Results.
57 judgments found.
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| December 2009 |
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Death sentence upheld for premeditated, brutal murder; belief in witchcraft did not mitigate sentence.
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Criminal law — Murder — Sentencing discretion — Death penalty reserved for cases with strong aggravating features — Premeditation and brutality — Belief in witchcraft not a mitigating factor — Sentencing is the judge’s duty, not the jury’s.
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21 December 2009 |
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A lawful first voter registration is not an offence; only the subsequent duplicate registration is criminal and sentence was reduced.
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Electoral Law — Voter Registration — Registering more than once — Lawful first registration does not constitute offence when duplicative second registration occurs
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Criminal Law — Sentencing — Application of general penalty where no specific penalty prescribed — Parliamentary and Presidential Elections Act s 118(1)
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18 December 2009 |
| November 2009 |
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Court held overcrowded, poorly ventilated prisons violate prisoners' constitutional rights and ordered remedial measures.
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Constitutional Law
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Prisoners' Rights — Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment — Overcrowding and Poor Ventilation
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Judicial Review — Justiciability, Proper Parties and Time Limits — Enforcement of Prisoners' Rights
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Prison Regulations — Enforceability of Statutory Minimum Standards Despite Resource Constraints
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8 November 2009 |
| October 2009 |
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Identification and recovered property supported conviction; sentence reduced to account for first‑offender mitigation.
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Criminal Law — Robbery — Identification and recovery of stolen property as proof of participation — Accomplice evidence admissibility and assessment — Sentencing — Mitigation for first offender
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27 October 2009 |
| September 2009 |
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A 15-month delay in bringing an arrested person to court breached constitutional rights; unconditional release granted.
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Constitutional Law — Arrest and Detention — Right to be brought before court within 48 hours — Breach and remedy under s42(2)(b) and s42(2)(e)
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30 September 2009 |
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Writ limits claims to general damages; lender breached by failing to disburse full loan, plaintiff awarded general damages net K56,370.
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Contract law — loan agreement — disbursement in installments — reasonable time for full disbursement; pleadings — Writ limits recovery; special damages inconsistent with amended Writ fall away; retention of security documents — no implied term to release where lender breached; counterclaim for repayment of partial advance dismissed.
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25 September 2009 |
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Silence after contractual probation can amount to tacit confirmation; employer cannot unilaterally vary terms or demote without consent.
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Employment law — probation and confirmation — tacit confirmation where employer silent after contractual probation; employer cannot unilaterally extend probation or vary contract terms — right to be heard and fair labour practices (Constitution ss31, 43) — entitlement to post-probation benefits.
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11 September 2009 |
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Whether s63(2) inquiry is required and appropriate compensation for early termination of a fixed-term employment contract.
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Employment law — unfair dismissal — remedies — s63(2) Employment Act inquiry is to prioritise remedies — pleadings bind parties — s63(4) grants wide discretion to award just and equitable compensation, including possible damages for unexpired fixed-term contracts.
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9 September 2009 |
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Conviction for burglary upheld; six-year sentence reduced to 3½ years for being excessive for a young first offender.
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Criminal Law
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Offences Against Property — Breaking into a building and theft — Possession of recently stolen property as circumstantial evidence of guilt — Penal Code s 311(a)
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Sentencing — Mitigation for young first offenders — Reduction where lower court failed to receive mitigation
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1 September 2009 |
| August 2009 |
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25 August 2009 |
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13 August 2009 |
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A guilty plea bars appeal against conviction; 18‑month sentence upheld for unlawful wounding with a panga.
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Criminal Law
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Plea of Guilty — Appeal against conviction barred — Criminal Procedure & Evidence Code s 348
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Sentencing — Use of lethal weapon (panga) justifies custodial sentence despite first offender status
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Self‑Defence — Plea of self‑defence cannot overturn conviction after guilty plea
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6 August 2009 |
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Defendant unlawfully terminated the supply contract without required notice and negligently caused hazardous fuel spillage.
