Results.
41 judgments found.
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| October 2021 |
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CCTV and circumstantial evidence upheld convictions for burglary, vehicle theft and robbery; sentences affirmed and made consecutive.
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Criminal law — right to call witnesses — admissibility and weight of CCTV and circumstantial evidence — sufficiency of prosecution evidence — sentence review and proportionality — forfeiture of vehicle.
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28 October 2021 |
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Employer breached statutory duty by failing to provide adequate manpower, causing employee’s hand injuries; damages awarded.
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Occupational Safety, Health and Welfare Act s13 — employer’s duty to provide safe systems and adequate manpower; s18(a) — employee duty to take reasonable care; causation of injury; damages assessment.
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28 October 2021 |
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The respondent's arrest and prosecution of the applicant was justified where police had reasonable and probable cause.
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False imprisonment; malicious prosecution; defamation; reasonable and probable cause; acquittal not conclusive; civil standard of proof; police reliance on complainant's report and third‑party confirmation.
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28 October 2021 |
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Employer liable for negligence and breach of statutory safety duties after employee injured by foreseeably risky machine setup.
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Employer’s duty of care; Occupational Safety, Health and Welfare Act s13; unsafe machinery/setup; provision of protective equipment; employee contributory negligence; res ipsa loquitur inapplicable; damages assessed by Registrar.
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28 October 2021 |
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Driver turning into a junction without ensuring road was clear found negligent; insurer liable to third‑party claim despite unpleaded licence defence.
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Road traffic — Negligence — Duty of driver to ensure safe turning and keep lookout; Contributory negligence — burden and requirement to call evidence; Insurance — insurer liability to third parties where policy defences not pleaded; Pleadings — matters not pleaded cannot be relied on at trial.
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28 October 2021 |
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Assessment of damages for the applicant's road-traffic injuries; special damages denied for lack of proof.
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Personal injury — Road traffic accident — Assessment of general damages for pain and suffering, loss of amenities and disfigurement — Quantum guided by comparable cases and currency devaluation; Special damages require specific pleading and proof; Court may assess damages where defence struck out and respondent fails to file submissions.
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28 October 2021 |
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Court assessed damages for the applicant’s deceased using minimum‑wage multiplicand, multiplier, and a 35% contributory‑negligence reduction.
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Damages — wrongful death; loss of expectation of life; loss of dependency — multiplicand/multiplier method; use of statutory minimum wage where no earnings proven; life expectancy and multiplier; requirement of proof for special damages; application of contributory negligence to award.
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28 October 2021 |
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Leave to apply for judicial review refused where counsel's neglect and applicant's unauthorised occupation of public land made restoration unjustified.
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Judicial review — restoration of leave after discharge for non-attendance — excusable mistake v deliberate neglect — unauthorised occupation of public land — prospects of success on retrial — prejudice and public policy — costs.
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28 October 2021 |
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Default judgment refused because summons and Form 2 were served by email without court-authorised substituted service.
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Service of process — summons and response in Form 2 require personal service unless Court authorises substituted service — email service without sanction is ineffective — default judgment refused — Orders 5 r7, 8 r3, 8 r20, 12 r6; irregularity and Order 2 r3.
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27 October 2021 |
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Failure to alert an unrepresented accused to the s138(1) statutory defence is not fatal absent evidence of a reasonable belief the girl was 16+.
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Criminal law — Defilement (s138(1) Penal Code) — Statutory proviso defence of reasonable belief that complainant was 16+ — Duty to alert unrepresented accused at plea-taking only in rare cases — Failure to alert not fatal where no evidence of such belief.
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25 October 2021 |
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Appellant failed to prove a three‑year, time‑limited customary allocation; respondent’s allocation stood and the appeal was dismissed.
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Customary land — Land Act ss.25–26 — Chief’s power to allocate — Temporary allocation alleged — Burden of proof on balance of probabilities — Absence of written term or proven custom to remove occupant — Appeal dismissed.
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25 October 2021 |
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Acquittal upheld on reasonable mistaken belief of age; court rejects sexual history and illegal child marriage as justifications.
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Criminal law — Defilement (statutory rape) — Mistake of age defence under s.138(1) — Evidence of age: representations, bodily appearance, sexual history — Child marriage unlawful — Voir dire for witnesses of 'tender years' — Judicial judgment-writing standards — Legislative concern about overcriminalisation and close-in-age exceptions.
