Results.
53 judgments found.
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| February 2024 |
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Appellant failed to prove breach against carrier; second respondent illegally detained goods, release ordered.
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Contract and evidence — freight contract found to be with first respondent only; agency and authority — second respondent lacked documentary mandate to detain goods or lawfully claim freight/storage; burden of proof — plaintiff must prove contractual terms and loss; appellate review — will not disturb factual findings unless perverse or unsupported by evidence.
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29 February 2024 |
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Appellate court upheld selection of chief: Ila custom allows matrilineal candidates, seniority and a deceased chief’s preference are not determinative.
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Chieftaincy succession — Ila tradition and custom — role of Bakwashi — matrilineal and patrilineal descent — seniority not determinative — weight of deceased chief’s writings — appellate review of factual and credibility findings.
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29 February 2024 |
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Appeal dismissed: transaction held a valid sale with buy-back option (not a mortgage); minor refund and interest awarded.
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Property law — contract of sale with buy-back clause v equitable mortgage; parol/extrinsic evidence; burden to prove fraud or improper registration under Lands and Deeds Registry Act; remedy — small refund and interest.
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29 February 2024 |
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Registrar’s unreasoned decision without hearing opposing party breached audi alteram partem; matter remitted for rehearing.
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Civil procedure — extension of time to file — audi alteram partem — Order 30 Rule 6A High Court Act — requirement to give reasons — discretionary relief — remittal for rehearing.
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29 February 2024 |
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Whether an increase in commission applied retrospectively and whether a court may order lump-sum payment contrary to the agreed payment schedule.
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Employment contract — Variation of commission rate — Effect of effective date and retrospective application — Contractual interpretation — Sanctity of contract — Payment mechanics: commission payable as client payments received — Court must enforce, not vary, contract.
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29 February 2024 |
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An arbitration clause was held inoperative after lease expiry, so stay to arbitration was refused and the appeal dismissed.
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Arbitration law — separability doctrine — arbitration clause may survive termination but can be inoperative where substantive contract expired and dispute concerns accrued arrears; Procedural law — reliance on repealed or incorrect statutory provision undermines applications; Property law — non-registration of a lease required by statute may render the document void; Civil procedure — discretion to refuse stay where arbitration agreement is null, inoperative or incapable of performance.
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28 February 2024 |
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Mediation settlements bind only the parties; lawful notice termination requires enforcing contractual pro rata gratuity.
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Mediation settlement orders — binding only inter partes; cannot serve as judicial precedent for non‑parties; Termination by notice or payment in lieu lawful (pre‑2019 law); Enforcement of contracts — courts must not rewrite freely agreed contractual terms; Gratuity payable pro rata where contract so provides.
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28 February 2024 |
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Disputed loan balance referred for assessment; sale agreement held independent, US$328,301 affirmed and offset against assessed loan, interest awarded.
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Commercial law — loan facility and security — whether an agreement to sell financed equipment is collateral or an independent sale; assessment of indebtedness where account figures are inconsistent; proof and quantification of special damages for lost revenue; interest on judgment sums.
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28 February 2024 |
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Provocation and self-defence unavailable where accused denied the killing; circumstantial evidence sustained murder conviction.
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Criminal law — murder — circumstantial evidence and identity of assailant — dying declaration — defence of provocation (s.205 Penal Code) requires unlawful act causing death — failed provocation not extenuating circumstances — self-defence unavailable where accused is shown to be aggressor — appeal dismissed.
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28 February 2024 |
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The appellant successfully challenged unpleaded wrongful termination damages and gratuity; gratuity deemed substantive and deferred by the one-year transition.
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Pleadings — court must decide only issues pleaded; cannot grant relief not claimed. Employment law — Employment Code Act commencement: procedural provisions apply immediately; substantive provisions (including mandatory gratuity) subject to one-year transition
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Gratuity — substantive entitlement not payable for period within the transition. Civil procedure — re-casting of a party's case by the trial court is impermissible
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28 February 2024 |
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Court set aside wrongful-termination and gratuity awards, finding the respondent's relief unpleaded and gratuity not yet payable.
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Employment law — commencement and transitional provisions — substantive versus procedural provisions — gratuity payable only after one‑year grace period; Civil procedure — pleadings — court must not grant relief not pleaded; Unlawful termination — appellate court set aside unpleaded wrongful-termination award.
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28 February 2024 |
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Circumstantial evidence and recent possession supported convictions; the appellants' appeal against murder and robbery convictions dismissed.
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Criminal law — Circumstantial evidence — Recent possession — Joint enterprise/common purpose — Adequacy of investigation (telecom records/forensics) — Appellate review of trial findings of fact.
