Results.
226 judgments found.
|
|
|
| March 2019 |
|
|
|
14 March 2019 |
|
|
11 March 2019 |
|
|
11 March 2019 |
|
Sole credible eyewitness proved driver negligence; insurer's non-reporting defence did not defeat the plaintiff's claim.
-
Motor vehicle accident — Insurer liability — Proof of negligence on balance of probabilities — Sole eyewitness credibility — Failure to report accident to insurer not dispositive of claimant's entitlement.
|
11 March 2019 |
|
The applicant's claim dismissed because the insurer's policy excluded passenger liability and the claim against the driver was abandoned.
-
Motor vehicle insurance — passenger liability exclusion — s.144(b) Road Traffic Act — renewal of original policy by renewal notes — insurer not liable for passenger injuries absent cover for passengers or employment-related carriage.
|
11 March 2019 |
|
Court found a prima facie case of manslaughter under s.254; accused ordered to enter defence.
-
Criminal procedure — Case to answer — s.254 Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code — Prima facie test — Whether reasonable tribunal might convict — Distinction between rulings that there is a case to answer and findings of no case requiring reasons.
|
11 March 2019 |
|
|
11 March 2019 |
|
Strength of the prosecution's case can inform bail decisions, but must be weighed with other factors; bail granted with strict bonds.
-
Bail law; Bail (Guidelines) Act s4(ii) — strength of case as bail factor; lower evidentiary standard at bail stage (affidavits); presumption of innocence; strict conditions for serious offences (defilement).
|
8 March 2019 |
|
Section 90 grants the revenue authority discretion to pursue importer or possessor; no injunction as damages are adequate.
-
Customs law — Interpretation of Section 90 Customs and Excise Act — Whether provision creates priority to recover unpaid duty from importer or permits discretion to pursue importer or person in possession — Interlocutory injunction prerequisites — adequacy of damages.
|
8 March 2019 |
|
An appeal lacking grounds and merely re-presenting evidence will be dismissed; each party bears own costs.
-
Appeal procedure — requirement to file grounds of appeal; appellate rehearing and deference to trial findings of fact; procedural non-compliance may warrant dismissal.
|
7 March 2019 |
|
An appeal that merely re-presents evidence without grounds is dismissed for failure to show trial court error.
-
Civil procedure — Appeal — Requirements for valid appeal — Need for grounds of appeal — Appeal by way of rehearing — Appellate reluctance to disturb trial findings of fact absent misdirection, misreception of evidence, or perversity — Dismissal where appellant merely re-presents evidence.
|
7 March 2019 |
|
Assessment of quantum of damages after negligent driving, limiting repair costs and awarding reasonable compensation for non-pecuniary losses.
-
Motor vehicle negligence — assessment of quantum of damages — repair costs where vehicle not produced — loss of use and inconvenience awards despite limited proof — special damages strictly proven by receipt.
|
6 March 2019 |
|
Damages for breach of land sale measured as the difference between current market price and contract price, computed via forex conversion.
-
Contract law — breach of sale agreement — measure of damages as difference between contract price and market price — computation via USD conversion using Reserve Bank forex averages — assessment of small variance due to currency stability.
|
6 March 2019 |
|
|
6 March 2019 |
|
|
6 March 2019 |
|
Assessment of personal injury damages and rejection of insurer’s late-raised exhausted policy-limit defence; defendants jointly and severally liable.
-
Motor vehicle personal injury — assessment of general damages (pain and suffering, loss of amenities, disfigurement) — medical evidence and comparable awards; Insurance — policy limits — must be pleaded and determined in main proceedings; exhausted policy defence raised at assessment rejected; joint and several liability of insurer and insured; implication of terms into insurance contracts to give effect to reasonable expectations.
|
5 March 2019 |
|
|
5 March 2019 |
| February 2019 |
|
|
|
28 February 2019 |
|
|
28 February 2019 |
|
Defendants' default led to struck‑out defence and K4,000,000 award for pain, disfigurement and loss of amenities after finger amputations.
-
Civil procedure — striking out defence for failure to comply with court directions and failure to attend hearing; Personal injury — amputation of fingers — damages for pain and suffering, disfigurement and loss of amenities of life; Assessment of quantum — use of comparative awards and consideration of inflation/currency value.
|
28 February 2019 |
|
Non‑compliance and absence led to striking out of defence; claimant awarded K4,000,000 for finger amputation injuries.
