Results.
348 judgments found.
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| December 2024 |
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Consent orders are final and only challengeable by fresh action; writs of possession require a possession order and notice to occupants.
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Civil procedure — Consent orders — Finality and manner of challenge (fresh action required); Enforcement of judgments — Writ of possession requires underlying possession order and leave of court; Requirement of notice to persons in actual possession before writ issued; Protection of innocent purchasers in possession.
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31 December 2024 |
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Whether the applicant may obtain review under Order 39 absent fresh material evidence, rather than appeal the ruling.
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Civil procedure — Review under Order 39 High Court Rules — discretionary power — review generally requires discovery of fresh material evidence not discoverable with reasonable diligence — review not to be used as an appeal; Discovery and inspection — procedural requirements when applying to file supplementary documents; Failure to exhibit documents may justify refusal to grant leave to produce them; Review vs appeal — limits to re‑litigation.
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31 December 2024 |
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Whether an employee who resigned is entitled to gratuity, pension portability and accrued leave; court ordered payments and pension statements.
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Employment law — termination by resignation — interplay of contractual entitlements (pre-2019) and Employment Code (post-2019) — Section 127 Employment Code; gratuity under Section 73 — pension portability and employer duty to provide statements (Pension Scheme Regulation Act s18) — accrued leave pay — burden of proof for salary arrears — interest and costs.
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30 December 2024 |
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Applicant failed to show special circumstances and realistic, irreparable prejudice to justify a stay pending appeal.
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Civil procedure — Stay of proceedings pending appeal — applicant must show realistic prospects of success and special/exceptional circumstances; balancing prejudice to parties.
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29 December 2024 |
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No binding rental lease found; joint tenant improving property entitled to equitable allowance; sale under Partition Act upheld.
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Contract law — Formation of lease — Offer, acceptance and counter-offers determining existence of binding rental agreement
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Property law — Joint tenancy — Occupation, exclusion and equitable allowance for unilateral repairs or improvements
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Civil procedure — Partition Act s.4 — Court discretion to order sale of co-owned property
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23 December 2024 |
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Stale theft claims barred by limitation; contractual cap (ZMW 2,500) on employee‑caused losses enforced; appeals dismissed.
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Limitation of actions — accrual of cause of action for theft; Contract law — enforceability of limitation/exemption clauses; Liability for employee‑committed theft as contractual negligence; Assessment of quantum limited by contractual cap; Requirement of pleadings and proof for damages and set‑off.
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23 December 2024 |
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23 December 2024 |
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Juvenile murder convicts must be sentenced under the law at the offence time—detention during President’s pleasure, not life imprisonment.
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Criminal law — Sentencing juvenile offenders convicted of murder — Application of law at time of offence — Section 25(2) Penal Code (pre-2022): detention during President's pleasure — subsequent statutory amendments not applicable retrospectively.
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18 December 2024 |
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Applicant convicted of defilement granted bail pending appeal where court found high prospects of success and imposed conditions.
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Criminal law — Bail pending appeal — Court of Appeal Act s18(1) — Previewing prospects of success — Criteria from Anuj Kumar Rathi Krishna (likelihood of success, exceptional circumstances, risk of serving sentence) — Defilement conviction — Conditions: K10,000 recognizance, two sureties, fortnightly reporting.
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18 December 2024 |
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Flawed trial-within-trial and premature admission of confessions rendered convictions unsafe; appellants acquitted.
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Criminal procedure — admissibility of confessions — identification and production procedure — conduct of trial within a trial — prohibition on using statement contents before admissibility — burden of proof.
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18 December 2024 |
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A bona fide restructuring that diminishes the need for particular work can lawfully justify redundancy; appeal dismissed.
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Employment law — Redundancy — Section 55(1)(b) — restructuring and diminished requirement for particular work; employment pool — lawful consequence of reorganisation; notice periods — contractual terms more favourable than statute (Section 127) prevail; constructive dismissal requires resignation; victimisation claims require evidential support.
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17 December 2024 |
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Section 54 severance pay does not apply to dismissed employees and permanent/pensionable employees except in redundancy cases.
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Employment law — Severance pay — Interpretation of Section 54 Employment Code Act — Distinction between dismissal and termination — Permanent and pensionable contracts — Redundancy — Measure of damages for unfair dismissal (notice period)
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10 December 2024 |
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Possession and active involvement can render the appellant personally liable for a missing vehicle despite not being estate administrator.
