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Citation
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Judgment date
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| October 2024 |
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The applicant (Attorney General) lacks standing to be joined where government shareholding is held through a separate corporate entity.
Joinder of parties – Order 6 r 7 CPR – person "affected by a proceeding"; Company law – separate legal personality (Salomon) and shareholder standing; Contractual clauses – exclusive jurisdiction vs arbitration clause; Civil Procedure Rules – overriding objective and active case management; Judicial conduct – recusal of judge.
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22 October 2024 |
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Failure to consult senior employees before retrenchment amounted to unfair dismissal and an unfair labour practice.
Employment law — retrenchment for operational requirements — duty to consult employees — fair and equitable procedure under s.61(2) Employment Act and s.31 Constitution — consultant-led functional review — adequacy of consultation; legitimate expectation from proposed contract change; severance versus gratuity/pension entitlements; interest on wrongfully withheld severance.
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22 October 2024 |
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Insurer subrogation succeeds where driver of BR 398 failed to give way, entitling recovery of MK15,390,000 plus interest and costs.
Road traffic negligence – duty to give way at junction; proof by photographs and damage pattern; insurer’s right of subrogation to sue in insured’s name; discretion to admit late documents under frontloading rules; award of compound interest and costs.
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18 October 2024 |
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The court ceased jurisdiction after referral to arbitration and declined to entertain further applications.
Arbitration law – Referral to arbitration cedes court jurisdiction – Court obliged to honour arbitration agreement; inability to hear matters once jurisdiction ceded; procedural delay attributable to counsel’s failure to appoint arbitrator.
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16 October 2024 |
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Registrar rejects originating summons as procedurally defective, abusive, and brought by a claimant lacking standing.
:[
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9 October 2024 |
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High Court found a substantive customary marriage despite statutory publication lapses and re‑ordered equitable distribution, directing executive action on MDFRA implementation.
Family law — customary marriage formalities under MDFRA (ss.26–29) — effect of non‑compliance — recognition of marriage by substance and conduct; distribution of matrimonial property — principles of fairness, equitable/shared ownership and proof; jurisdiction of magistrate courts in customary divorce matters; state obligation to operationalize MDFRA registration regime.
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4 October 2024 |
| September 2024 |
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Summary judgment refused where triable disputes exist about authority, acknowledgment of assignment, and alleged fraud.
Civil procedure — Summary judgment (Order 12 r.23–27 CPR 2017) — Assignment of proceeds as security — Agency and authority to bind third parties — Alleged fraud/inducement — Existence of triable factual disputes.
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23 September 2024 |
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Court refused to forfeit a bonded motor vehicle for late passport surrender, applying substantial justice and not punishing counsel‑caused delay.
Bail conditions — bonded property — forfeiture for non‑compliance; substantial justice over technicality; liability for counsel’s procedural failures; exercise of judicial leniency.
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17 September 2024 |
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Emails revised the payment schedule but did not waive the contract expiry; repossession under Clause 14.2 was lawful and claimant's claim dismissed.
Contract — Hire-purchase — Variation and waiver of payment terms by conduct and correspondence — Waiver by estoppel vs election — Repossession under contractual clause after default — Requirement to plead alleged breach/fraud and prove loss.
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13 September 2024 |
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Interlocutory injunction perpetuated where dispute exists whether respondent exceeded power of sale and damages would be inadequate.
Interlocutory injunctions – American Cyanamid principles – serious question to be tried; adequacy of damages – perishable and depreciating business assets; power of sale under power of attorney; preservation of status quo; defendant’s retention as party despite transfer/registration.
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5 September 2024 |
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Court refused to dismiss for want of prosecution and ordered mediation, citing court-attributable delay.
Civil procedure – dismissal for want of prosecution – court’s inherent jurisdiction – undue delay partly caused by court’s failure to fix mediation date – order for mediation instead of dismissal; no order as to costs.
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3 September 2024 |
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Whether to discharge an interlocutory injunction and summarily dismiss a bank’s power-of-sale claim amid disputed loan figures and unregistered charges.
Interlocutory injunctions – American Cyanamid test – serious question to be tried; adequacy of damages; balance of convenience. Power of sale – Registered Land Act – requirement to register subsequent charges; effect of failure to register. Equitable mortgage by deposit of title deeds. Duty to provide full statement of account and reconciliation. Summary disposal – no arguable case threshold
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3 September 2024 |
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Claimant in rent arrears; landlord’s seizure (distress) and sealing lawful; claimant’s tort and excess‑distress claims fail.
Landlord and tenant — rent arrears — distress for rent — right to distrain by landlord or authorised officers without warrant — sealing of premises and re‑entry under lease — excess distress and damage — force majeure (COVID‑19) not available absent clause — false imprisonment and defamation not proved — counterclaim barred while distress subsists.