-
Civil procedure — Failure to comply with court directions; striking out defence and entering judgment. Personal injury — Workplace amputation of fingers — General damages: pain and suffering, disfigurement, loss of amenities; assessment of quantum and comparative authorities
|
28 February 2019 |
|
Reporting suspected theft to police and internal investigation do not alone establish employer liability for false imprisonment or defamation.
-
False imprisonment — distinction between making a charge and giving information to police; vicarious liability for employer; malicious prosecution — acquittal not prima facie proof of malice; defamation — requirement of proof on balance of probabilities.
|
26 February 2019 |
|
Claimant failed to prove employer vicariously liable for manager's insulting remark; dismissal was for incompetence.
-
Defamation — publication and context; vicarious liability — requirement that tort be committed in the course of employment; burden of proof on claimant; publication via media versus employer publication; dismissal not proof of endorsement; exemplary damages.
|
26 February 2019 |
|
The claimant’s proceedings were struck out and the interlocutory injunction vacated for lack of prosecution.
-
Civil procedure — striking out for want of prosecution — Order 12 r56 — interlocutory injunction vacated — failure to prosecute — costs ordered.
|
26 February 2019 |
|
|
22 February 2019 |
|
|
21 February 2019 |
|
Missing trial record denying appellate or review rights justified immediate release under the court’s inherent jurisdiction.
-
Criminal procedure — Missing trial record — Registrar’s failure to locate file — Right to appeal/review impeded — Inherent jurisdiction — Remedy of release.
|
20 February 2019 |
|
Claimant failed to prove employer negligence from a defective tool or absence of protective gear; claim dismissed.
-
Employer duty of care — provision of safe tools and personal protective equipment — foreseeability and causal nexus — balance of probabilities in negligence claims — failure to prove defective tool or causation.
|
19 February 2019 |
|
Appeal premature while severance and leave remain unassessed; applicant’s stay vacated and assessments must proceed; costs borne by each party.
-
Labour law — unfair dismissal — compensation, severance and leave pay to be assessed — assessment pending makes appeal premature — stay/suspension pending appeal vacated — set‑off against indebtedness — costs: no order (s.72 Labour Relations Act).
|
18 February 2019 |
|
Interlocutory injunction refused in customary land dispute due to prematurity, concurrent proceedings, and adequacy of damages.
-
Civil procedure — Interlocutory injunction (Order 10 Rule 27) — customary land dispute — triable issue but application premature due to concurrent traditional and magistrate proceedings — suppression of material facts — damages may be adequate — mediation ordered.
|
15 February 2019 |
|
Claimant’s inaction led to vacatur of interim injunction, dismissal for want of prosecution, indemnity and costs.
-
Civil procedure — Strike out for want of prosecution — Inordinate delay — Vacatur of interim injunction — Case management and initial directions — Order 12 r56 CPR 2017 — Costs from commencement.
|
15 February 2019 |
|
Accused acquitted where prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case linking him to the murder.
-
Criminal procedure — No case to answer — Ss. 254 and 313 — Namonde test; Sufficiency of circumstantial evidence; Presence in same dwelling and discovery of blood-stained knife; Separate trial of juvenile under Child Care, Protection and Justice Act s.136.
|
14 February 2019 |
|
The applicant pleaded guilty to a premeditated, property-motivated murder and was sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment.
-
Criminal law — Murder — Guilty plea accepted despite variations — Premeditation and motive to retain matrimonial property — Use of poison and strangulation — Aggravating factors outweigh mitigation — Death sentence not supported — Sentence: 30 years' imprisonment with credit for time served.
|
13 February 2019 |
|
|
12 February 2019 |
|
|
8 February 2019 |
|
Court refused to intervene in an intra-party candidate dispute, finding internal remedies not exhausted and damages adequate.
-
Political parties as clubs; internal dispute resolution and exhaustion of remedies; interim injunction requirements (serious question to be tried; inadequacy of damages); nomination deadlines and procedural feasibility.
|
6 February 2019 |
|
An interlocutory injunction granted before issuance and service of the writ is void; restoration refused for inaction.
-
Civil procedure — Interlocutory injunctions — Order 10 r27 — writ must be issued and served before injunction application; restoration refused for inaction and procedural error; practitioner conduct and failure to document registry complaints criticized.
|
5 February 2019 |
|
Proceedings struck out for want of prosecution after over four years' inactivity under Order 12 CPR.
-
Civil procedure — striking out for want of prosecution — Order 12 r.56 CPR — inactivity exceeding 12 months — abuse of court process — Registrar to act under Order 12 r.58 CPR
|
5 February 2019 |
|
Applicants succeeded in judicial review: JSC's external recruitment breached legitimate expectations and lacked proper regulations, but court refused mandatory appointments.