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Contract — Termination of supply agreement — Whether unilateral termination without written notice and required cure periods breaches contract — Contract Clauses 18/18.8
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Tort
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Negligence — Duty of care during removal of equipment — Liability for hazardous fuel spillage and inadequate cleanup
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Nuisance and Defamation — Requirement of evidence — Dismissal where no independent witnesses or proof
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4 August 2009 |
| July 2009 |
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Convictions quashed where open customary tokens, not solicitations, raised reasonable doubt about corruption.
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Criminal Law — Corruption — Distinguishing customary gifts from corrupt inducements
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Evidence — Standard of proof — Reasonable doubt where prosecution evidence is contradictory
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Appeal — Rehearing — High Court entitled to re‑evaluate evidence and substitute findings
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22 July 2009 |
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Court reduced sentences where appellants were not allowed to present mitigation before sentencing.
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Criminal Law
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Sentencing — Failure to afford opportunity to mitigate — Appeal and reduction of sentence
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Offences — Assault occasioning actual bodily harm; Theft — Concurrent sentences and backdating to commencement of custody
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22 July 2009 |
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Charge amendment and rifle identification upheld; the applicant's conviction and nine-year sentence for aggravated robbery affirmed.
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Criminal Law
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Robbery — Use of Firearm — Admissibility and evidential weight of recovered weapon for identification
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Evidence — Sufficiency where perpetrators not personally identified but property (weapon) links accused to offence
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Criminal Procedure — Amendment of Charge — Substitution of weapon description under s151(2) — Prejudice and ends of justice
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Sentencing — Mitigation — HIV status — Custodial sentence for aggravated robbery involving firearm
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22 July 2009 |
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Court upheld Industrial Relations Court's compensation award for unfair dismissal and ruled tort claims must be pursued in regular courts.
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Employment Law — Unfair Dismissal — Assessment of compensation, selection of multiplier and mitigation factors — Employment Act s63
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Civil Procedure — Appeal from Industrial Relations Court — Distinction between factual and legal issues on appeal — Labour Relations Act s65(2)
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Civil Remedies — Tort claims (defamation, unlawful detention) — Jurisdictional limits of Industrial Relations Court — Pursue in regular courts
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21 July 2009 |
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High Court upheld IRC’s compensation award; claims for unlawful detention or defamation are not for the IRC.
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Labour Law — Unfair Dismissal — Assessment of Compensation — Court’s discretion on multiplier and boosting award — Employment Act s63(1)(c), s63(6), s35
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Civil Procedure — Appealability from Industrial Relations Court — Scope under Labour Relations Act s65(2) — Legal basis vs factual issues
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21 July 2009 |
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Appellate court may admit affidavit evidence; well-documented ownership claims prevail over inadequately supported matrimonial claims.
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Matrimonial property distribution; appellate admission of affidavit evidence under Order 59(10)(2); evidentiary weight of documentary exhibits; parties’ intention and contribution; application of Malinki v Malinki and Chibweya.
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21 July 2009 |
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A bailee who refuses the applicant’s valid claim and releases goods to another is liable for wrongful detention and conversion.
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Tort
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Bailment — Bailee’s duty when faced with competing title claims and wrongful detention
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Conversion — Wrongful taking and disposition of goods collected from bailee
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Remedies — Measure of damages for conversion (market value at date of conversion; replacement cost when market value not proved)
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21 July 2009 |
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Court held trial court must not amend pleadings sua sponte to convert a wrongful dismissal claim into unfair dismissal.
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Employment law — wrongful dismissal v. statutory unfair dismissal — common-law damages limited to notice pay — limits on court’s inherent power to amend pleadings sua sponte — duty of impartiality v. effective remedy.
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20 July 2009 |
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Possession of keys and recovered stolen bicycles supported conviction; applicant’s sentence reduced to 36 months.
