Court of Appeal of Zambia - 2019 April

28 judgments
Skip past years
Skip past months
Skip to results

Results. 28 judgments found.

28 judgments
April 2019
Whether claims on behalf of an estate are statute-barred and whether alleged fraudulent concealment tolled limitation.
  • Limitation Act s.20 — application to claims in respect of personal estate (including actions on behalf of an estate); Limitation Act s.26(b) — fraudulent concealment requires exclusive concealment and proof; administrators’ duty of reasonable diligence; preliminary plea of limitation may be raised at any stage; ex turpi causa not applicable.
29 April 2019
Joinder to an appeal was refused as premature where the appeal challenges dismissal on a point of law; joinder left to trial court.
  • Joinder — land actions — Order 15 Rule 3 — joinder of person in possession — joinder after judgment — premature joinder where appeal challenges dismissal on point of law — res judicata and limitation issues inappropriate to determine on joinder application at appellate stage.
26 April 2019
Registry delay in typing the transcript justified extension; appeal not dismissed for want of prosecution.
  • Court of Appeal Rules — dismissal for want of prosecution; extension of time under Order 13(3); registry delay in typing transcript; competence of leave application; matters decided on merits.
26 April 2019
Whether the appellant’s provocation or extenuation arguments reduced culpability was rejected; conviction and sentence upheld.
  • Criminal law — murder — defence of provocation — elements: act of provocation, sudden loss of self-control, proportionate retaliation — cumulative provocation — appellate deference to trial judge’s findings on witness demeanour — failed provocation and extenuating circumstances.
26 April 2019
Appeal allowed: no malicious prosecution, false imprisonment or defamation where neighbourhood watch arrested respondents and probable cause existed.
  • Agency — arrest by neighbourhood watch; Malicious prosecution — reasonable and probable cause; Malice; Civil standard of proof vs criminal acquittal; False imprisonment — justification for temporary restraint; Defamation — failure to prove publication/damage.
26 April 2019
Appeal allowed: no malicious prosecution, false imprisonment or defamation — reasonable and probable cause and justified verification.
  • Tort — malicious prosecution: reasonable and probable cause; civil burden versus criminal standard; false imprisonment — justification for temporary restraint pending verification; defamation — proof of communication, malice and damage; arrest by third parties (neighbourhood watch) v employer's agents.
26 April 2019
Whether a Notice and Memorandum of Appeal are filed in the High Court registry and effect on dismissal for want of prosecution.
  • Civil procedure — Appeals — Filing of Notice and Memorandum of Appeal — Meaning of 'Registrar' in Order X — Filing occurs in High Court registry; summons to dismiss for want of prosecution — timing and prematurity; extension of time to file record of appeal — requirement for leave when application made outside prescribed 21 days.
25 April 2019
Appeal relisted for rehearing due to service confusion and respondent’s absence; filing timetable ordered, costs to abide outcome.
  • Civil procedure — application to re-hear appeal for non-appearance — reasonable excuse — inherent jurisdiction and Article 118(2)(e) Constitution — service of record and heads of argument — relisting to hear on merits.
25 April 2019
Customary land purchases attract constructive notice; bona fide purchaser defence unavailable against prior legal customary rights; appeal dismissed.
  • Land law — Customary land and conversion to leasehold; bona fide purchaser for value without notice — inapplicable against prior legal interests in customary land; constructive notice and duty to inquire when purchasing customary land; exclusion of electronic recordings where parties agreed affidavit-only proceedings; conversion and registration obtained to defeat unregistered customary interests may be fraudulent.
25 April 2019
Lease-like oral agreement required written memorandum under the Statute; trial court wrongly failed to consider part performance exception.
  • Statute of Frauds 1677 — section 4 — leases and dispositions of interests in land — requirement for written memorandum; adequacy of emails as memorandum; doctrine of part performance as equitable exception; summary dismissal where triable issues exist.
25 April 2019
Dismissal for want of prosecution upheld where applicant failed to prove inordinate delay in filing the record of appeal.
  • Civil procedure — dismissal for want of prosecution — inordinate delay in filing Record of Appeal — Court of Appeal Rules (Order X r.6, Order XIII r.3) — requirement to prove reasons for non‑compliance — prejudice to respondent — limitation on excusing procedural default; precedent applied.
25 April 2019
Whether weak identification and lack of identification parades undermine convictions, and when ballistic evidence and recent possession justify conviction.
  • Criminal law — identification evidence — necessity for caution where witnesses first see assailants under stress and no identification parade is held; recent possession of stolen property — alternative inferences and guilty-receiver principle; forensic ballistic evidence — corroboration of identification and linkage of firearm to murder; mens rea for third-party firearm owner — absence of proof of knowledge or participation.
24 April 2019
Summary dismissal precludes payment in lieu; deduction for proven dishonest conduct lawful; SI No.2/2011 not applicable to the appellant.
