High Court of Zambia - 2010

26 judgments
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Results. 26 judgments found.

26 judgments
December 2010
Plaintiff entitled to possession of purchased company house; licencee-spouse had no right to purchase; mesne profits awarded.
  • Property law — sale of company houses to employees — sitting tenant versus licencee; entitlement to purchase only on offer/tenancy agreement; purchaser's right to possession; mesne profits payable for unlawful occupation; conveyance obligation by vendor; costs allocation
31 December 2010
Appeal dismissed: dismissal for bribery and abuse of office upheld despite procedural complaints about committee composition.
  • Administrative law — disciplinary proceedings; natural justice — predetermination and committee overlap; sufficiency of evidence in disciplinary findings; Local Government Act powers; misconduct: bribery and abuse of office; procedural irregularity versus substantive guilt
31 December 2010
Agreement set aside for duress and lack of consideration; plaintiff ordered to refund US$30,000 to defendant.
  • Contract law — duress/blackmail vitiating consent — past consideration — enforceability of separation agreement between cohabitants — restitution and repayment of benefits received under voidable contract
31 December 2010
The court dismissed the applicant's challenge to the EIA, upholding expert agencies' approvals and finding the minister's suspension void.
  • Environmental law — validity of EIA and public participation — scoping defects cured by re-consultation — administrative law — natural justice: ministerial suspension without hearing void — multi-agency approvals intra vires — standing of non-title-holders
31 December 2010
An equitable mortgagee cannot foreclose or sell land without court order; seizure of non‑leased assets is wrongful.
  • Equitable mortgage — does not transfer legal title — mortgagee must obtain court order for foreclosure; lease‑back repossession limited to scheduled items; unlawful seizure/sale of non‑leased assets constitutes conversion; equity of redemption protected
31 December 2010
Mining company liable for river pollution; regulator not negligent; substantial general and punitive damages awarded to community.
31 December 2010
Accused convicted of aggravated robbery under s294(1); exhibited toy gun not a firearm so death penalty inapplicable.
  • Criminal law — aggravated robbery — identification by victim-family witnesses — false implication risk assessed and removed — offensive weapons versus firearm under Firearms Act — s294(2)(b) death penalty not applicable — conviction under s294(1) as lesser offence permitted under Criminal Procedure Code
31 December 2010
Attempted murder not proved; conviction substituted to unlawful possession of firearm with intent to endanger life.
  • Criminal law — Attempted murder requires proof of actual intent to kill; where intent to kill is not proved court may substitute a lesser cognate offence under s181(2); conviction for unlawful possession of firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life (s48(1) Firearms Act); identification parade and unexplained missing ammunition as sufficient circumstantial evidence
31 December 2010
Discovery of spouse in adultery may be provocation, but excessive force defeated reduction to manslaughter; accused convicted of murder.
  • Criminal law — Murder — Eyewitness and forensic evidence — Provocation on discovery of spouse in adultery — Excessive force defeats reduction to manslaughter
31 December 2010
Self-defence accepted where a guard lawfully fired to repel an advancing mob; accused acquitted of murder.
  • Criminal law — Murder (Section 200 Penal Code) — Self-defence (Section 17 Penal Code) — Necessity, imminence and proportionality of force — Retreat/disengagement — Use of firearm to repel mob
31 December 2010
A plaintiff must commence an equitable mortgage action by Originating Summons; wrong procedure warranted dismissal.
  • Civil procedure — Mode of commencement — Order 30 Rule 14 — Originating Summons required for equitable mortgage claims; procedural irregularity — point of law may be raised at any stage; dismissal for wrong procedure
31 December 2010
Court refused interim injunction against regulator exercising statutory powers, requiring corporate/estate procedural cures and expediting the substantive hearing.
  • Administrative law — interim relief against statutory regulator — quia timet injunction — restraint of central bank powers — Banking and Financial Services Act — balance of convenience — procedural capacity of corporate plaintiffs and estates to sue.
29 December 2010
Child complainant’s evidence in defilement cases is generally suspect and requires corroboration; voir dire and medical corroboration are essential.
  • Criminal law — Defilement — Child evidence and corroboration; Voir dire under Juveniles Act (s.122) — competence of child witnesses; Medical evidence as corroboration; Identity by neighbourhood acquaintance
28 December 2010
By‑election nullified: pervasive violence and intimidation prevented a free and fair election, vitiating the result.