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28 February 2024 |
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Court may grant relief for trespass to surface-rights owner, but determination of unreasonable withholding of mining-access consent lies with statutory grievance procedure.
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Mines and Minerals Development Act — sections 52, 52(3), 56(1) and 97 — jurisdiction to determine withholding of consent; surface rights versus mining rights; trespass and injunction; Mining Tribunal/administrative grievance procedure; reclamation of tailings.
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28 February 2024 |
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A court cannot pierce a company's veil to alter parties' liability under a final arbitral award.
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Arbitration law — Section 17 Arbitration Act — limited grounds for setting aside arbitral awards — finality of awards; Corporate law — piercing corporate veil — court cannot vary liabilities determined by final arbitral award; Jurisdiction — lack of jurisdiction renders orders nullities.
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28 February 2024 |
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A High Court exceeded its jurisdiction by piercing a company’s veil to alter parties liable under a binding arbitral award.
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Arbitration Act s17 — jurisdiction to set aside or vary arbitral awards strictly limited; Corporate veil — court may not pierce veil so as to alter a binding arbitral award; Excess of jurisdiction renders orders nullity; Corporate Insolvency Act — scope for piercing limited by arbitration law.
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28 February 2024 |
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Whether an employer’s written acknowledgment of grading anomalies entitles an employee to a retrospective upgrade and associated underpayments.
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Employment law — entitlement to retrospective upgrade — assessment of underpaid salary, terminal and pension benefits — effect of employer acknowledgment on limitation; Interest on judgment — application of Judgment Act and High Court Rules (short-term deposit rate then Bank of Zambia lending rate); Pension law — employer liability to make good underfunding shortfall; Civil procedure — effect of mediation/consent settlement on unresolved issues; Costs — each party to bear own costs.
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28 February 2024 |
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Whether the respondent could convert the applicant's USD judgment to Kwacha under the consent order and sell properties.
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Mortgagee's power of sale — forced sale — conversion of judgment currency under consent order — duty to obtain best price in good faith — duty to render account — damages for undervalue
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28 February 2024 |
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Whether the respondent unlawfully converted the USD judgment to Kwacha and sold mortgaged properties at unfair forced-sale prices.
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Mortgagee power of sale — forced sale and advertising — forced-sale price not vitiated absent evidence of fraud or collusion; conversion of foreign currency judgment to local equivalent — effect of consent judgment and variations; duty to render account of sale proceeds; damages for undervalue sales; appellate review of findings of fact.
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28 February 2024 |
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Appellate court found some trial findings on customary succession perverse, set aside court's further-approval directive and remitted selection to the royal family.
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Customary law — chieftaincy succession — evidential basis for customary findings — perverse findings; High Court discretion on assessors; functus officio — court cannot retain jurisdiction to confirm future customary selection; remittal to royal family to document family tree and customs; costs follow event (court's discretion).
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28 February 2024 |
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Appellant cannot invoke multiplicity of actions to set aside default judgment after consenting to withdraw earlier appeal.
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Civil procedure — multiplicity of actions — requirement of same parties and same cause of action — winding-up petition versus action for debt — effect of withdrawal of appeal — setting aside default judgment.
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28 February 2024 |
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Respondent failed to prove entitlement to severance and leave; appellate court set aside unsupported lower-court awards.
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Employment law — burden of proof in civil employment disputes; entitlement to severance and leave — requirement of proof; appellate review — setting aside findings unsupported by evidence; requirement for reasoned judgments; costs in Industrial Relations Division.
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28 February 2024 |
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Appellant bound by signed tenancy and failed to challenge rent increase under Rent Act; appeal dismissed for arrears and possession.
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Rent Act — Standard rent — Determination by court on application; Tenancy — periodic tenancy arising from continued occupation and payments; Acquisition of arrears — tenant bound by signed tenancy and liable where payments insufficient; Appellate review — findings of fact will not be disturbed unless perverse or unsupported; Pleadings — issues not pleaded or tried below cannot be raised on appeal; Recovery of possession — s.4(e) and s.13 Rent Act.
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28 February 2024 |
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Whether medical evidence and an extrajudicial admission can corroborate the prosecutrix and uphold a rape conviction.
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Criminal law — Sexual offences — Corroboration of prosecutrix — Medical evidence and extrajudicial admission as corroboration of commission and identity — Improperly framed charge — Appellate enhancement of sentence for aggravated rape.
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28 February 2024 |
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Cancellation of a title over boundary uncertainty requires Surveyor‑General verification, not immediate cancellation.
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Land registration — Certificate of Title — Boundary dispute vs. erroneous inclusion; Land Survey Act — role of Surveyor-General; proper remedy is re-survey and verification, not immediate cancellation of title; joinder of State via Attorney‑General for survey.
