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Citation
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Judgment date
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| November 2018 |
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Constructive dismissal requires resignation or notice; appellant awarded salary arrears for working-leave period but not damages or other allowances.
Employment law – constructive dismissal – employee must resign or give notice to claim constructive dismissal; transfer and working-leave disputes; entitlement to salary arrears while on working leave; proof required for contractual allowances and damages; limitation defence must be pleaded or is waived.
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29 November 2018 |
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A party likely to be affected by reissued exploration rights ought to be joined under Order 14/5(1) HCR.
Procedure — Joinder of parties — Order 14/5(1) HCR and Order 15/4(1) RSC — person entitled to or claiming interest in the subject matter or likely to be affected — ministerial cancellation and reissuance of petroleum exploration licence — discretion to join aimed at effective adjudication — distinction from Abel Mulenga.
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28 November 2018 |
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Whether a registered debenture secured a later US$ facility and whether restructuring and charges after default were lawful.
Contract and security — Mortgage debenture as continuing security for future disbursements; discharge by third-party payment limited to specific title; restructuring of loan/lease agreements after default; entitlement to finance and rental charges on restructured accounts; liability for rentals on damaged assets absent insurer proof; appellate standard — balance of probabilities and deference to trial judge's factual findings.
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26 November 2018 |
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Circumstantial evidence and post-mortem findings established guilt; appeal against conviction and sentence dismissed.
Criminal law – circumstantial evidence – sufficiency to exclude reasonable doubt; post-mortem evidence and failure to call pathologist; inference of guilt from concealment and bound body.
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22 November 2018 |
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A conditional statutory appointment subject to ministerial approval does not create a binding contract until approval is given.
Statutory condition precedent — ministerial approval for appointments; conditional appointments and contract formation; rescission of conditional appointment; estoppel by representation not available where statutory approval required; administrative duty of appointing board to present single nominee.
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22 November 2018 |
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The respondent’s post-trial mineral licence was excluded as irrelevant to the appeal on injunction and full disclosure.
Civil procedure – Admission of new evidence on appeal – Section 24(1)(b)(i) Court of Appeal Act – Test: obtainability with diligence, credibility, material influence (Zambia Revenue Authority v Hi-tech) – Post-trial mineral licence held irrelevant to appeal on injunction and disclosure – Injunctive relief against statutory planning authority.
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21 November 2018 |
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Force used after the theft to flee did not satisfy aggravated robbery; convictions substituted to assault and burglary.
Criminal law – Aggravated robbery – contemporaneity and purpose of force – force used to flee not to obtain/retain – substitution under s.181(2) Criminal Procedure Code to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and burglary.
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20 November 2018 |
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A brutal murder despite failed provocation can justify life imprisonment despite the appellant being a first offender.
Criminal law – Murder with extenuating circumstances – Failed provocation – Sentencing principles – Life imprisonment – Aggravating brutality – Causation: stab wounds to septicemia
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20 November 2018 |
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Circumstantial evidence found sufficiently cogent to uphold murder conviction; infanticide and procedural complaints failed.
Criminal law – Circumstantial evidence – Sufficiency and cogency of cumulative strands; Murder (s.204) vs. Infanticide (s.203); voluntariness of confession and police investigative omissions
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20 November 2018 |
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Whether the trial court exercised its discretion judicially under section 129 in refusing forfeiture of the appellant's vehicle.
Environmental Management Act s129(1) – Forfeiture of vehicles used in offences – Scope and limits of judicial discretion; requirement to give reasons; appellate review for capricious exercise of discretion; Penal Code s28(d) – limits on default custodial terms.
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20 November 2018 |
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Earlier explanation of the statutory proviso sufficed; conviction upheld on overwhelming evidence.
Criminal law — Defilement (s138(1) Penal Code) — Proviso (reasonable belief as to age) — Requirement to explain proviso — Confession and medical corroboration — Adequacy of trial judgment (s169 Criminal Procedure Code).
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20 November 2018 |
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Appeal against murder conviction dismissed; provocation defence not established and asserted condom‑claim was an afterthought.
Criminal law — Murder — Defence of provocation — Elements required under Sections 205 and 206 Penal Code — provocative act, loss of self‑control, proportionality — reasonable person test — afterthought defence inadmissible.
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20 November 2018 |
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Whether correspondence or conduct can restart the six-year limitation period or estop a defendant from pleading time-bar.
'Limitation of Actions' – six-year period under section 2(1)(a); 'Fresh accrual' – sections 23 and 24 require a clear written acknowledgement or part payment; 'Without prejudice' correspondence inadmissible as acknowledgement; 'Negotiations' do not stop limitation; 'Acquiescence/Estoppel' requires clear conduct inducing delay.
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1 November 2018 |