High Court of Malawi - 2022 December

7 judgments

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7 judgments
Citation
Judgment date
December 2022
Convictions quashed where prosecution relied on uncorroborated accomplice evidence and improperly authenticated call‑logs.
Criminal law — Dangerous drugs (possession and attempted export) — accomplice evidence and requirement for corroboration — admissibility of co‑accused caution statements as witness evidence under s.175 — computer‑generated call logs and witness competence/authentication.
23 December 2022
9 December 2022
Court confirmed defilement conviction and increased sentence to 40 years due to breach of trust, threats, and HIV transmission.
Criminal law — Defilement: elements and proof; identification evidence; medical corroboration not essential but supportive; sentencing — aggravating factors (breach of trust, threats, HIV transmission) justify substantial enhancement.
6 December 2022
Conviction for defilement upheld and sentence enhanced to 40 years due to serious aggravating factors.
Criminal law – Defilement (s.138(1) Penal Code) – sufficiency of evidence and corroboration of child’s testimony – medical evidence not indispensable – sentencing enhancement – aggravating factors (young victim, planning, force, psychological harm) outweighing first‑offender mitigation.
6 December 2022
Court confirmed robbery convictions, upheld identification evidence, and enhanced custodial sentence to concurrent terms.
Robbery – identification evidence – Turnbull guidelines – confirmation of conviction – sentencing: aggravating factors (mask, group, violence, planning) outweighing youth and first-offender mitigation – sentence enhancement to concurrent terms.
6 December 2022
Non‑therapeutic circumcisions of minors without valid parental/guardian consent constituted battery, breach of duty and violated bodily integrity.
:[
2 December 2022
Proceedings were prejudiced by magistrate conduct amounting to bias and re‑victimization, requiring retrial, victim support and disciplinary/systemic reforms.
Criminal procedure — judicial conduct and impartiality — secondary victimization in sexual‑offence trials — gender stereotyping — retrial ordered; referral to Judicial Service Commission; victim support ordered.
1 December 2022