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3 September 2024 |
| August 2024 |
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Registrar’s refusal to issue admission petitions was a judicial act; appeal, not judicial review, was the appropriate remedy.
Judicial review — Registrar's refusal to issue court documents — issuance as a judicial function requiring application of judicial mind — decisions of Registrar exercising judicial functions not amenable to judicial review — alternative remedy by appeal — exhaustion of remedies.
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12 August 2024 |
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Permission for judicial review refused because the Assistant Registrar’s act was judicial and appeal, not review, was the appropriate remedy.
Judicial review — Registrar’s functions — Issuance/rejection of court processes as judicial acts — Amenability to judicial review vs appeal — Alternative remedy (appeal) required before review — Natural justice and ultra vires challenge to admission-to-bar decision.
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12 August 2024 |
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Permission to seek judicial review denied because the Registrar acted in a judicial capacity and an appeal, not review, was the appropriate remedy.
Administrative law – judicial review – registrar’s issuance of court processes is a judicial function; decisions by a registrar exercising judicial power are not amenable to judicial review but to appeal; judicial review is a remedy of last resort where alternative remedies exist.
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12 August 2024 |
| July 2024 |
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Claims of negligence and defamation against auditors over a confidential forensic report dismissed; no duty owed to the claimant.
Auditor liability – duty of care limited to commissioning client; negligent misstatement – proximity and foreseeability; defamation – necessity of adoption and publication; confidentiality and court-ordered disclosure; compliance with ISRS 4400.
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31 July 2024 |
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Applicants detained beyond the 90-day pretrial limit for murder; court found detention unlawful and ordered conditional release on bail.
Constitutional right to challenge detention (s42) – pre-trial custody limit for murder (s161G CP & EC) – power to grant bail after expiry of custody time limit (s161I CP & EC) – unlawful detention – release on bail with conditions.
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29 July 2024 |
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Removal of a village headman without being heard breached natural justice and was quashed.
Administrative law – Judicial review – Procedural fairness and natural justice; section 43 Constitution (administrative justice); Chiefs Act s.9 – appointment/removal of village headmen; interpretation of administrative circular; Wednesbury unreasonableness; remedy – certiorari and costs.
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26 July 2024 |
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Convictions upheld; enhanced sentences set aside because the appellant was not given notice or a hearing before enhancement.
Criminal law – Defilement and child trafficking – Convictions upheld; Sentence enhancement – appellate increase set aside for failure to afford audi alteram partem – Right to be heard before adverse sentencing order – Late filing of skeleton arguments allowed as exception – State nonattendance at apex court criticized.
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23 July 2024 |
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Consent judgment ordering defendants to pay claimant, third party to refund failed forward-exchange proceeds, and State to ensure funding.
Civil procedure – Consent judgment – Settlement enforcement; Commercial/contract law – refund for total failure of consideration under modified forward exchange contract; Escrow/escrow-account directions – joint control, restricted release and priority of disbursement; State involvement – direction to ensure funding to satisfy judgment.
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22 July 2024 |
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Default judgment for terminal benefits is not taxable; collection costs payable but without interest, Registrar to assess.
Taxation of judgment debts – terminal/post-employment benefits – characterization of monthly payments as net versus gross – prohibition on double taxation – collection costs payable but no interest – Registrar to assess collection costs.
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22 July 2024 |
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Failure to inform an unrepresented accused of statutory defences in defilement proceedings vitiates the conviction and mandates retrial.
Criminal procedure — Plea of guilty — s251(2) CP&EC — requirement to ascertain accused understands nature and consequences of plea; Criminal law — Defilement — s138 Penal Code — statutory defences (age-difference/consent) — duty of trial court to explain defences to unrepresented accused; Fair trial — omission to inform of defences vitiates conviction — conviction reversed and retrial ordered.
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21 July 2024 |
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Failure to comply with scheduling conference directions justified striking out the 1st defendant’s defence and dismissing its counterclaim.
Civil procedure – scheduling conference directions – mandatory compliance with Order 14 – effect of non-compliance (Order 14 r.5) – striking out defence and dismissal of counterclaim as sanction – section 47 General Interpretation Act inapplicable to court directions – good cause required to avoid sanctions.
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17 July 2024 |
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The claimant cannot sue defendants to set aside a consent judgment for alleged former-counsel misconduct; action dismissed with prejudice.
Civil procedure – Consent orders – Setting aside consent judgment – Grounds required: mistake/fraud or material/supervening change – Pleading particularity – Misconduct by former counsel is remedy against counsel, not basis against opposing parties – Frivolous/vexatious actions and abuse of process – Dismissal with prejudice and costs.
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17 July 2024 |
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Attempt to set aside a consent judgment dismissed as frivolous; claimant should sue former lawyers or enforce the order.