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Criminal Law
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Offences Against Property — Breaking into a building and theft under s.311(1) — Weight of identification evidence and recovery of stolen goods
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Evidence — Possession of keys and recovered property — Inference of participation in burglary
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Sentencing — Youthful offender and breach of trust — Appropriate custodial sentence and reduction from appellate court
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15 July 2009 |
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Termination without fair hearing for alleged unauthorised use of an employer vehicle was unfair; applicant awarded damages.
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Employment Law — Termination of Employment — Unauthorised use of employer vehicle alleged as misconduct — Procedural fairness and right to be heard under Constitution s43
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15 July 2009 |
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Appeal allowed: conviction quashed due to contradictory evidence and improperly admitted medical report under s180 CP&EC.
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Criminal Law
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Evidence — Expert medical report — Admissibility and compliance with s180(1) and s180(3) Criminal Procedure & Evidence Code
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Proof — Inconsistencies in prosecution witnesses — Reasonable doubt and requirement to prove assault occasioning actual bodily harm (s254 Penal Code)
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12 July 2009 |
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Appellate court raised unfair-dismissal compensation multiplier from 12 to 15 months, recalculating the award; costs borne by each party.
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Employment Law — Unfair Dismissal — Assessment of compensation — Use of multiplier and consideration of mitigation — Employment Act s 63(4)
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Civil Procedure — Appellate Review — Interference with discretionary assessment — Only where guiding legal principles not followed
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8 July 2009 |
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Court reviewed a defective bail bond, refused excessive bail request, and set a reasonable bond with conditions.
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Criminal Law — Bail — Review and enlargement of bail bond — Proper procedure under Section 362 Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code, not Section 12B Corrupt Practices Act — Bail must not be excessive (ss 118(2), 121(1) CP&E)
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7 July 2009 |
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Whether withdrawing an allocated plot without proper notice, reasons and hearing violated constitutional administrative justice.
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Administrative Law —
Judicial Review
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Procedural fairness; right to written reasons and hearing under Section 43(b) of the Constitution — Adequacy of reasons and notice
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Wednesbury unreasonableness — Short grace period and summary reallocation without hearing
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Property/Land Law — Expropriation v Re‑entry — Whether withdrawal amounted to expropriation under Section 44(4) or lawful re‑entry for breach — Land Act principles
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6 July 2009 |
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Court adjusted property split, quashed unsupported compensation, confirmed custody and ordered husband to build wife a customary house.
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Family Law
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Matrimonial Property — Joint ownership and division where spouse directly or indirectly contributes to construction of house
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Custody — Best interests and welfare of children justify awarding custody to primary carer
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Customary Law — Husband’s obligation to build wife a house — Obligation can subsist after divorce; enforceable by court order
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6 July 2009 |
| June 2009 |
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Court varied consent judgment payment terms, ordering an immediate payment then K30,000 monthly, and awarded costs to the plaintiff.
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Civil Procedure — Consent Judgment — Variation of mode of payment — Court’s discretion to vary payment terms and considerations — Courts Act s 11
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28 June 2009 |
| May 2009 |
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Electoral Commission lawfully excluded applicant under constitutional two‑term limit; no breach of procedural or political rights.
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Constitutional Law — Elections — Presidential term limits — Interpretation of s 83(3): ‘maximum of two consecutive terms’ and non‑term service not counted as a term
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Administrative Law — Procedural fairness — Right to be heard — No implied prior hearing where statute (PPEA) provides post‑decision remedies and no legitimate expectation established
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15 May 2009 |
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Whether rejected presidential nominees have internal remedies under the PPEA and when judicial review is appropriate.