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Civil law — possession and control — liability for disappearance of property — burden of proof on balance of probabilities — personal liability despite non‑appointment as estate administrator; evidential weight of conduct (inspection, instructions, offers to compensate).
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10 December 2024 |
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Payment to the tax authority was not an unequivocal admission; summary judgment was inappropriate and the appeal is dismissed.
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Civil procedure — Judgment on admission — Admission must be clear, plain and unequivocal — Payment to tax authority does not necessarily constitute admission — Judicial discretion to refuse summary judgment where liability disputed — VAT liability and reservation of rights.
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9 December 2024 |
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A demand performance bond is autonomous and payable on compliance with its terms; alleged fraud must be pleaded and proved to a high standard.
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Performance bonds — autonomy of demand guarantees — conditions for payment; Fraud — burden and particularity of proof; Demand timing and statement of breach; Distinctness of bond claims and underlying contractual claims; Unjust enrichment/set-off rejected.
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9 December 2024 |
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Court retained jurisdiction despite lapse of one year and allowed substitution of the respondent to the correct legal entity.
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Jurisdiction — Industrial and Labour Relations Act — lapse of one year does not automatically terminate court's jurisdiction where Guardall decision has been overruled; Parties — substitution/joinder after judgment — permissible to join or substitute affected parties to avoid multiplicity and ensure justice; Precedent — Citibank v. Suhayl Dudhia reversed Guardall; Procedure — courts have discretion to add or substitute parties where outcome affects them
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9 December 2024 |
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Appeal dismissed: Order 14A properly applied; fraud not proved; action barred as multiplicity/res judicata; costs awarded.
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Civil procedure — Order 14A RSC — interlocutory determination disposing of matter without full trial; Fraud vitiating judgments — high onus of proof; Multiplicity of actions/res judicata — relitigation where fraud was previously litigated; Use of criminal proceedings in civil cases — evidential material admissible but conviction outcome not usable as proof; High Court judges — equal jurisdiction; setting aside another judge’s judgment requires established fraud.
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9 December 2024 |
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9 December 2024 |
| November 2024 |
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Applicant denied equitable account: stakeholder accounted for funds; court found no duty to probe purchase price and unclean hands.
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Equity — Accounting — Scope of accounting party’s duty under Order 43/2 RSC — limited to accounting for monies received and disbursed; Privity of contract — accounting party not obliged to investigate contract price it is not party to; Equity — Clean hands doctrine bars equitable relief where applicant admits misconduct; Civil appellate review — interference with factual findings only where perverse or unsupported by evidence; Payments — bank transfers and receipts can substantiate disbursements.
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28 November 2024 |
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A fraud-based action to set aside judgment must target procurement conduct, not re-litigate merits or enforcement steps.
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Civil procedure — Setting aside judgment obtained by fraud — Jurisdiction to bring fresh action — Requirement to plead fraud with particularity — Proof of conscious and deliberate dishonesty — Fraud must be material and causally operative — Finality of judgments — Abuse of process where pleadings re-litigate merits or attack enforcement/post-judgment steps.
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28 November 2024 |
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Employer must give and substantiate valid operational reasons for termination; traumatic public dismissal attracts enhanced damages.
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Employment law — unfair dismissal; operational requirements — requirement to give and substantiate valid reasons; burden on employer; notice clause not an escape; procedural fairness and opportunity to be heard; enhanced damages for traumatic/public dismissal.
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28 November 2024 |
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Appeal dismissed: tribunal validly exercised disciplinary powers; insufficient proof of unpaid benefits.
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Employment law — disciplinary dismissal — validity and exercise of disciplinary powers — substratum of facts supporting summary dismissal where employee not caught red‑handed; burden of proof for claim of unpaid terminal benefits — contractual entitlements (salary, housing allowance, accrued leave).
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28 November 2024 |
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Propounder must dispel suspicious circumstances under Section 6; failure to do so renders a will invalid and results in intestacy.
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Wills Act (s.6) — testamentary formalities — burden on propounder to prove proper execution when suspicious circumstances arise; forgery allegations; witness credibility and non-production of attesting witness; requirement of affirmative proof (documentary/expert) to dispel suspicion.
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27 November 2024 |
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Whether statutory penalties under the mining law void cooperative mining contracts and whether a corporation can hold an artisanal licence.