-
Administrative law — Judicial appointments — Whether JSC nomination/appointment of judicial officers is administrative action — Reviewability under section 43 — Legitimate expectation from prior practice and representations — Ultra vires/irrational departure from Regulation 13(1)(a) — Duty to develop JSC recruitment regulations under Judicature Administration Act.
|
4 February 2019 |
|
Claim for fire damages dismissed due to unauthorised electrical extension and failure to prove a voltage upsurge.
-
Negligence — duty of care — electricity supplier’s liability limited to point of supply; Illegal/unauthorised connection — effect on liability; Proof of voltage upsurge — burden of proof; Res ipsa loquitur — inapplicability where control and causation not established; Electricity By-laws/Electricity Act — customer responsibility for installations beyond point of supply.
|
4 February 2019 |
| January 2019 |
|
|
The defendant's restoration application was dismissed for lack of a sufficient excuse and absence of a meritorious defence.
-
Civil procedure — restoration of application to set aside default judgment — sufficiency of excuse for non-attendance — requirement of meritorious defence — effect of unqualified payment/cover letter not marked 'without prejudice' as admission.
|
28 January 2019 |
|
Ex parte freezing injunction discharged for failure to disclose material facts and inadequate enquiries.
-
Civil procedure — interlocutory ex parte relief — duty of full and frank disclosure — materiality of omitted facts — obligation to make reasonable enquiries — discharge of freezing injunction.
|
28 January 2019 |
|
Applicant awarded K6,013,500 for femoral fracture injuries, ongoing pain, loss of amenities, disfigurement and proved special damages.
-
Motor vehicle accident — personal injury — fracture of femur — surgical insertion of sign nail — ongoing pain, restricted knee movement and scarring — assessment of general damages — proof and award of special damages — costs.
|
28 January 2019 |
|
Appeal allowed: magistrate wrongly found no case; evidence disclosed indecent assault and related sexual offences, matter remitted.
-
Criminal law — no‑case‑to‑answer test; prima facie evidence; indecent assault (s137(1)) — age not an element; alternative/added charges (s254(2), s151) — defilement, rape, s159A; corroboration (s232); medical report compliance (s180).
|
28 January 2019 |
|
Court assessed uncontroverted interest at K25,798,106.21 after default judgment; assessment costs awarded, quantum to be agreed or taxed.
-
Assessment of interest — default judgment — uncontroverted evidence — interest calculated at 10% above bank base lending rate — award of interest and costs; quantum of costs to be agreed or taxed.
|
25 January 2019 |
|
Claimant’s prolonged inaction justified striking out proceedings for want of prosecution; procedural irregularity was not a nullity.
-
Civil procedure — want of prosecution — striking out for dormancy — irregularity of counsel’s notice not a nullity — Court’s inherent jurisdiction and Orders 2 and 35 applicable.
|
24 January 2019 |
|
Assessment of damages for injury from a contaminated beverage; medical proof required for psychological and other claimed conditions.
-
Personal injury — assessment of damages for injury from contaminated beverage — quantum for pain and suffering — requirement of medical proof for claimed conditions and psychological injury — strict proof required for special damages (medical fees and travel) — costs follow the event.
|
24 January 2019 |
|
Unpaid city rates exceeding K2,000,000 constitute a commercial matter and must be heard in the Commercial Division.
-
Civil procedure — High Court Divisions — Commercial Division jurisdiction; definition of "commercial matter"; monetary threshold set at K2,000,000; transfer under s.6A(2) of the Courts Act; city rates not a "revenue matter" under Courts Act.
|
23 January 2019 |
|
Unpaid city rates exceeding K2,000,000 qualify as commercial matters and must be transferred to the Commercial Division.
-
Court division jurisdiction — Commercial Division v Civil Division — definition of "commercial matter"; city rates not a "revenue matter"; monetary threshold for commercial significance set at K2,000,000; transfer under section 6A(2) of the Courts Act.
|
23 January 2019 |
|
Convicted murderers received 40 years’ imprisonment due to use of a panga, joint attack, abandonment of victim and lack of remorse.
-
Criminal law — Murder — Sentencing — Use of offensive weapon (panga) and joint attack as aggravating factors — Leaving victim to be run over — No guilty plea or remorse — Death/life reserved for rarest cases — 40 years’ imprisonment imposed.
|
23 January 2019 |