted of manslaughter for unlawfully stabbing the deceased during a fight; provocation and self‑defence rejected.
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Criminal Law
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Homicide — Manslaughter — Unlawful stabbing causing death during a street fight
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Defences — Provocation and Self‑defence — Requirements for mitigation or justification; excessive force
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21 April 2009 |
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Accused convicted of murder where stabbing, flight and disposal of property established unlawfulness and malice aforethought.
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Criminal Law — Murder — Elements: causation, unlawfulness and malice aforethought — Self-defence and provocation considered — Penal Code ss 209, 212
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21 April 2009 |
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Court upheld convictions despite reliance on uncorroborated accomplice testimony tying accused to traced stolen property.
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Criminal Law — Evidence — Accomplice (co‑accused) testimony — Conviction on uncorroborated evidence where court exercises caution and is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt
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Criminal Procedure — Identification — Complainant unable to identify assailants at scene — Identification parade unnecessary where it would yield nothing and independent tracing evidence exists
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Sentencing — Armed Robbery — Firearms used and substantial property taken — Six years’ imprisonment may be lenient but not necessarily subject to enhancement
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21 April 2009 |
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Court granted decree nisi after finding cruelty by the respondent and adultery by the petitioner; shared custody endorsed.
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Family Law
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Divorce
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Cruelty — Mental cruelty by repeated demeaning conduct and causing depression
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Adultery — Cohabitation and overnight stays establishing adultery (inclination coupled with opportunity)
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Custody — Endorsement of parties’ agreed shared custody arrangement as being in child’s best interests
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16 April 2009 |
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Tort claim for false imprisonment succeeded; exemplary damages awarded for unjustified handcuffing and humiliation.
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Tort
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False Imprisonment — Detention and handcuffing without reasonable grounds
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Damages — Exemplary damages for humiliation and overzealous conduct
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15 April 2009 |
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Whether a written, witnessed partnership agreement was valid and enforceable and not time‑barred.
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Partnership law — Formation and validity — Whether a handwritten, witnessed partnership agreement created an enforceable partnership — Evidence and credibility
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Civil procedure — Limitation — Whether the claim was statute‑barred where the last payment was in June 1990 and suit commenced June 1993
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15 April 2009 |
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Vacant possession refused where action was improperly commenced and material disputes of fact precluded resolution on affidavits.
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Civil Procedure
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Mortgage actions (Order 88 RSC) — Proper commencement of action by writ or originating summons
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Summary proceedings vs trial — Suitability of affidavits where material disputes of fact exist
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Property/Mortgage Law — Power of sale and prior irregularities — Effect of interlocutory orders and unresolved appeals on possession applications
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14 April 2009 |
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High Court upheld most property findings but set aside order to sell and equally divide houses and car pending further submissions.
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Family Law — Matrimonial Property — Distribution — Whether sale and equal division of real property and vehicle appropriate absent clear evidence of joint ownership, contribution or intention
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14 April 2009 |
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Court set aside placement with grandmother and awarded custody to the applicant, affirming parental rights and child's best interests.
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Family Law —
Child Custody
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Whether custody may be placed with a grandparent rather than a parent — Best interests of the child and parental rights — Constitution s 23(3)
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Parental wishes as a factor in custody decisions — Requirement to consider totality of materials and give due weight to parents' wishes
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14 April 2009 |
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Rescission and damages failed where plaintiff did not prove inducement by an allegedly misleading valuation report.
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Contract Law — Misrepresentation — Inducement and reliance on pre-contractual statement — Relevance of dated valuation report to subsequent sale
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Evidence — Documentary and witness credibility — Use of timing and contemporaneous documents (offer/acceptance) to determine inducement
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5 April 2009 |
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A police officer’s unlawful rifle shot during a pursuit caused three manslaughters; colleagues acquitted.
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Criminal Law
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Manslaughter — Unlawful use of firearms by police; compliance with Police Act s.30 and international standards
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Joint enterprise and aiding and abetting — Presence at the scene insufficient; prosecution must prove active participation or willful encouragement
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Criminal Procedure — Amicus Curiae — Admission of Malawi Human Rights Commission to assist on human‑rights and use‑of‑force issues
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1 April 2009 |