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Citation
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Judgment date
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| 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Employment law – constructive dismissal – employer conduct must amount to fundamental breach; resignation must be prompt. Employment Code Act s27(1),(5) – probationary period limited to six months. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 |
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A first offender who pleads guilty to causing death by dangerous driving should ordinarily be fined unless recklessness or aggravating factors are shown.
Criminal law – Road Traffic Act s.161(1) – Causing death by dangerous driving – Sentencing – First offender – Plea of guilty – Fine preferred to imprisonment absent recklessness or aggravating factors; requirement for trial court to identify aggravating circumstances when imposing custodial sentence.
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4 November 2024 |
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Application to expunge affidavit passages and grant leave to appeal over refusal to allow examination of summoned witnesses in forfeiture proceedings.
Civil procedure — Affidavit evidence — Limits on affidavits (opinion, legal argument, speculation) — Expungement under Order 41 White Book; Forfeiture proceedings — oral evidence vs affidavit procedure — legitimate expectation to call witnesses; Leave to appeal — realistic prospects of success and questions of public importance.
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4 November 2024 |
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Cause of action in land disputes accrues when the challenged certificate of title is issued, so limitation must be assessed accordingly.
Limitation of actions – accrual of cause of action – land recovery – time runs when all material facts exist and a defendant can be sued – certificate of title issuance as triggering event – jurisdiction to dismiss on limitation requires clear entitlement.
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4 November 2024 |
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High Court lacked jurisdiction to transfer re-entry challenge; such claims must be brought in the Lands Tribunal.
Lands Act s13(3) – certificate of re-entry – exclusive mode of commencement in the Lands Tribunal; High Court Act s13 – equitable jurisdiction; High Court Act s23(1) and High Court Rules Order 19(3)(u) – transfers within the High Court only; jurisdiction – subject-matter jurisdiction essential; forum shopping/abuse of process – discontinuance and recommencement.
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1 November 2024 |
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Applicants failed to show a point of law of public importance; leave to appeal and stay were refused.
Appeal — Leave to appeal to Supreme Court — Section 13(3) Court of Appeal Act — Point of law of public importance — Receivership v Insolvency — Scope of third‑party fixed and floating charge — Notice of appointment limiting receiver to movable assets — Stay of execution.
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1 November 2024 |