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Citation
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Judgment date
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| April 2021 |
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Interlocutory injunction granted restraining both parties from dealing with disputed customary land pending trial.
'Interlocutory injunction' – application of American Cyanamid principles; 'serious question to be tried' as to ownership; 'adequacy of damages' for customary land; 'balance of convenience' and preservation of rights pending trial.
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30 April 2021 |
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Court granted mutual interlocutory injunction restraining both parties from dealing with disputed customary land pending determination.
Interlocutory injunction – Land disputes – Serious question to be tried – Adequacy of damages for land – Balance of convenience – Preservation of customary land pending trial.
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30 April 2021 |
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Council’s decision to allow a Gandhi statue was unlawful, procedurally defective and violated claimants’ right to dignity.
Administrative law – judicial review of local authority decision – Physical Planning Act compliance and planning committee approval required; Constitutional law – right to human dignity (section 19) – administrative obligations to consider public interest and discrimination; Unreasonableness/Wednesbury review; Monuments and Relics Act inapplicable where no monument connection; Improper joinder of Attorney General where no decision by that office.
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29 April 2021 |
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26 April 2021 |
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Whether the claimant held a beneficial interest in the matrimonial home and whether subsequent transfers were void for lack of purchaser inquiry and improper transfer.
Registered land – Overriding interests – Rights of person in actual occupation – Bona fide purchaser for value without notice – Matrimonial property – Beneficial interest – Transfer void ab initio – Trust ownership and authority to sell – Rectification of land register.
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23 April 2021 |
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Court appointed the respondent and an applicants’ nominee as joint interim administrators over estate fishing business pending will validity litigation.
Deceased estates – Interim administrator pendente lite – Appointment under ss.46 and 78(1) – Management of estate business – Surviving spouse’s priority under s.43 – Joint interim administrators – Decision‑making and referral to court.
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20 April 2021 |
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Claimant struck by vehicle awarded K5,500,000 for pain, suffering and loss of amenities; special damages denied.
Personal injury — motor vehicle collision — open distal tibia fracture — assessment of general damages (pain and suffering; loss of amenities; disfigurement) — degree of incapacity assessed at 40% — special damages not proved — award K5,500,000 — costs to claimant.
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19 April 2021 |
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Court increased sentence for defilement of a four‑year‑old from 10 to 45 years, stressing gravity and need for deterrence.
Criminal law – Defilement of a child – Sentence enhancement – Starting point 14 years – Aggravating factors: victim age (4 years), physical injury, psychosocial harm – Need for routine psychological assessment of child victims.
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19 April 2021 |
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Court increased the convict's sentence to 45 years for defiling a 4-year-old, finding the 11-year term manifestly inadequate.
Criminal law – Defilement – Sentencing – Starting point of 14 years for defilement – Aggravating factors (very young victim, position of trust) outweighing mitigation – Guilty plea and first-offender status – Need for routine psychosocial assessment of child victims.
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19 April 2021 |
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Whether death or life imprisonment is appropriate for a heinous, premeditated murder of a person with albinism; court imposed life imprisonment.
Criminal law – Murder of a person with albinism; sentencing discretion under amended Penal Code; death penalty no longer mandatory; "rarest of the rare" principle; life imprisonment as alternative maximum; aggravating v. mitigating factors; need for thorough investigation and inquest.
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19 April 2021 |
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16 April 2021 |
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Notice of application improper; defence must file a formal 'Application to Restore Case' under Order 13 Rule 6(2); claimant awarded costs.
Civil procedure – Applications must follow prescribed Forms (Order 10) – Notices of application not generally permitted – Restoration of struck-out defence under Order 13 Rule 6(2) – Compliance with procedural rules and signatures – Costs for improper Notice.
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15 April 2021 |
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Judge recuses after public allegation of bribery by accused’s relative to preserve appearance of justice; trial adjourned sine die.
Judicial recusal — appearance of justice — public allegation of bribery by party’s relative — reasonable apprehension of bias — recusal mid-trial — adjournment pending reallocation.
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15 April 2021 |
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Convictions for harmful cultural practices quashed due to defective particulars, irregular guilty pleas, and insufficient supporting facts.
Criminal law — Harmful cultural practices (Child Care, Protection and Justice Act s80/s83) — Sufficiency of particulars — Plea-taking formalities (CP&EC s251) — Necessity to prove nexus between cultural practice, timing and harm — Defective pleas fatal — Conviction quashed — Retrial declined.
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11 April 2021 |
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Convictions for harmful cultural practices quashed for insufficient particulars, defective guilty pleas and inadequate prosecutorial facts.
Criminal law – harmful cultural practices – adequacy of particulars – plea-taking under s.251 CP&EC – requirement that prosecution facts disclose offence – incurable procedural defects – quashing convictions; retrial discretionary.
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11 April 2021 |
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Assessment of fatal injury damages: K3,000,000 loss of life, K2,156,868 dependency; special damages denied.
Personal injury — Fatal road traffic accident — Assessment of damages — Loss of expectation of life; loss of dependency — Multiplicand/multiplier method using minimum wage where no earnings proved — Special damages require strict pleading and proof — Adjustment of awards for currency devaluation and comparative precedents.
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9 April 2021 |
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Assessment of damages for a death: court adjusted awards for inflation, calculated dependency via multiplier/multiplicand, and disallowed unproven special damages.
Assessment of damages – Fatal road accident – Loss of expectation of life – Comparable awards adjusted for inflation – Loss of dependency – multiplicand and multiplier method – use of recorded age and one-third deduction – special damages must be strictly proved.
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9 April 2021 |
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Court awarded K4.7M for personal injury (pain, loss of amenities, disfigurement); special damages not proved.
Personal injury — assessment of damages — wedge compression fracture (L2) and MCP dislocation of index finger — general damages (pain and suffering, loss of amenities, disfigurement) assessed by reference to comparative awards — special damages require strict proof.
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9 April 2021 |
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A dismissed defence force member is entitled to statutory terminal benefits under Defence Force regulations and compensation for unfair dismissal.
Employment law – applicability of Employment Act to armed forces – Defence Force Act and regulations govern dismissal remedies; unlawful dismissal; terminal benefits – one month’s pay per completed year; compensation for future loss of earnings and pension; interest on terminal benefits.
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8 April 2021 |
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Insurer settlements do not bind an absent insured; contributory negligence and inevitable accident raised triable issues, defeating summary judgment.
Summary judgment – Order 12 r.23(1) – realistic prospect test; Insurer settlement/non-contest – binding effect on insured who did not participate; Defences of contributory negligence and inevitable accident – triable issues; Abuse of process – striking out defence.
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6 April 2021 |