Results.
24 judgments found.
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| September 2021 |
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The claimant's interlocutory injunction was upheld: serious questions existed, damages were inadequate, and procedural noncompliance was not fatal.
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Interlocutory injunction — American Cyanamid test — serious question to be tried — damages inadequate — balance of convenience — abuse of process and procedural non‑compliance not fatal.
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29 September 2021 |
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28 September 2021 |
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28 September 2021 |
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Malicious prosecution claim succeeds due to lack of probable cause; cruel and degrading treatment claim fails for lack of evidence.
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Malicious prosecution — absence of reasonable and probable cause and malice; evidentiary shortcomings (missing medical witness, weak identification) vitiating probable cause — Claim for cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment requires specific evidence and particulars; quantum to be assessed by Registrar.
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24 September 2021 |
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24 September 2021 |
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24 September 2021 |
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Earlier-registered title prevails; state must indemnify innocent purchaser where Land Register error misled them.
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Land law — registered title priority — qui prior est tempore potior est iure — duplicate/erroneous title deeds — rectification of Land Register — state indemnity for registry errors (Registered Land Act s.140) — innocent purchaser — trespass.
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23 September 2021 |
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Claimant’s workplace personal-injury suit was time-barred; acknowledgment provisions for land/debt do not revive personal-injury claims.
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Limitation of actions — personal injury/negligence — three-year limitation under Limitation Act proviso; sections 22–23 (acknowledgement/part payment) do not revive personal injury claims; Workers Compensation Act — 12‑month limitation for workers’ compensation; unproven casual-worker allegation.
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22 September 2021 |
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Whether customary succession and chiefs' determinations establish the rightful heir to the chieftaincy.
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Chiefs Act s.4 — customary succession — Chewa matrilineal succession — consensus of chiefs and elders — weight of commissions of enquiry and chiefs' reports — challenge to presidential appointment of a chief.
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22 September 2021 |
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22 September 2021 |
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22 September 2021 |
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Assessment of personal injury damages: inadequate proof of lost earnings/special damages; consolidated award of MK 4,950,000.
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Personal injury — assessment of damages — pain and suffering; loss of amenities; disfigurement; insufficient proof of loss of earnings and special damages; single consolidated award to avoid overcompensation.
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22 September 2021 |
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Malicious prosecution claim succeeds; false imprisonment, unlawful detention and defamation claims dismissed; costs shared.
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Criminal procedure and civil liability — malicious prosecution — absence of reasonable and probable cause and malice; false imprisonment — liability where police conduct own investigations; unlawful detention — proof required of court appearance/remand within 48 hours; defamation — necessity to plead and prove exact words and publication; costs — discretionary.
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21 September 2021 |
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Assessment of damages for multiple passengers injured in a motor vehicle accident, awarding MK23,530,000 and taxed costs.
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Personal injury — Assessment of damages — Restitutio in integrum — Use of comparable awards — Proof of disfigurement — Special damages strict proof — Assessment in absence of defendant (service proved).
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20 September 2021 |
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Applicant failed to show good cause or explain an eight-month delay; leave to appeal out of time was refused.
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Criminal procedure — leave to appeal out of time — s.349(4) Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code — requirement to show sufficient cause, bona fides and diligence — discretion to condone delay only where adequate explanation and steps taken.
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17 September 2021 |
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Standard-basis taxation reduced an inflated costs bill to K4,520,440.00, stressing proportionality and required supporting documents.
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Costs taxation — standard basis assessment — proportionality and reasonableness — Legal Practitioners’ hourly rates (K40,000/hr for senior counsel) — requirement to attach assessment bundle — trimming exaggerated or unsupported bill items.
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14 September 2021 |
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The applicant failed to prove the respondent’s negligence or causation for the fire; claim dismissed.
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Negligence — causation in electrical fire claims; res ipsa loquitur — burden to exclude internal causes; electricity supply contracts — liability ends at metering point; necessity of expert evidence in electrical fire causation.
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10 September 2021 |
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Confirmation court increases burglary sentence for premeditated, large-scale theft and notes failure to amend/add charge under section 254.
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Criminal procedure — failure to amend charges before section 254 compliance; Penal Code — burglary (s.309(a)) and breaking into building committing felony (s.311); sentencing — appropriate starting point and enhancement for premeditation and magnitude.
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10 September 2021 |
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Court confirmed five‑year burglary sentence, finding magistrate properly balanced aggravating and mitigating factors.
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Criminal law — Burglary and theft — Sentencing — Confirmation review under section 15 — Guideline starting point for burglary (six years) — Mitigating factors: youth, first offender, unlocked entry, no damage — Sentence confirmed.
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10 September 2021 |
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High Court confirms twelve-year sentence for defilement of a 13-year-old, declining to enhance sentence.
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Criminal law — Defilement — Sentence confirmation and review — Whether sentence manifestly excessive or inadequate — Sentencing factors: age of victim and offender, inducement, psychological harm — High Court intervention limited.
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10 September 2021 |
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Accused convicted for corruptly offering money to judges to influence an election petition; alternative counts dismissed.
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Corrupt Practices Act — offering advantage to public officers (s24(2)) — admissibility and weight of audio/WhatsApp evidence — circumstantial evidence and intent — alternative attempt/inducement counts fall away on conviction of substantive offence.
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10 September 2021 |
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Claimants succeed on false imprisonment and costs; malicious prosecution fails for reasonable cause; loss of earnings referred to industrial court.
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False imprisonment — defendant’s agent handed claimants to police — liability; Malicious prosecution — requirement of absence of reasonable and probable cause and malice; CCTV and investigative evidence as basis for reasonable cause; Referral of loss of earnings/unfair dismissal claims to Industrial Relations Court; Costs awarded where defendant failed to challenge uncontested evidence.
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6 September 2021 |
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Court confirmed a three-year sentence for grievous bodily harm by hot-iron burns, weighing injury severity against guilty plea and first-offender status.
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Criminal law — act intended to cause grievous bodily harm — sentence confirmation — assessment of appropriate sentence — factors: severity of injuries, guilty plea, first offender status, comparative authorities — incomplete medical evidence.
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6 September 2021 |
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Default judgment set aside because defendant showed a bona fide defence, subject to costs, filing a defence, and mediation conditions.
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Civil procedure — Setting aside default judgment — Delay — Defence on merits — Conditional setting aside — Costs as condition — Requirement to file defence and mediation timetable.
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5 September 2021 |