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25 October 2021 |
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Review court upheld acquittal where complainant’s representation and appearance could reasonably support a mistake-of-age defence, while rejecting parental support and sexual history as lawful grounds.
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Criminal law — Defilement/statutory rape — Mistake of age defence — Competency of adolescent witnesses — Illegality of child marriage — Sexual history not determinative of age — Overcriminalisation of consensual adolescent sex.
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25 October 2021 |
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Interlocutory injunction denied where disputed ownership and long uninterrupted possession favoured maintaining the status quo.
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Interlocutory injunctions — land disputes — test for injunction: serious question to be tried; inadequacy of damages; balance of convenience/status quo — res judicata and long undisturbed possession.
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23 October 2021 |
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22 October 2021 |
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22 October 2021 |
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The applicant awarded MK2,006,000 for pain, suffering and loss of amenities; claims for earnings and disfigurement denied.
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Personal injury — assessment of damages — pain and suffering — loss of amenities of life — disfigurement — loss of earnings and earning capacity — proof of special damages — restitutio in integrum — costs follow the event.
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21 October 2021 |
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Claimant awarded loss-of-bargain damages and substantial compound interest after defendant's wrongful forfeiture and unchallenged valuation.
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Property law — breach of contract and wrongful forfeiture of lease — measure of damages (loss of bargain) — acceptance of unchallenged valuation evidence — compound pre-judgment interest calculated at National Bank of Malawi lending rate.
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20 October 2021 |
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Claimant awarded MK4,960,854.40 for personal injuries and destroyed vehicle caused by defendant’s negligent driving.
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Assessment of damages — personal injury (pain and suffering, incapacitation, loss of amenities, disfigurement) — vehicle destroyed by fire — restitution in integrum — quantum determined by comparable local precedents — default judgment enforcement.
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20 October 2021 |
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Assessment of damages for police assault and false imprisonment; MK4,000,000 awarded plus costs.
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Police assault and false imprisonment — assessment of damages — medical evidence supporting injury — comparative authorities used to quantify award — exemplary damages not justified.
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20 October 2021 |
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Whether the applicant's mental illness was caused by the accident and what damages are recoverable.
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Personal injury — causation of psychiatric/neuro-cognitive injury — assessment of damages for head and soft-tissue injuries — strict proof of special damages — effect of contributory negligence on quantum.
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19 October 2021 |
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Withholding court-martial records denied the claimants’ constitutional right to appeal and warranted compensatory damages.
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Constitutional law — right of appeal and access to courts — withholding of court-martial record — denial of appeal — damages for deprivation of appellate remedy; limitation and mitigation considerations; proof required for special damages.
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18 October 2021 |
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Customary land cannot be transferred without proper customary authority; respondent family’s ownership was upheld.
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Customary land — ownership and administration — transfers require customary authority of chiefs; civil burden of proof (balance of probabilities); appellate re-evaluation of credibility; validity of alleged sale to religious organization.
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14 October 2021 |
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Court holds family occupation and chief allocation prevail over later claimant's contradictory purchase claims.
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Customary land — ownership dispute — first occupation and allocation by village head/chief — credibility of oral evidence — absence of valid customary transfer to later claimant.
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14 October 2021 |
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Claimant awarded MK3,015,000 for personal injury: pain, disfigurement, and proven special damages.
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Personal injury — Assessment of damages — Pain and suffering and loss of amenities — Disfigurement and permanent incapacity — Special damages must be specifically pleaded and strictly proven — Restitutio in integrum and reliance on comparable awards.
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13 October 2021 |
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Claimants awarded MK5,000,000 for nuisance (noise/waste) and party-and-party costs.
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Nuisance — damages for inconvenience and injury to quietness — assessment factors: duration of disturbance, public authority acquiescence, mitigation — award of party-and-party costs.
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13 October 2021 |
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Whether police negligently shot an innocent civilian during crowd dispersal, breaching duty of care and constitutional rights.
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Police use of force — crowd dispersal — use of live ammunition — negligence and duty of care — Police Act limits on firearms (warning, necessity) — breach of constitutional rights to life, liberty and dignity — causation on balance of probabilities.
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13 October 2021 |
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Claimant awarded MK6,000,000 for dependency and life-expectancy losses following a fatal road accident.
