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Title
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Date
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A raped minor’s denial of abortion breached reproductive rights; law and guidelines require considering mental-health grounds for termination.
Gender Equality Act – right to sexual and reproductive health; Penal Code s243 – preservation of life includes mental health; vicarious liability of employer; duty to impart information; Minister’s duty to provide clear clinical guidance; Human Rights Commission enforcement obligations; access to lawful abortion for minors impregnated by sexual violence.
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Judgment |
28 October 2025 |
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Court denied the applicant’s request to relocate three children to Canada as contrary to their best interests.
Child relocation – best interests of the child; parental capacity and financial stability; continuity and family relationships; compliance with Malawi dual-citizenship law; unilateral registration of minor’s foreign citizenship.
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Judgment |
14 March 2025 |
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Respondent awarded 50% shares in matrimonial assets due to non‑monetary contributions and equality‑as‑equity principle.
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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Judgment |
11 March 2025 |
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High Court reviewed and set aside subordinate custody order, awarding primary custody to the breastfeeding mother and ordering medical and social assessments.
Family law – Custody – Best interests of the child – Infant breastfeeding as paramount consideration – High Court supervisory review under Section 26 Courts Act – Quashing subordinate court custody order – Orders for medical and social welfare assessments.
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Judgment |
22 January 2025 |
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No prima facie case: causation and trafficking (abuse of law/purpose) not proved; confessions limited in weight.
Criminal law — Prima facie case — Manslaughter (unlawful act/gross negligence) — Causation — Admissibility and weight of caution statements (s.176 CP&EC) — Trafficking in persons — Elements: act, means ("abuse of law"), purpose (exploitation) — Circumstantial evidence and identification parade reliability.
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Judgment |
19 June 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.
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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Judgment |
18 April 2024 |
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Appellant’s convictions for grievous harm and malicious damage quashed for insufficient evidence; alternative conviction impermissible under precedent.
Criminal law — Grievous bodily harm — High threshold for ‘grievous harm’ under section 4/238 — Medical evidence not always mandatory but here insufficient; Malicious damage — proof of wilful or reckless damage required and absence of exhibit fatal; Alternative verdicts — courts may not substitute lesser offences where State chose charge (Namatav v Republic); Self‑defence and provocation — disproportional response defeats self‑defence, provocation not available to reduce non‑murder offences; Sentencing — original sentences excessive.
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Judgment |
25 March 2024 |
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Claims for false imprisonment, defamation and malicious prosecution failed; conversion established only as to retained office chattels, not the claimed money.
False imprisonment – distinction between reporting a crime and laying charges; Malicious prosecution – must prove prosecution by defendant, favourable termination, lack of reasonable cause and malice; Conversion – wrongful retention of chattels and denial of access; Pleadings – evidence inconsistent with pleadings may be rejected; Civil standard of proof – balance of probabilities.
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Judgment |
19 March 2024 |
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Appellate court found the purported will invalid, held customary law must be proved under section 64, and restored land to the appellant and siblings.
Succession and customary land – validity of will under DEWIPA – DEWIPA prevails over customary law on inheritance – customary law is a question of fact requiring proof under section 64 Courts Act – proof required before land can be treated as attached to chieftaincy – Magistrate court jurisdiction and remedies for property loss.
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Judgment |
18 March 2024 |
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Whether the respondent is liable to maintain the children and the appropriate financial and material maintenance order.
Child maintenance – liability to maintain children – assessment under Child Care Protection and Justice Act s.10 – orders for monetary upkeep, school fees, clothing, medical bills, rent contribution, vehicle provision – duration sv. s.15/s.16 – best interests of the child.
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Judgment |
4 October 2022 |
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Judgment |
11 July 2022 |
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Divorce granted for cruelty (denial of conjugal rights); adultery unproven; custody to mother; maintenance and property orders made.
