All courts - 2021

470 judgments
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Results. 470 judgments found.

470 judgments
January 2021
Court upheld convictions and sentences for child abduction and defilement, finding no reasonable belief the victim was over sixteen.
  • Criminal law — defilement (s.138 Penal Code) — statutory proviso requiring reasonable belief that complainant was 16 or above — burden on accused to satisfy court; voir dire and admission of unsworn evidence for a child witness; child abduction; sentence review — appellate restraint.
14 January 2021
12 January 2021
The appellant’s 14‑year sentence for defilement was increased to 40 years; court ordered child‑welfare follow‑up and report.
  • Criminal law — Defilement (s138(1) Penal Code) — Sentencing guidelines — "Worst instances" of offence — Starting point for defilement — mitigation: guilty plea and first offender — rejection of age/life‑expectancy as substantial mitigation — ordering child welfare services and reporting.
8 January 2021
Conviction for repeated defilement of a ten-year-old confirmed; sentence increased to 40 years, emphasising worst-instance sentencing.
  • Criminal law — Defilement of a child — Sentence — Worst instances of offence — Maximum (life) reserved for most grievous cases — Aggravating factors: young victim, multiple occasions, position of trust — Mitigation: guilty plea and first offender status limited — State duty to ensure child welfare services.
8 January 2021
Defilement of a 10‑year‑old by a trusted adult is among the worst instances; 14 years increased to 40 years imprisonment.
  • Criminal law — Defilement of a child — Sentencing: gravity of multiple offences against a ten‑year‑old and breach of trust — starting point and worst instances — weight of guilty plea and first‑offender status — substitution of sentence to forty years imprisonment with hard labour — referral to child welfare for counselling/report.
8 January 2021
8 January 2021
Court affirmed aider/abettor liability as principal for defilement and increased sentence for aggravated abduction and repeated defilement of a 13‑year‑old.
  • Criminal law — Defilement (statutory) — Liability of aider/abettor under s21(1)(b),(c) — Whether separate statutory aiding offence required for sexual offences — Sentencing on review: aggravating factors (abduction, victim age, pregnancy, coercion).
8 January 2021
Court convicted two accused for murder based on corroborated admissions; two others acquitted; inquest into custodial death required.
  • Criminal law — Murder of a person with albinism — Participation and counselling under section 21 — Malice aforethought (section 212) — Burden and standard of proof — Trial court discretion under section 201(1) vis-à-vis prosecutorial strategy — Mandatory coroner’s inquest into custodial death (Inquests Act).
8 January 2021
7 January 2021
The claimant’s freezing directive extended for further investigation; defendant’s request to withdraw living expenses from frozen accounts refused.
  • Financial Crimes Act — section 23 freezing directives — extension of freezing order — scope of powers; Preservation orders — sections 107 and 108 — conditions for preservation; Living expenses — section 70 — requirement of sworn disclosure and applicability only under preservation orders.
6 January 2021
6 January 2021
6 January 2021
Interlocutory injunction refused where granting it would effectively grant the claimant full substantive relief in a land encroachment dispute.
  • Civil procedure — Interlocutory injunction — Order 10 r.27 test (serious question to be tried; adequacy of damages; justice of granting injunction) — Equitable discretion to refuse interim relief where injunction would grant claimant full substantive relief — Land dispute, alleged trespass and encroachment.
4 January 2021
4 January 2021
Interlocutory injunction granted to preserve status quo in a disputed land ownership dispute where damages are inadequate.
4 January 2021
4 January 2021
Assessment of damages for soft-tissue road injuries: MK1,600,000 awarded for general damages; special damages not strictly proved.
  • Damages assessment — personal injury from road accident — general damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenities — permanent incapacity (15%) — strict proof required for special damages — reliance on comparable awards and currency devaluation.
4 January 2021
4 January 2021
4 January 2021
Application to set aside default judgment dismissed for inordinate delay and failure to show a good reason for non‑attendance.
  • Civil procedure — Setting aside judgment entered for non‑attendance — Order 16 r.7(2)-(5) CPR — requirements of promptness, good reason and reasonable prospect of success — counsel illness and procurement delays held insufficient to justify relief.
4 January 2021