Results.
15 judgments found.
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| July 2025 |
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Court ordered DNA tests to resolve disputed parentage for estate succession and charged testing costs to the estate.
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Family law; succession and inheritance — determination of parentage — DNA testing versus birth certificates as prima facie evidence — standing of interested persons — statutory three-year limit for parentage applications; estate to bear testing costs.
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9 July 2025 |
| March 2025 |
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Respondent awarded 50% shares in matrimonial assets due to non‑monetary contributions and equality‑as‑equity principle.
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Matrimonial property — recognition of non‑monetary contributions — beneficial interest; distribution of assets on divorce — equality‑as‑equity principle; intention v contribution test for joint ownership; application of CEDAW and Maputo Protocol.
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11 March 2025 |
| January 2025 |
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Leave to appeal and a stay were dismissed as premature and procedurally incompetent because the High Court judgment remained inchoate.
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Civil procedure — inchoate judgment — premature leave to appeal — inchoate judgments not appealable; stay of execution — must first apply to High Court where concurrent jurisdiction exists; SCA jurisdiction invoked after refusal by High Court; procedural competency of applications.
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22 January 2025 |
| November 2024 |
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Leave to appeal denied to avoid piecemeal, inchoate appeals and to expedite resolution of child custody and relocation issues.
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Appeal — leave to appeal — requirement under s.21 Supreme Court of Appeal Act; Inchoate appeals — prohibition on piecemeal appeals; Case management — expediency in child custody disputes; Jurisdiction — relocation application to Chief Resident Magistrate (Centre); Costs — each party to bear own costs.
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29 November 2024 |
| April 2024 |
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An informal union cannot be dissolved by divorce; the applicant must seek declaration of marriage by repute and ancillary reliefs.
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Constitutional recognition of informal unions; Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Act ss.12–13; marriage by repute/permanent cohabitation; declaratory jurisdiction to determine existence; ancillary reliefs (custody, maintenance, property) available after court finds such union; divorce proceedings inappropriate to dissolve non-formal unions.
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18 April 2024 |
| February 2024 |
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Court continued interlocutory injunction restraining exercise of power of sale pending resolution of alleged fraudulent charge.
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Injunctions — interlocutory injunction — American Cyanamid principles — power of sale under Registered Land Act (ss.68,71) — alleged fraud/forgery in charges over estate property — adequacy of damages — uniqueness of land.
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22 February 2024 |
| November 2023 |
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Court set aside divorce for failing to prove customary grounds, ordering retrial to determine if misrepresentation justified dissolution.
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Family Law — Customary Marriage — Dissolution — Misrepresentation as ground for termination
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Civil Procedure — Appeals — High Court powers to set aside judgment and order retrial — Courts Act s22(g)
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Customary Law — Proof as question of fact — Courts Act s64
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7 November 2023 |
| November 2022 |
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A counsel-sworn affidavit containing facts and legal opinion was improper; the applicant's extension for judicial review was refused.
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Civil procedure — Affidavits by counsel — Counsel as deponent and potential witness; risk of cross-examination and conflict — Affidavits should not contain primary factual assertions, personal legal opinions or argument — Judicial review — extension of time.
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7 November 2022 |
| July 2022 |
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Court applies Divorce Act to pre‑2015 marriages, grants divorce for cruelty (denial of conjugal rights); adultery not proved.
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Family Law
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Statutory Interpretation — Applicability of Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Act to marriages celebrated before commencement — Construction of ss.3 and 114(6)
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Divorce — Cruelty — Denial of conjugal rights as mental cruelty sufficient to ground divorce
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Adultery — Evidentiary standard — Hearsay and unauthenticated electronic messages insufficient to prove adultery
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8 July 2022 |
| May 2022 |
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Decree nisi granted for cruelty based on unopposed assaults and threats; adultery failed due to possible condonation.
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Family Law
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Applicable Statute — Whether Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Act applies to pre‑commencement marriages — Part IX only applies to all marriages
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Jurisdiction — Subject‑matter and domicile requirements for divorce under the Divorce Act
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Divorce — Grounds, Condonation and Cruelty — Evidential standard and proof in uncontested petitions
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31 May 2022 |
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27 May 2022 |
| January 2022 |
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Decree nisi granted for divorce on cruelty; adultery not proved and statutory compensation unavailable.
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Family law — applicable statute for pre‑2015 marriages — MDFRA Part LX only; jurisdiction — domicile of choice; divorce — cruelty standard, condonation and collusion; adultery — insufficiency of suspicion and unauthenticated evidence; compensation not available under Divorce Act.
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10 January 2022 |
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Decree nisi granted for cruelty; adultery unproven; custody and property distribution left undecided.
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Family Law —
Divorce
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Applicable law and jurisdiction — Part IX of MDFRA; Divorce Act governs pre-commencement marriages; domicile of choice requirement
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Cruelty — Intentional conduct making cohabitation unreasonable; condonation examined and not found
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Adultery — Proof generally by strong circumstantial evidence or corroboration; mere suspicion or resemblance insufficient
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10 January 2022 |
| May 2021 |
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Emotional abuse and baseless adultery accusations can constitute cruelty justifying divorce; unsupported medical reports are hearsay.
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Family Law — Divorce — Cruelty — Intentional conduct making continued cohabitation unbearable — Divorce Act s 5(d) and s 7
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Evidence — Admissibility — Medical reports and hearsay — Requirement to call the report author to prove physical injury
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19 May 2021 |
| March 2017 |
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Petitioner granted divorce for cruelty; house to be sold and proceeds shared equally, each party to bear own costs.
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Family Law
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Matrimonial Causes — Divorce for cruelty — Proof required that conduct endangers health or makes continuation of cohabitation unsafe
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Statutory Interpretation — Applicability of new Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Act — Prospective operation; pre-commencement marriages governed by former Divorce Act
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Matrimonial Property — Sale and equal division of jointly purchased house; equitable allocation of household items
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24 March 2017 |