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28 February 2024 |
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Whether an unsigned sketch plan and oral evidence may vary a written memorandum of sale concerning land boundaries.
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Property law — dispute over apportionment of land — Statute of Frauds — memorandum of sale — admissibility of extrinsic/parol evidence and unsigned sketch plan — boundaries and rectification — appellate review of credibility findings.
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28 February 2024 |
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A failed provocation/self-defence claim does not justify extenuation absent evidence of provocation; conviction and death sentence upheld.
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Criminal law — Murder — Provocation and self-defence — Failed defence as extenuation — Requirements: provocative act, loss of self-control, proportionate retaliation — Malice aforethought — Sentencing — Extenuating circumstances.
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27 February 2024 |
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Appeal dismissed; eyewitness evidence and extra‑judicial confession rendered circumstantial case cogent, alibi rejected, conviction and death sentence upheld.
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Criminal law — murder — circumstantial evidence and proof beyond reasonable doubt — eyewitness credibility — extra‑judicial confession admissibility — suspect/ interested witnesses — alibi — sentence (death).
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27 February 2024 |
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A weapon adaptable to discharge is a 'firearm' even if its trigger mechanism is defective.
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Armed aggravated robbery; definition of "firearm" under Firearms Act; capacity to discharge or adaptability to discharge; role of ballistics/test-firing evidence; appellate review of factual findings.
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24 February 2024 |
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Appellate court upheld earlier title, found no proven fraud, and cancelled overlapping title No. 982.
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Land law — Priority of title — Certificate of title conclusive under s.33 Lands and Deeds Registry Act — Fraud must be pleaded with particulars and strictly proved — Duty of due diligence by purchasers — Local authority as agent; Commissioner of Lands controls allocation — Injunctions and balance of convenience — Cancellation of overlapping title.
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23 February 2024 |
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Circumstantial evidence that the appellant assaulted the victim warranted murder conviction; appeal dismissed.
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Criminal law — Murder — Circumstantial evidence — Causation — Novus actus interveniens — Credibility findings — Appeal against conviction
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23 February 2024 |
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A voluntary confession to a civilian, combined with cogent circumstantial evidence, can sustain a murder conviction.
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Confession to a civilian — admissibility and voluntariness; exclusion only if unfairly obtained; circumstantial evidence — strands considered cumulatively; last-seen, possession of victim's property, scene links; investigative omissions do not necessarily render circumstantial case speculative.
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23 February 2024 |
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Court upheld murder convictions, holding relatives' eyewitness evidence need not be corroborated absent record evidence of bias.
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Criminal law — murder — eyewitness evidence given by relatives of deceased — corroboration required only where record indicates bias, interest or motive to falsely implicate — appellate deference to trial court credibility findings — alibi rejected — appeal dismissed.
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23 February 2024 |
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Court set aside murder conviction after trial judge ignored crucial medical opinion, substituting a lesser assault conviction and sentence.
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Criminal law — causation in homicide — weight and consideration of expert medical opinion — novus actus interveniens — appellate substitution to lesser offence (assault occasioning actual bodily harm).
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23 February 2024 |
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Whether a will’s clause makes the spouse trustee of pension benefits for minor children, otherwise vesting them in the residuary estate.
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Wills — Testamentary construction — Appointment of spouse as trustee limited to WHO pension benefits for minor children; absence of minors or predeceased trustee causes benefits to vest in residuary estate; extraneous pension regulations not admissible as new evidence.
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23 February 2024 |
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Restoration of a dismissed appeal denied where counsel's absence lacked satisfactory explanation despite alleged registry misinformation.
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Civil procedure — Restoration of dismissed appeal — Order X Rule 19(2) — Absence of counsel — Alleged registry misinformation — Requirement to prove sufficient reasons.
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23 February 2024 |
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Voice recognition corroborated by surrounding facts proved guilt; failure to investigate alibi was outweighed by strong evidence, no extenuation.
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Criminal law — identification evidence by voice recognition — corroboration by surrounding circumstances; Alleged prosecutorial dereliction in failing to investigate alibi — prejudice and when strong evidence rebuts it; Extenuating circumstances — burden and absence of mitigating facts.
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23 February 2024 |
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Appeal dismissed for want of jurisdiction due to appellant's failure to file the record of appeal within prescribed time.
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23 February 2024 |
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The Court held the departures were consensual voluntary separations, not redundancy, and dismissed the appeal.
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Employment law — voluntary separation vs redundancy — unilateral variation of basic conditions of service — consent and participation — payroll retention and Article 189(2) — adequacy of trial court's reasons.