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Mines and Minerals Development Act — section 12(1) breach — statutory penalties — effect on contractual enforceability; artisanal mining licence — capacity to hold (citizen/co-operative) — illegality of contract; duty of due diligence.
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21 November 2024 |
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Whether the applicant proved paternity to claim intestate succession and whether originating summons should be treated as a writ.
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Intestate succession — paternity dispute — originating summons v writ — Order 28 RSC discretion — DNA evidence as conclusive proof of parentage — presumption of parentage — burden of proof in inheritance claims.
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20 November 2024 |
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Fixed-term contract expired by effluxion of time; late non-renewal notice breached clause 12.2 but warrants only one month's salary.
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Employment law — fixed-term contract expires by effluxion of time — legitimate expectation of renewal requires employer representation or continued employment after expiry — late administrative notice breaches contract clause 12.2 but attracts normal measure of damages (one month's salary).
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20 November 2024 |
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Whether the respondent could claim commission before season end and the legal effect of payment into court on costs and interest.
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Contract — interpretation of payment clauses — clause 5.2 commission payable only after season; clause 5.1 bi‑weekly invoices based on minimum fee valid; premature claims; payment into court — effect on liability, costs and interest; assessment by Registrar; possessory lien/set‑off issues.
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20 November 2024 |
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Purchaser’s payment into agent’s personal account was a red flag; employer not vicariously liable and equitable reliefs denied.
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Agency — apparent/ostensible authority; agent acting outside scope of authority; vicarious liability — limits where third party is put on notice; suspicious mode of payment (personal account) as red flag; remedy — refusal of specific performance and vesting order where principal not liable.
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20 November 2024 |
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Claim for recovery of land held statute‑barred: accrual on dispossession and no proven concealment to postpone limitation.
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Limitation of actions — accrual of cause of action on dispossession — Limitation Act 1939 s.4(3), s.5(1), s.12; section 26 (fraud/concealment) — requirement of reasonable diligence to discover fraud — fraudulent concealment must be pleaded and proved — jurisdiction where action is statute‑barred.
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19 November 2024 |
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Assessment of lost-business (special) damages must be evidence‑based, formulaic, and may require expert valuation; erroneous assessments remitted.
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Civil procedure — assessment of special damages (lost business profits) — requirement to calculate net monthly profit from financial statements, apply correct loss period, allow for mitigation and avoided costs, and engage expert evidence; appellate interference where wrong principle, misapprehension of facts or manifestly unreasonable award.
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19 November 2024 |
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Quantum meruit allowed recovery for services performed at request despite provider being an unregistered architect.
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19 November 2024 |
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Applicant's conduct did not amount to constructive dismissal and the six-month statutory probation limit was not breached.
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Employment law — constructive dismissal — employer conduct must amount to fundamental breach; resignation must be prompt
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Employment Code Act s27(1),(5) — probationary period limited to six months
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Damages — award set aside where foundational dismissal finding unsupported
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19 November 2024 |
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Late application to file answer denied for dilatory conduct; appeal dismissed; costs order set aside.
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Industrial relations — extension of time to file an answer — dilatory and inordinate delay — discretion requires justifiable reasons (Chiragben) — party absent at hearing: court may proceed — Industrial Relations Court Rule 44 limits costs awards.
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19 November 2024 |
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An employer’s unjustified delay and failure to attend justified proceeding in its absence and dismissal of its appeal.
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Industrial relations — failure to file answer — application for leave to file out of time — dilatory conduct — discretion to extend time requires justifiable reasons — court may proceed in absence of party aware of hearing — costs in IRD constrained by Rule 44 (unreasonable delay/misconduct).
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19 November 2024 |
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Court dismissed applicant's challenge, affirming lineage primacy and Litunga's customary supervisory installation.
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19 November 2024 |
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Whether arranging collection of goods without possession can found a lien and whether such seizure amounted to trespass and conversion.
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Property law — Trespass to goods and conversion — Lien requires actual possession — Burden of proof on claimant to prove quantity/value of goods — Instalment sale and delivery.
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19 November 2024 |
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A registered certificate of title stands absent proved procedural irregularity; appellate court will not upset trial findings of fact lightly.
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Land law — Certificate of Title — Conclusiveness and cancellation under the Lands and Deeds Registry Act; Recommendations by district council versus Commissioner of Lands; Standards for disturbing trial findings of fact; Possession, eviction and damages for trespass; Evidence assessment in land disputes.
