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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 2017 |
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Plaintiff awarded MK3,000,000 for loss of use of title deed; special damages not proven.
Assessment of damages – wrongful retention of title deed – loss of use as general damages – distinction between general and special damages – requirement of strict proof for special damages – restitution in integrum – nominal damages where amount not proved.
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22 December 2017 |
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Stay of damages assessment pending appeal denied where appellant failed to show risk of injustice or inability to repay.
Civil procedure — Stay of proceedings pending appeal — Interlocutory judgment and assessment of damages — Discretion to grant stay guided by risk of injustice — Stay of execution vs stay of proceedings — Prematurity of application.
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20 December 2017 |
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Court refused the applicant’s stay pending appeal as premature and unjustly prejudicial to the respondent.
Stay pending appeal – discretionary exercise – consider risk of injustice and prejudice; Interlocutory judgment – liability final but damages to be assessed; Applicant’s burden to show special circumstances and inability of respondent to repay; Prematurity of application to stay assessment of damages; Appropriate remedy may be stay of execution after Registrar’s assessment.
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20 December 2017 |
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18 December 2017 |
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18 December 2017 |
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18 December 2017 |
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Arson conviction confirmed; 84‑month sentence set aside as manifestly excessive and reduced to effect immediate release.
Criminal law — Arson — Sentence on review — Manifestly excessive sentence reduced on account of guilty plea and first offender status — Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Guidelines and section 337(A) considered — Court may vary sentence on review even when parties absent.
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18 December 2017 |
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Leave to seek judicial review refused where impugned acts were recommendations and the wrong public officer was sued.
Administrative law – Judicial review – Leave to apply requires an arguable case – Ripeness: recommendations by inspectors v. final decisions – Proper party: only the public office/officer who made the impugned decision is liable – TEVETA Board decisions.
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13 December 2017 |
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Excessive 17-year pre-trial detention constituted gross injustice justifying immediate release despite a 12-year manslaughter sentence prospect.
Criminal law – Manslaughter – Conviction on plea of guilty – Sentence – Mitigating factors: guilty plea, youth, first offender, intoxication, remorse – Aggravating factors: use of knife, multiple fatal wounds – Inordinate pre-trial detention (17 years) as ground for release.
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12 December 2017 |
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Summary judgment granted where defendant’s general denial lacked particulars; estate/dependants claims refused for lack of letters of administration.
Civil procedure — Summary judgment (Order 14 RSC) — General denial without particulars is not a bona fide defence — Legal capacity to sue for estate and dependants — Letters of administration required.
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11 December 2017 |
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Court exercised discretion to fix taxation rate (K10,000/hr), excluded prior appellate/Registrar-awarded costs, and allowed defendant set-off at K5,000/hr.
Civil procedure — Taxation of party-and-party costs — Court’s discretion to fix hourly rates — Prior Registrar’s rate revision held invalid — Expense rate fixed at K10,000/hour — Prior appellate and Registrar cost orders given effect — Leave to tax out of time and set-off at K5,000/hour.
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11 December 2017 |
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Bank negligent in delayed action and CCTV management; customer also contributorily negligent; second appellant’s claims dismissed.
Bank negligence – failure to block account and preserve CCTV evidence – contributory negligence apportionment between bank and customer; civil claims of false imprisonment, malicious prosecution and defamation require proof of improper conduct or malice by the claimant.
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11 December 2017 |
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Summary judgment granted where defendants offered only general denials and insurer’s payments supported liability.
Civil procedure – Summary judgment (Order 14 RSC) – Plaintiff’s burden to establish claim – Defendant’s duty to plead particularized bona fide defence – General denials insufficient – Insurer’s payments to third-party claimants as evidence of indemnity/liability.
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8 December 2017 |
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Judicial review inappropriate to challenge adequacy of compensation; administrative process was fair and eviction upheld.
Administrative law — judicial review limited to decision-making process; adequacy of compensation is a merits issue for ordinary suit; procedural fairness and Wednesbury unreasonableness not established; entitlement to adequate notice and compensation satisfied.
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6 December 2017 |
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Court upheld convictions for malicious damage and theft based on circumstantial evidence, partially reducing the sentence.
Criminal law – Malicious damage and theft – Circumstantial evidence and direct identification – Malice includes intention and recklessness – Defective charge requires prejudice to set aside conviction – Sentencing: role of offender, aggravating factors, and concurrent sentences; reduction where excessive.
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6 December 2017 |
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Application for stay of execution dismissed where defendant negotiated directly with a represented plaintiff despite a valid default judgment.
Civil procedure – stay of execution (Order 10 Rule 5) – effect of out-of-court settlement/payment made directly to a represented party – default judgment regularly obtained – abuse of process where defendant negotiates behind plaintiff's counsel.
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1 December 2017 |
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The 2nd applicant, an innocent purchaser for value without notice, obtains ownership; respondent entitled only to judgment balance.
Registered Land Act; Statute of Frauds; sale of land; bona fide purchaser for value without notice; effect of prior default judgment on subsequent sale; estate agent involvement in land sale.
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1 December 2017 |
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1 December 2017 |