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21 February 2024 |
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Trial court erred by admitting unsworn child evidence and unconsented spouse testimony; conviction set aside.
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Criminal law — Evidence of child witnesses — Juveniles Act s122 requires two-tier test (intelligence and understanding duty to tell truth) for oath; unsworn evidence improper where test not satisfied. Criminal procedure — Competency of spouse to testify — Criminal Procedure Code s151 exceptions required; spouse’s testimony inadmissible without accused’s consent if exceptions not met. Sexual offences — Corroboration and identity — where key witness evidence is expunged, conviction cannot stand; retrial discretionary and not ordered where remaining evidence insufficient
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20 February 2024 |
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Failure to address an appellant's guilty plea and make a pronouncement prejudiced trial; post-event taunting is not aiding and abetting.
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Criminal procedure — Plea of guilty — necessity to read statement of facts and make pronouncement at close of prosecution — failure amounts to procedural irregularity and prejudice; Evidence — absence of exhibit does not preclude conviction where credible oral testimony proves disputed fact; Criminal liability — Section 21 aiding and abetting requires assistance before or during the offence — post-offence taunting is not aiding/abetting.
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20 February 2024 |
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Conviction based on uncorroborated identification by a suspect witness is unsafe and quashed.
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Criminal law — Identification evidence — Suspect witness (detained in connection with offence) — Requirement of corroboration or "something more" — Failure to pursue phone records as investigative lapse — Conviction unsafe and quashed.
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20 February 2024 |
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Failure to investigate an alibi did not overturn conviction where credible daylight eyewitness identification offset the prejudice.
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Criminal law — alibi — duty of police to investigate alibi; onus to disprove alibi — prosecution may rely on cogent identification evidence to offset investigative lapses; extenuating circumstances — grave and sudden provocation — belief in witchcraft not automatically exculpatory.
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20 February 2024 |
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Respondent lacked legal authority to levy takeover authorisation fee because the former Securities Act provided no basis for it.
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Securities law — applicability of former versus current Securities Act — delegated legislation and statutory instruments — scope of fees under Rule 11 and Third Schedule — lawfulness of takeover authorisation fee — retroactivity and interpretation of enabling provisions.
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18 February 2024 |
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Loan fully disbursed; default occurred before COVID‑19; BFSA s110 limits interest on non‑performing loans; assessment ordered.
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16 February 2024 |
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Delay beyond one year does not oust jurisdiction, but inadequate written reasons and improper costs warrant retrial before another judge.
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Industrial relations — delay in judgment — one-year rule not jurisdictional (purposive interpretation); judgment writing — necessity of evidential review, findings and reasons; costs in industrial matters — generally not awarded except under Rule 44.
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15 February 2024 |
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A subsisting judicial separation excludes the spouse from intestate succession; minor dependant's entitlement upheld; administration orders clarified.
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Matrimonial Causes Act — effect of a decree of judicial separation on intestate succession — Section 36(1) construed to exclude the separated spouse from intestacy; Intestate Succession — entitlement of dependants — minor recognised as dependant; Administration of estates — appointment of administrators requires assessment of suitability and legal interest; Procedural fairness — unclear revocation order and late filings; Costs — each party to bear own costs.
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15 February 2024 |
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The appellant acquiesced to rent increases and failed to seek court determination; arrears, possession and distraint orders were upheld.
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Rent Act — standard rent — determination of standard rent — tenant’s acquiescence to rent increase — periodic tenancy — recovery of possession — warrant of distress — appellate review of factual findings — new issues not pleaded on appeal.
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14 February 2024 |
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Unpleaded issues cannot be raised on appeal; nominal damages vindicate a technical invasion of rights; costs follow the event.
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Civil procedure — Pleadings and appeals: unpleaded issues cannot be raised for the first time on appeal; Sale of Goods Act (disposition of goods) — issue not pleaded; Tort — trespass/injuria; Nominal damages — appropriate where legal right infringed but no proven loss; Costs — discretionary, normally follow the event.
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12 February 2024 |
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An order awarding relief contrary to the court's own findings is a nullity and may be set aside on appeal.
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Civil procedure — Judgment inconsistent with findings — Perverse order amounting to nullity — Appellate intervention; Writ of Fieri Facias set aside; principle that court orders must be obeyed until set aside.
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12 February 2024 |
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A company in liquidation may sue a former liquidator and third parties for misfeasance; section 117 is permissive and section 70(6) gives a statutory remedy.
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Corporate insolvency — Liquidator misconduct and misfeasance — Competence of company in liquidation to sue — Section 117 (permissive) — Section 70(6) (personal liability for excess remuneration) — Stay of winding-up proceedings — Fresh action vs relief in winding-up.
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9 February 2024 |