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Constitutional law — Electoral law — Remedy for rejected presidential nominee — Applicability of Division 2 provisions (ss 37–39, 49(3)) to presidential nominations (PPEA)
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Civil procedure — Judicial review — Whether leave should be discharged where alternative remedies exist or were effectively removed by electoral calendar changes
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Electoral law — Withdrawal and mootness — Whether supporting another candidate renders eligibility challenge moot; Section 52 limited to validly nominated candidates
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7 May 2009 |
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Court dismissed the divorce petition for want of prosecution due to inordinate delay and lack of proof of service; interlocutory applications dismissed too.
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Family law — Divorce — Delay and want of prosecution — Validity and service of originating petition — Interlocutory applications dependent on main action — Transfer to Magistrates’ Court; jurisdictional limits (s.39(2)(e) Courts Act) — Dismissal includes ancillary applications — Costs: each party to bear own costs.
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6 May 2009 |
| April 2009 |
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A stay pending appeal requires clear evidence that judgment repayment is impossible; government financial strain alone is insufficient.
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Civil procedure — Stay of execution pending appeal — Applicant must show good reason, typically a real prospect that judgment money will be irrecoverable — Bare assertions of debtor insolvency or governmental revenue shortfalls insufficient — Budgeted payments and loans do not, without evidence, justify depriving successful litigant of judgment funds.
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30 April 2009 |
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Admission of cruelty entitled the wife to compensation and house-building funds; no child maintenance ordered due to disputed paternity.
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Family Law
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Divorce — Cruelty — Effect of admission of cruelty on proof requirements
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Matrimonial Property — Customary obligation to provide a house — Monetary compensation in lieu of house
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Child Maintenance — Paternity dispute and insufficiency of evidence
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23 April 2009 |
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Court awarded K80,000 to appellant for fault and house-building under customary law; denied child maintenance for lack of clear evidence.
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Family Law
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Divorce — Cruelty as ground for dissolution and entitlement to compensation
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Matrimonial Property — Customary-law obligation of husband to provide a house; monetary compensation in lieu
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Property Distribution — Court’s redistribution of household property should follow a party’s application and not be done suo motu
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23 April 2009 |
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Court refused the applicant's interim injunction, finding damages adequate and balance of convenience favoured the respondents.
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Civil Procedure — Interim Injunctions — Application of American Cyanamid principles: serious issue to be tried — Adequacy of damages — Balance of convenience
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23 April 2009 |
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Accused convicted of manslaughter for unlawfully stabbing the deceased during a fight; provocation and self‑defence rejected.
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Criminal Law
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Homicide — Manslaughter — Unlawful stabbing causing death during a street fight
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Defences — Provocation and Self‑defence — Requirements for mitigation or justification; excessive force
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21 April 2009 |
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Accused convicted of murder where stabbing, flight and disposal of property established unlawfulness and malice aforethought.
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Criminal Law — Murder — Elements: causation, unlawfulness and malice aforethought — Self-defence and provocation considered — Penal Code ss 209, 212
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21 April 2009 |
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Court upheld convictions despite reliance on uncorroborated accomplice testimony tying accused to traced stolen property.
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Criminal Law — Evidence — Accomplice (co‑accused) testimony — Conviction on uncorroborated evidence where court exercises caution and is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt
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Criminal Procedure — Identification — Complainant unable to identify assailants at scene — Identification parade unnecessary where it would yield nothing and independent tracing evidence exists
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Sentencing — Armed Robbery — Firearms used and substantial property taken — Six years’ imprisonment may be lenient but not necessarily subject to enhancement
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21 April 2009 |
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Court granted decree nisi after finding cruelty by the respondent and adultery by the petitioner; shared custody endorsed.
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Family Law
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Divorce
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Cruelty — Mental cruelty by repeated demeaning conduct and causing depression
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Adultery — Cohabitation and overnight stays establishing adultery (inclination coupled with opportunity)
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Custody — Endorsement of parties’ agreed shared custody arrangement as being in child’s best interests
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16 April 2009 |
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Tort claim for false imprisonment succeeded; exemplary damages awarded for unjustified handcuffing and humiliation.