  • Employment law — summary dismissal — entitlement to payment in lieu of notice; Deductions from terminal benefits — applicability of s.45 protections; Statutory Instrument No.2 of 2011 — scope and non-applicability to supervisory/management roles; overtime and public-holiday pay claims; unfair dismissal procedure.
24 April 2019
An admission to a non-authority and corroborative evidence can sustain a murder conviction; provocation not established.
  • Criminal law — admissibility of out-of-court statements to private persons — hearsay rule; confessions — application of Judge’s Rules to admissions to non-authority; evaluation of inconsistencies in witness statements; provocation as extenuation in murder sentencing.
24 April 2019
24 April 2019
Whether identification and possession evidence proved aggravated robbery and whether attempted murder was a separate offence.
  • Criminal law — Identification evidence (scene and parade) — standards for testing identification; Corroboration — recent possession of stolen property; Criminal procedure — requirements for a reasoned judgment under s.169 CPC; Multiplicity of charges — attempted murder as ingredient of aggravated robbery.
23 April 2019
A non-qualified person lacks locus standi to claim legal collection fees under Statutory Instrument No. 8 of 2001.
  • Legal Practitioners — Statutory Instrument No.8 of 2001 — collection commission — applicability only to qualified legal practitioners — locus standi — threshold determination in limine.
18 April 2019
Statutory appeal route for mining licence cancellations ousts writ jurisdiction; proceedings and injunction were declared a nullity.
  • Mining law — Jurisdiction — Statutory appeal to Minister and High Court under Mines and Minerals Development Act — Mode of commencement — Writ instead of appeal — Proceedings nullity; interlocutory injunctions require expeditious determination.
18 April 2019
Leave to appeal granted because pension-law retirement dispute raises public importance and broad interest despite no novel legal question.
  • Leave to appeal — Court of Appeal Act s13 — grant of leave where question of public importance or compelling reason; retirement age — National Pension Scheme (Amendment) Act 2015 — applicability to pre-amendment members; accrued rights and sanctity of contract; unjust enrichment; costs.
12 April 2019
Absence without leave terminated full‑time employment; part‑time fixed‑term status precluded entitlement to SID Policy terminal benefits.
  • Employment law — abandonment/absence without leave — effect on continuity of contract; part‑time fixed‑term engagement v. full‑time employment — entitlement to policy benefits; terminal benefits and statutory payment obligations; interest and failure to comply with clearance formalities.
12 April 2019
Absconding without leave justified dismissal; part-time fixed-term employment did not attract full-time terminal benefits.
  • Employment law — Absconding/unauthorised absence — Lawful termination; Fixed-term/part-time contracts — Inapplicability of full-time employer policy to part-time staff; Terminal benefits and interest claims; Appellate review of factual findings.
12 April 2019
A stay of execution collapses where the underlying application for leave to appeal has been dismissed.
  • Civil procedure — Stay of execution pending leave to appeal — Application for leave to Supreme Court dismissed — Dependent stay application dismissed.
12 April 2019
Court allowed a 10-day extension to appeal, finding short delay and corporate decision-making justified the extension.
  • Civil procedure — extension of time to appeal — Order 10/3(3) CAR — short delay not inordinate — corporate decision-making and awaiting legal opinion as sufficient reasons — exercise of unfettered, flexible discretion.
9 April 2019
A High Court lacks jurisdiction where declarations and specific performance are sought in proceedings wrongly commenced by originating motion.
  • Civil procedure — mode of commencement — originating summons/notice of motion versus writ of summons — jurisdiction — specific performance and declarations — removal of caveat — wrongly commenced proceedings are a nullity.
5 April 2019
Single-witness identification corroborated by recent possession supports conviction where alibi is unsubstantiated.
  • Criminal law — identification evidence — single identifying witness — reliability and Turnbull caution; failure to describe assailants to police; alibi — requirement for corroboration and verifiable details; recent possession of stolen property as evidence supporting guilt.
3 April 2019
Appeal dismissed: mesne profits properly assessed following superior courts’ determination; assessment not a re‑hearing and did not amount to unjust enrichment.
  • Property law — mesne profits — entitlement after expiry of legal right to occupy — assessment of quantum by Deputy Registrar — limits of assessment (not a re‑hearing) — abuse of process in attacking prior superior court determination.
3 April 2019
Leave to appeal refused where proposed appeal lacked public importance and had no real prospects of success.
  • Civil procedure — leave to appeal — Court of Appeal refusing leave where proposed appeal lacks point of law of public importance and has no prospects of success; volenti non fit injuria — appellate review of factual findings; jurisdiction/capacity of administrator — issue not raised in lower court cannot be entertained on appeal.
3 April 2019
Subordinate court lacked jurisdiction over an estate exceeding K100,000; matter should have been referred to the High Court.
  • Intestate Succession Act — court jurisdiction in succession matters — subordinate court jurisdiction limited to estates ≤ K100,000 — judicial notice of estate value — referral to High Court under section 44 — setting aside of lower courts' judgments.
1 April 2019