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Damages — Assessment of quantum for loss of dependency and loss of expectation of life — Restitutio in integrum — Use of comparable authorities where deceased’s earnings not proved — Default judgment and assessment in absence of defendant.
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12 October 2021 |
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Court held death penalty discretionary and imposed 30 years (26 years after remand credit) for a premeditated murder.
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Criminal law — Murder — Sentencing discretion; mandatory death penalty no longer applicable — Mitigating factors (first offender; guilty plea) versus aggravating factors (premeditation; weapon) — Fixed term sentence with remand credit.
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12 October 2021 |
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Conviction for defilement affirmed despite charging irregularity pointing to incest; 20-year sentence upheld as appropriate.
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Criminal law — Defilement v
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Incest — charging irregularity where victim is accused's child — requirement of DPP sanction for incest (s160) — curability of defects under s3 Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code — sentencing discretion; aggravating factors including victim pregnancy and parent-child relationship
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12 October 2021 |
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Claimants failed to show a legitimate expectation or unlawful process in exclusion from graduation or the virtual graduation decision.
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Administrative law — judicial review — limits of reviewing merits — legitimate expectation to graduate — procedural fairness — Wednesbury unreasonableness — Public Health Rules 2020 limiting gatherings — university discretion to determine graduands and mode of congregation.
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12 October 2021 |
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Claimants failed to show procedural unfairness or entitlement; virtual graduation and exclusion of pending-supplementary students were lawful.
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Administrative law — judicial review — procedural fairness and legitimate expectation; University graduation scheduling — exclusion of students pending supplementary exams; Public Health Rules 2020 — virtual ceremonies justified by pandemic restrictions; limits of judicial review (process vs merits).
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12 October 2021 |
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Recent possession plus a corroborated confession justified burglary and theft convictions; sentences confirmed despite informal reference to prior convictions.
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Criminal law — recent possession of stolen property and confession as corroborative pointers — admissibility and weight of caution statements — alternate verdict of receiving — sentencing and use of prior convictions.
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11 October 2021 |
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The applicant awarded MK6.5m damages and MK2m costs for defamation, false imprisonment and privacy breach after unlawful search.
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Defamation (slander) — false imprisonment — breach of privacy — warrantless entry and search — exemplary damages — assessment of quantum — award of costs.
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9 October 2021 |
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An application for judgment on admission is incompetent unless proceedings have been commenced by a summons setting out the claim.
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Civil procedure — commencement of proceedings — summons required under Order 5 Rule 1 — Order 12 judgment on admission presupposes existing proceedings — judgment on admission cannot be entered absent a summons commencing the claim.
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8 October 2021 |
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Notice for assessment of costs dismissed as time‑barred under Order 31 Rule 12; incorrect rule citation was curable.
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Civil procedure — Assessment of costs — Order 31 Rule 12 (three‑month filing period; filing at conclusion; extension or early filing permitted) — Order 10 Rule 1 — irregularity curable — notice for assessment dismissed as time‑barred.
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8 October 2021 |
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Permission to seek judicial review refused as challenge to Committee’s consultative public hearings was premature; Committee acted within Standing Orders.
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Parliamentary committees — Standing Orders 159, 150(2), 170(1) — jurisdiction to investigate administration of law and hold public hearings; consultative process; prematurity of judicial review; rights of audience for legal assistants/paralegals.
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7 October 2021 |
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Claims for false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, defamation and special damages dismissed for lack of reasonable cause or proof.
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False imprisonment — arrest on complainant’s report; police reasonable suspicion and 48-hour detention rule.
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6 October 2021 |
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5 October 2021 |
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Assessment of damages for medical negligence after failed anaesthetic causing permanent loss of sight; awards calibrated by precedent.
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Medical negligence — assessment of damages — failed anaesthetic leading to permanent loss of sight — heads: pain and suffering, loss of amenities, future medical expenses, exemplary and special damages — quantification guided by precedent and proportionality.
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4 October 2021 |
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Assessment of damages for road traffic injuries: global award for pain, suffering, disfigurement and partial loss of earning capacity; special damages denied.
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Road traffic personal injury — assessment of damages — pain and suffering; loss of amenities; disfigurement; loss of earnings/earning capacity — special damages must be specifically pleaded and strictly proven — quantum guided by comparable local awards.
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4 October 2021 |