Choice of law – MDFRA v
Divorce Act; Jurisdiction – domicile and subject matter; Matrimonial grounds – desertion, cruelty (denial of conjugal rights) and adultery; Evidence – hearsay and authentication of electronic messages; Child welfare – custody and access; Maintenance and property division; Damages for adultery and statutory gender discrimination; Costs in matrimonial proceedings
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Judgment |
8 July 2022 |
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Leave for judicial review refused where no recorded hospital decision, no medical evidence under s.243, and alternative remedies available.
Administrative law – leave to apply for judicial review – necessity of a recorded public decision; Abortion law – section 243 Penal Code exception for operations to preserve mother's life; Alternative remedies – criminal prosecution and child maintenance bars to review; Wednesbury unreasonableness; Onus on applicant to produce medical evidence.
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Judgment |
15 June 2021 |
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Court increased sentence for defilement of a four‑year‑old from 10 to 45 years, stressing gravity and need for deterrence.
Criminal law – Defilement of a child – Sentence enhancement – Starting point 14 years – Aggravating factors: victim age (4 years), physical injury, psychosocial harm – Need for routine psychological assessment of child victims.
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Judgment |
19 April 2021 |
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Court limited property division to jointly held assets, recorded joint custody of the younger child, and ordered K300,000 monthly maintenance.
Family law – dissolution of marriage – ancillary relief – distribution of matrimonial property – only jointly held property or property with proven joint contribution is distributable; intention, conduct and contribution are decisive; inherited property excluded
Custody – joint custody of younger child recorded; no order for non‑issue older child
Maintenance – court fixes monthly maintenance at K300,000
Valuation – improvements to family business to be valued and split
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Judgment |
23 September 2020 |
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Court granted interim access to home and belongings, ordered temporary accommodation and a vehicle, and maintained interim custody with specified visitation.
Family law – Interim relief in divorce proceedings – Matrimonial home, disputed tenancy and interim occupation; Interim accommodation orders; Interim possession of belongings; Interim vehicle provision pending ownership determination; Child custody – best interests principle, need for social report and child interviews; Visitation rights; Parties to communicate via legal representatives; Costs in the cause.
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Judgment |
26 November 2018 |
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Respondent awarded custody after court found petitioner’s parental alienation harmed the children’s welfare; petitioner granted fortnightly visitation.
Child custody – Best interests and welfare of the child paramount – Children's views considered in context – Parental alienation: identification, remedy and speedy robust court response – Restoration/maintenance of parent-child relationship – Restriction on further applications without leave – Review of related criminal intimidation proceedings.
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Judgment |
7 September 2018 |
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Appellate court set aside sale of matrimonial houses, awarded them to the appellant, remitted child maintenance assessment, and affirmed compensation.
Customary marriage dissolution – matrimonial property – fair disposition of property to spouse with custody of children; remittal for maintenance assessment; affirmation of compensation award.
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Judgment |
22 June 2018 |
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Division of matrimonial property: assets acquired during marriage are joint; sales and proceeds divided considering contributions and child custody.
Family law – Distribution of matrimonial property – Assets acquired or improved during marriage form joint/matrimonial property; considerations: contribution, custody, income; sale and division of proceeds; allocation of movables; sale via Registrar due to animosity.
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Judgment |
30 October 2017 |
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High Court has jurisdiction to distribute intestate estates; absent proven special circumstances, spouse and children receive adjusted fair shares (29%, 29%, 32%, 5%, 5%).
Probate/Intestate succession – High Court jurisdiction under Deceased Estates Act – s.17 fair distribution principles – "special circumstances" to depart from equal shares – weight of intestate's terminal-benefits allocation and proof of spousal/third-party contributions – consideration of children's ages and parents' medical needs.
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Judgment |
15 March 2017 |
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Defective, equivocal plea and insufficient evidence under section 192; conviction and sentence set aside.
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Judgment |
19 January 2016 |
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Court varied property award to recognise non-financial contributions, upheld instalment payment for village house, and maintained children’s maintenance order.
Family law — Divorce and ancillary orders — Fair distribution of matrimonial property — recognition of non-financial contributions; maintenance orders — assessment by reference to payer’s means and children’s best interests; instalment payments justified where payer lacks means; appellate review limited without fresh evidence.
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Judgment |
20 May 2015 |