Civil procedure — setting aside consent orders — requirement to plead mistake, misrepresentation or material supervening change — abuse of process — remedy against former lawyers or by enforcing consent judgment.
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17 July 2024 |
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Action to set aside a consent order dismissed as disclosing no reasonable cause and an abuse of court process.
Civil procedure – setting aside consent orders – necessity to plead and particularise mistake, misrepresentation or material supervening event; remedies against former lawyers versus setting aside consent judgment; dismissal for frivolous, vexatious or abusive proceedings.
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17 July 2024 |
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Claimant failed to prove ownership or arbitrary appropriation; land was likely acquired via community consent and compensated, claim dismissed with costs.
Property law – proof of ownership and representative capacity – arbitrary appropriation of land – customary land acquisition procedures and compensation – evidential burden and failure to call material witness.
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17 July 2024 |
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Driver negligent; claimant partly contributorily negligent; liability apportioned 60% defendants, 40% claimant; insurer limited by policy.
Road traffic negligence — duty of care and lookout — narrow road and large vehicle — contributory negligence — apportionment 60/40 — vicarious liability of owner — insurer liability subject to policy limit (includes party-and-party costs).
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15 July 2024 |
| June 2024 |
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Court upheld Penal Code provisions criminalising certain same-sex sexual conduct and dismissed constitutionality challenges.
Constitutional law — Criminal law — Sections 153(a), 154, 156 Penal Code — Whether offences criminalising "carnal knowledge against the order of nature", attempts and male-on-male gross indecency violate rights to equality, privacy, dignity, personal liberty and fair trial — Interpretation of the Constitution — Scope of right to privacy — Presumption of constitutionality — Locus standi — Referral procedure for constitutional questions.
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28 June 2024 |
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Stay of execution upheld where registry-caused appeal delay and respondent’s concealment of related conviction negated discharge.
Forfeiture and stay of execution – application to discharge stay for alleged inordinate delay – duty of Registrar/Registry to prepare record of appeal – shortcomings in record not attributable to appellant – concealment of parallel money-laundering conviction involving same seized funds – discretion to refuse relief and award costs.
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19 June 2024 |
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Whether a spouse’s omission to obtain urgent care plus toxicology and circumstantial evidence establish murder.
Criminal law — Murder: elements (death, unlawful act/omission, malice aforethought) — Circumstantial evidence and last-seen doctrine — Post-mortem toxicology and algor mortis — Omission by spouse to obtain urgent care as actus reus/mens rea — Admissibility/weight of caution statement.
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6 June 2024 |
| May 2024 |
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Appeal dismissed for lack of mandatory leave and lateness; review misuse condemned and stays discharged for prompt prosecution.
Criminal procedure — Appeals from High Court in criminal review — Mandatory requirement for leave under section 11(2) — Time limits for notice of appeal under section 17(1) — Misuse of review as substitute for appeal — Stays discharged and case remitted for directions.
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2 May 2024 |
| April 2024 |
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Court awarded MK6,000,000 compensatory damages for defamation but declined exemplary damages for lack of malicious publication.
Defamation — libel for alleged robbery; compensatory damages awarded MK6,000,000 — exemplary damages refused for lack of malicious/guilty knowledge; claimant failed to prove pecuniary loss; damages must be pleaded and proved (Order 7 r.21); courts must balance reputation remedies with press freedom; UK personal-injury comparator not adopted.
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19 April 2024 |
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Failure to disclose parallel proceedings and attempting collateral attack on another court's decision amounted to abuse of process; action struck out.
Civil procedure — Ex parte relief — Duty of full and frank disclosure of pending proceedings — Concurrent jurisdiction — Abuse of process — Action impermissible to challenge decisions of another court — Striking out and discharge of injunction; costs.
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15 April 2024 |
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Retrospective application of the FCA was found by necessary implication but did not violate constitutional protections against conviction for non-offences.
Constitutional law – retrospectivity of statutes – Financial Crimes Act section 42 vs repealed MLA section 35 – interpretation of saving provision section 141(2) FCA – right not to be convicted for non-existent offence and protection against harsher retrospective penalties – procedural commencement via constitutional referral (Order 19 CPR).
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10 April 2024 |
| March 2024 |
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Bank’s report to police not actionable as false imprisonment or defamation; claimant failed to prove medical causation or special damages.
False imprisonment — distinction between reporting to police and laying charges; police’s independent discretion; defamation by imprisonment — imputations attributable to detaining authority; damages — causation and authentication of medical evidence; special damages must be specifically pleaded and proved.
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30 March 2024 |
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Prosecution must authenticate photo/video evidence, but acquittal stands where grievous harm under section 235(a) is not proved.