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Tort
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False Imprisonment — Detention and handcuffing without reasonable grounds
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Damages — Exemplary damages for humiliation and overzealous conduct
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15 April 2009 |
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Whether a written, witnessed partnership agreement was valid and enforceable and not time‑barred.
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Partnership law — Formation and validity — Whether a handwritten, witnessed partnership agreement created an enforceable partnership — Evidence and credibility
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Civil procedure — Limitation — Whether the claim was statute‑barred where the last payment was in June 1990 and suit commenced June 1993
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15 April 2009 |
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Vacant possession refused where action was improperly commenced and material disputes of fact precluded resolution on affidavits.
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Civil Procedure
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Mortgage actions (Order 88 RSC) — Proper commencement of action by writ or originating summons
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Summary proceedings vs trial — Suitability of affidavits where material disputes of fact exist
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Property/Mortgage Law — Power of sale and prior irregularities — Effect of interlocutory orders and unresolved appeals on possession applications
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14 April 2009 |
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High Court upheld most property findings but set aside order to sell and equally divide houses and car pending further submissions.
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Family Law — Matrimonial Property — Distribution — Whether sale and equal division of real property and vehicle appropriate absent clear evidence of joint ownership, contribution or intention
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14 April 2009 |
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Court set aside placement with grandmother and awarded custody to the applicant, affirming parental rights and child's best interests.
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Family Law —
Child Custody
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Whether custody may be placed with a grandparent rather than a parent — Best interests of the child and parental rights — Constitution s 23(3)
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Parental wishes as a factor in custody decisions — Requirement to consider totality of materials and give due weight to parents' wishes
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14 April 2009 |
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Rescission and damages failed where plaintiff did not prove inducement by an allegedly misleading valuation report.
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Contract Law — Misrepresentation — Inducement and reliance on pre-contractual statement — Relevance of dated valuation report to subsequent sale
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Evidence — Documentary and witness credibility — Use of timing and contemporaneous documents (offer/acceptance) to determine inducement
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5 April 2009 |
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A police officer’s unlawful rifle shot during a pursuit caused three manslaughters; colleagues acquitted.
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Criminal Law
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Manslaughter — Unlawful use of firearms by police; compliance with Police Act s.30 and international standards
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Joint enterprise and aiding and abetting — Presence at the scene insufficient; prosecution must prove active participation or willful encouragement
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Criminal Procedure — Amicus Curiae — Admission of Malawi Human Rights Commission to assist on human‑rights and use‑of‑force issues
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1 April 2009 |
| March 2009 |
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Certificates of taxation remain but may be re‑opened or set aside under Order 62; each party to bear its own costs.
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Civil Procedure
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Taxation of Costs — Validity and review of certificates of taxation — Order 62 r 35; Order 62 r 34(4); Order 62 r 22
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Authority of Counsel — Representation without express instruction or indemnity — Consequences for steps taken prior to regular instruction
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30 March 2009 |
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Customary marriage dissolved for mutual cruelty; father ordered to provide house, mother given custody.
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Family Law
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Customary Marriage — Cruelty as ground for dissolution — Irretrievable breakdown established
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Child Custody — Welfare paramount — Mother awarded custody with father's reasonable access and maintenance obligation
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Matrimonial Property — Duty to provide house under customary marriage — Court orders husband to build house within reasonable time and stays sale of premises
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24 March 2009 |
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Procedure for challenging taxation and correct measure of damages for demolished property in a trespass/tort case.
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Civil Procedure — Taxation of Costs — Proper procedure to challenge taxing officer’s decision under Order 62 rules 33 and 35
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Evidence — Valuation Evidence — Acceptance of governmental valuations for trees and land rentals absent rebuttal
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Damages (Tort) — Measure of Damages for Demolished Property — Value at destruction versus cost when repairs can reasonably be undertaken
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22 March 2009 |