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Citation
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Judgment date
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| October 1997 |
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Employer liable for false imprisonment and defamation where police arrested and paraded employees at employer's request without charge.
Employment law – False imprisonment — Employer‑initiated arrest — Police acting as agents of employer; Defamation — Parading employees in handcuffs/public exposure — Publication and damages.
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24 October 1997 |
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Plaintiff recovers hire charges where vehicle owner performed hire in breach of mandatory insurance, but plaintiff lacked knowledge.
Road Traffic Act, s.59 – mandatory third-party insurance – illegality of contract performance – ex turpi causa non oritur actio – knowledge and participation required to bar recovery for breach.
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16 October 1997 |
| September 1997 |
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Default judgment set aside where detention was unlawfully prolonged and Limitation Act, not post‑Constitution tribunal, governed pre‑commencement claims.
Civil procedure – setting aside judgment in default – triable issues – wrongful detention – Preservation of Public Security Act – Limitation Act s.4(1), s.22(4) – Constitution Chapter XIII – National Compensation Tribunal – jurisdiction for pre‑commencement actions.
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16 September 1997 |
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A consent order binds only the consenting parties; rescission requires a fresh action or appeal, not a Registrar’s interlocutory setting-aside.
Civil procedure – Consent orders – Nature of consent judgment as contractual agreement between parties – Privity of contract; cannot bind third parties – Rescission of consent orders requires fresh action or appeal – Registrar lacked jurisdiction to set aside consent order – Disputes over sheriff’s fees to be resolved by Master/taxation.
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15 September 1997 |
| August 1997 |
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Lease required written notice before interest rate increases; interest must be calculated at pleaded 38½% and plaintiff awarded K15,000 (detinue) and K5,000 (trespass).
Contract/Lease – Variation of interest rate – Written notice required by agreement before increasing rate; Pleadings – interest specifically pleaded must be calculated not merely assessed; Detinue – continuing cause of action – damages for detention recoverable where chattel returned; Trespass – award of compensatory damages.
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19 August 1997 |
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Plaintiff awarded K75,000 for 36 days' false imprisonment; punitive damages denied for lack of evidence.
False imprisonment — compensatory damages for 36 days' detention — quantum assessed in light of prior awards and currency devaluation — no punitive/aggravated damages for lack of evidence — alternative pleading and absence of defence limited apportionment of liability.
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14 August 1997 |
| June 1997 |
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The applicant awarded K4,630,000 for unconstitutional forfeiture and loss of property.
Forfeiture and restitution — unconstitutional forfeiture under Forfeiture Act — assessment of fair compensation for land used in business (value to owner and disturbance loss) — valuation of confiscated chattels and award of general damages.
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30 June 1997 |
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Driver’s failure to keep proper lookout when turning caused collision; plaintiff awarded K50,000, loss-of-earnings claim dismissed.
Road traffic accident – Negligence – Duty to keep proper lookout when turning right – vicarious liability of employer – loss of earnings claim dismissed for lack of causal proof – general damages awarded K50,000.
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25 June 1997 |
| May 1997 |
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Claim for unpaid transport services allowed; debts awarded with interest at ordinary savings rate from action commencement and costs.
Contract and debt recovery – proof of agreement and invoices; Interest on overdue commercial debts – discretionary award and appropriate rate (ordinary savings deposit rate); Foreign currency invoices – conversion into Malawi Kwacha on payment; Civil procedure – substituted service and proceeding in defendant's absence.
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19 May 1997 |
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Whether exemplary and compensatory damages are awardable for false imprisonment by a political party and how to quantify them.
False imprisonment; exemplary (punitive) damages; Rookes v Barnard categories; liquidated vs unliquidated claims; assessment and quantum of damages; political party liability.
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8 May 1997 |
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Newspaper publication lowered the plaintiffs’ reputations; each awarded K15,000 where no privilege and defendant defaulted.
Defamation – newspaper publication – reputational harm – assessment of general damages (circulation, ability to clear character, defendant’s conduct) – confidentiality of source not a privilege to excuse defamatory publication.
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6 May 1997 |
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Court awarded differing general damages for two injured child passengers but declined future loss of earnings without supporting evidence.
Damages — Quantum of general damages for pain, suffering, loss of amenities and disfigurement — Assessment based on medical reports and visibility/severity of scars; Future loss of earnings — requirement of evidence of impairment to earning capacity; liability admitted.
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6 May 1997 |
| March 1997 |
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Government’s forfeiture and conversion of plaintiff’s property entitled plaintiff to damages assessed at market value at judgment date.
Forfeiture Act – constitutional challenge; conversion of property by the State; limitation statute — when action not statute-barred; measure of damages for conversion — market value at date of judgment; rescission of forfeiture order but failure to return property.
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10 March 1997 |
| February 1997 |
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Failure to comply with prescribed originating-summons forms and acknowledgement requirements bars restoration; application dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure – Originating summons – Failure to comply with Orders 7 and 28 of the Rules of the Supreme Court – Prescribed forms (Form No. 8, 10, 11) and acknowledgement of service required – Court will not restore defective pleadings – Application dismissed with costs.
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6 February 1997 |
| January 1997 |
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Plaintiff owned the car; forfeiture against husband did not vest wife's separately owned vehicle in Government, judgment for conversion entered.
+ Civil procedure — Judgment on admissions (Order 27 Rule 3) — admissions must be clear and unequivocal
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Forfeiture Act — vesting of property — only vests property of person subject to forfeiture order in Administrator General
+ Property law — Married Women’s Property Act — married woman may have separate property distinct from husband
+ Conversion — sale of property seized under forfeiture where ownership belonged to non-subject person gives cause for damages
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30 January 1997 |
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Forfeiture order was unlawful and unconstitutional because the plaintiff was deprived of property without compensation or opportunity to be heard.
Forfeiture law – Ministerial power to forfeit property – Procedural fairness and right to compensation – UN Universal Declaration and constitutional protections – Legal disability under forfeiture and effect on limitation.
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22 January 1997 |
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Whether the respondent electricity supplier negligently reconnected power, causing fire and compensable loss.
Tort — Negligence — Duty of care and proximity — Electricity supplier’s liability for fires from arcing and short‑circuiting; res ipsa loquitur applicable where defendant had sole control and offered no adequate explanation
Evidence — Lay eyewitness testimony on sparks/arcing admissible and can be preferred to a weak technical witness
Damages — Recovery for property destruction, house replacement and lost rentals; interest on damages not recoverable under Malawi law
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16 January 1997 |
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Conditional surrender invalidated sale; sale without consent amounted to conversion, netting a small judgment after set-off.
Civil law – Conversion of chattels – Repossession versus sale – conditional surrender – set-off of employer’s counterclaim for unpaid advances, insurance and notice pay – assessment of damages and loss of use.
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8 January 1997 |
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Political party liable for on-site assault and short-term detention; State vicariously liable for prolonged police custody and malicious prosecution.
Tort — False imprisonment; Assault and battery; Malicious prosecution; Vicarious liability of State for police conduct; Liability of political party for acts of office-bearers; Apportionment of liability between independent tortfeasors; Pleading requirements for special damages.
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8 January 1997 |