Evidence — Admissibility of photographs and video — Section 179 CP&EC — Prima facie authentication by competent witness; Burden on prosecution to establish provenance and originality
Criminal law — Section 235(a) Penal Code — Elements require unlawful wounding or grievous harm plus intention; medical evidence relevant to actus reus
Criminal procedure — Review powers — High Court may correct misdirections but cannot substitute convictions for offences not charged; alternative verdicts constrained by Supreme Court authority (State must amend)
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20 March 2024 |
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Claims for false imprisonment, defamation and malicious prosecution failed; conversion established only as to retained office chattels, not the claimed money.
False imprisonment – distinction between reporting a crime and laying charges; Malicious prosecution – must prove prosecution by defendant, favourable termination, lack of reasonable cause and malice; Conversion – wrongful retention of chattels and denial of access; Pleadings – evidence inconsistent with pleadings may be rejected; Civil standard of proof – balance of probabilities.
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19 March 2024 |
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Appellate court found the purported will invalid, held customary law must be proved under section 64, and restored land to the appellant and siblings.
Succession and customary land – validity of will under DEWIPA – DEWIPA prevails over customary law on inheritance – customary law is a question of fact requiring proof under section 64 Courts Act – proof required before land can be treated as attached to chieftaincy – Magistrate court jurisdiction and remedies for property loss.
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18 March 2024 |
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Court reduced excessive costs, limited senior counsel and combined in-house fees, and awarded MWK21,625,940.25 in taxed costs.
Costs assessment – Order 31 CPR 2017 – reasonableness and proportionality of costs; standard vs indemnity assessment (legal practitioner and own client); Senior Counsel fees and proof of use; allocation of hours and hourly rates; disallowance of MLS levy and duplicate VAT claims; care and conduct allowances.
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15 March 2024 |
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A statutory corporation (municipal council) is not exempt from enforcement under Order 34 rule 4 absent express statutory immunity.
Civil procedure — Order 34 rule 4 CPR 2017 — exemption from enforcement applies to Government or public officers as defined by statute; statutory corporations do not automatically enjoy Crown-type immunities absent express statutory provision.
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6 March 2024 |
| February 2024 |
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Employer did not breach statutory or common‑law duty; claimant failed to prove negligence and was himself negligent, claim dismissed with costs.
Occupational safety — Employer's duty of care under Occupational Health, Safety and Welfare Act — Employee's reciprocal duty to take reasonable care — Proof of negligence on balance of probabilities — Contributory negligence and credibility findings.
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28 February 2024 |
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A party’s mere dissatisfaction with an arbitrator’s merits findings does not amount to misconduct warranting setting aside the award.
Arbitration — setting aside award — misconduct standard — arbitrator’s procedural discretion — inspection of materials — merits disagreement not ground for removal of arbitrator.
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28 February 2024 |
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Court awards compensation and statutory severance using current salary, reduced for applicant’s partial contribution; appeal conditional on 50% payment.
Employment law – unfair dismissal for procedural unfairness – assessment of compensation under s63(4) and (5) Employment Act – use of current salary to preserve purchasing power – partial contribution reduces discretionary award – statutory severance calculation (First Schedule, s35(2)) – appeal conditional on payment of 50% (no automatic stay).
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20 February 2024 |
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An applicant cannot obtain leave to appeal to the SCA on an interlocutory matter without certified lower-court refusal and procedural propriety.
Civil procedure — Leave to appeal — Requirement to seek leave in the court below and to produce certified refusal before approaching appellate court — Interlocutory/non-final matters not appealable — Procedural propriety for litigants in person.
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19 February 2024 |
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Preservation order expired after 90 days; no forfeiture application was pending, so frozen accounts must be unfrozen.
Financial Crimes Act s67(b) — preservation orders expire after 90 days unless a forfeiture application is pending; meaning of "application pending"; Courts Act s3(1) — issuance/placement of process; civil forfeiture prerequisites and necessity of predicate offence; unfreezing accounts where preservation order expired.
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15 February 2024 |
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Whether arbitration was waived and unfulfilled conditions precedent rendered the share purchase agreement unenforceable.
Arbitration clause — waiver by filing defence; Rule in Turquand — apparent authority of managing director/sole shareholder; Conditions precedent — failure to fulfil renders share purchase agreement unenforceable; Share transfer — essential for completion; Costs follow event.
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15 February 2024 |
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A very late, extensive re-amendment was refused where it would unfairly prejudice the respondent and disrupt court resources.
Civil procedure – amendment of pleadings — O.7 r.23 CPR 2017 — very late re‑amendment after closure — overriding objective and case management — prejudice not compensable by costs — reintroduction of issues disposed at mediation.
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12 February 2024 |
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Summary judgment refused due to genuine disputes over repayment, interest, and entitlement to punitive damages.
Summary judgment — Genuine dispute of fact — Repayment of guaranteed funds — Assessment of interest and loss — Punitive damages in contract require proof of deliberate tortious conduct — Mediation or trial required.
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12 February 2024 |