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19 November 2024 |
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Non-disclosure of vehicle registration did not vitiate the sale; an award based on an unadmitted witness statement was set aside.
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Contract law — sale and specific performance; alleged fraudulent misrepresentation by non-disclosure of asset registration; evidentiary foundation — requirement to lay predicate for documentary/testimonial evidence; special damages — need for particularisation and proof.
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19 November 2024 |
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Appeal allowed; judgment set aside in part and remitted for a fresh, balanced accounting before a different registrar.
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Agricultural charge — duty to account — adequacy of accounting and supporting vouchers — valuation of assets and crops — Registrar vs Judge jurisdiction — distinction between judgment on assessment and accounting — remittal for balanced accounting.
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19 November 2024 |
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Issuing a summons before a formal charge breaches statutory procedure and renders the proceedings a nullity.
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Criminal procedure — sections 90(4) & 91(1) CPC — formal charge must be drawn and signed before issuing summons; Judicial review — procedural impropriety; Ultra vires acts; Jurisdiction where leave already granted.
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19 November 2024 |
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An application to try a preliminary point on stayability was dismissed because proceedings were stayed pending contempt.
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Civil procedure — Order 33 Rule 3 RSC — Preliminary issues — Whether a ruling refusing relief is stayable — Obedience to court orders pending vacation or appeal — Contempt proceedings based on disobedience of an ex parte stay order.
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18 November 2024 |
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Appeal dismissed: prolonged absenteeism justified dismissal despite procedural defects; appellant failed to prove pay, reinstatement or expense claims.
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Employment law — Police service disciplinary procedure — Absence without leave for 28+ days as prima facie evidence of intention not to return — Procedural irregularity not fatal where offence warrants dismissal — Reinstatement, salary arrears and expenses claims require proof — Appeal court reluctant to interfere with factual findings.
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18 November 2024 |
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Appellants acquitted where involuntary confessions, demonstrative evidence and an improperly tendered ballistic report left insufficient proof.
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Criminal law — admissibility of confessions and demonstrations — voluntariness — trial within a trial — circumstantial evidence — inadmissible ballistic report tendered by non-author — convictions quashed for lack of proof beyond reasonable doubt.
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15 November 2024 |
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An incoherent High Court ruling was set aside and the employment claim dismissed as res judicata; no order as to costs.
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Civil procedure — res judicata and abuse of court process — preliminary points of law — necessity for clear, reasoned rulings — appellate determination on the record due to undue delay — costs in employment disputes.
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15 November 2024 |
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Failure to hold a trial-within-a-trial is curable absent prejudice; circumstantial evidence upheld murder convictions.
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Evidence — leading and voluntariness; trial-within-a-trial; circumstantial evidence and last-seen theory; recovery of exhibits; curable irregularity absent prejudice.
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15 November 2024 |
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Conviction for defilement quashed where identity of the accused lacked requisite corroboration despite medical proof of defilement.
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Criminal law — Sexual offences — Defilement — Corroboration required of both commission and identity in cases involving young complainants — Medical evidence corroborates commission but not necessarily identity — Opportunity evidence may not suffice as corroboration.
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15 November 2024 |
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Conviction quashed and retrial ordered after defective voire dire led to exclusion of child‑witness evidence.
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Criminal law — Evidence of child witness — Voire dire — Section 122 Juveniles Act requires sufficient intelligence and understanding of duty to tell truth — Defective voire dire renders child’s sworn evidence void ab initio — Discounting child evidence may necessitate retrial; Provocation defence — cannot be determined if central evidence excluded.
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12 November 2024 |
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Appellate court upheld trial judge's discretionary refusal to order security for costs; appeal dismissed with costs.
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Civil procedure — Security for costs — Order XL r.71 High Court Rules; Order 23 r.1 RSC — Judicial discretion — Appellate interference limited — Corporate personality and adequacy of assets — Proof of residence (tenancy) — Raising new issues on appeal.
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7 November 2024 |
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7 November 2024 |
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An appellate court upheld an interim injunction protecting a disputed plant, finding damages inadequate and the appeal without merit.
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Arbitration — interim injunction — application of American Cyanamid test — irreparable harm and inadequacy of damages — prima facie findings on termination permissible at interlocutory stage — merchantability reserved for arbitration.
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5 November 2024 |