  • Electoral law — Undue influence, intimidation and violence — Treating (promises as inducement) — Nullification of election where free and fair vote undermined — Role of police and independent monitors — Standard for disenfranchisement.
15 December 2010
High Court lacked jurisdiction over a Housing Act caveat removal; matter transferred to the Subordinate Court.
  • Jurisdiction — Housing (Statutory Improvement Areas) Act — "Court" construed as Subordinate Court — dispute over title — transfer of matter to Subordinate Court under Subordinate Courts Act and High Court Act — removal of caveat
2 December 2010
October 2010
Interlocutory injunction against the First Lady dismissed for lack of evidence, wrong defendant, and statutory oversight of public funds.
  • Public funds — interlocutory injunction — First Lady's use of government facilities — Finance (Control and Management) Act — Auditor General and controlling officers’ roles — absence of irreparable harm — wrong party for injunctive relief.
14 October 2010
Summary dismissal for uncontested misconduct upheld; Labour Officer’s severance award quashed as unwarranted.
  • Employment law — summary dismissal for misconduct; statutory reporting duty (s25) — non‑compliance not fatal where no injustice; role of Labour Officer (s64) as mediator; jurisdiction to award severance (SI 57/2006 reg 12(3)) versus courts’ adjudicatory powers (s65, s70); judicial review grounds (illegality, procedural impropriety, irrationality)
7 October 2010
September 2010
A defendant may apply at any stage to stay proceedings and refer disputes to arbitration under section 10.
  • Arbitration Act s10 — stay and referral to arbitration at any stage; Companies Act s21 — Articles of Association as contract; arbitrability of company disputes; prior procedural steps do not bar s10 referral; pending court action may await arbitral award (s17 consequences).
8 September 2010
Whether a foreign-resident plaintiff must provide security for costs and what amount is just.
  • Civil procedure — Security for costs — Order 40 r.7 and Order 23 r.1 — foreign plaintiff/residence abroad — factors: bona fides, prospects of success, enforceability, delay — quantification of security
7 September 2010
June 2010
Admissible confession, cautious treatment of juvenile testimony, and circumstantial evidence supported murder convictions.
  • Criminal law — Confession: admissibility and weight; Juvenile witness: sworn evidence, warning and suspect nature; Circumstantial evidence: competent basis for conviction; Limits on using one accused's confession to implicate another
24 June 2010
Confession of adultery may be grave provocation, but disproportionate lethal retaliation defeats the manslaughter defence.
  • Criminal law — Murder — Provocation; elements: wrongful act, sudden loss of self‑control, proportional retaliation; objective test; burden on prosecution to negative provocation; adultery/confession as potential grave provocation
24 June 2010
Weak night-time identification safely reinforced by recent possession and corroborative recovery of stolen property.
  • Evidence — identification by single complainant at night — need for caution and corroboration; Recent possession — recovery of stolen property as connecting link; Admissibility of photographs under s.193 Criminal Procedure Code — weight for court to determine
23 June 2010
May 2010
Court reviewed and reversed a winding-up order due to unauthorized service, failure to advertise and procedural irregularities.
  • Companies law — Winding-up — Review of winding-up order under Order 39 — Standing of directors/members; Companies Act s.296(1); Companies (Winding‑up) Rules; Rule 51 — Procedural defects (unauthorised service, failure to advertise, lack of demand) constituting substantial injustice — Relief by review and reversal of winding-up order
26 May 2010
Appropriateness of originating summons, res judicata requirements, and lawful removal/effect of a land caveat.
  • Civil procedure — Commencement of proceedings: writ versus originating summons; statutory instruments cannot override Acts; res judicata requires same parties and cause; Land law — effect and lawful removal of caveats (Lands and Deeds Registry Act ss.76,79,83,87)
23 May 2010
February 2010
Plaintiff's claims dismissed where payments, credit note and mutual rescission demonstrated; plaintiff failed to prove loss.
  • Contract law — subcontractor payment disputes; application of deposit/credit note; mutual rescission by conduct; requirement to plead and not radically depart from pleaded case; burden to prove quantum and damages.
24 February 2010
A shareholder cannot obtain an interlocutory injunction to restrain receivers enforcing a debenture; the action was procedurally defective and dismissed.
  • Company law — separate legal personality; Receivers and managers appointed under a floating charge — power of sale; Interlocutory injunction — American Cyanamid principles (clear right, adequacy of damages, balance of convenience); Shareholder lacks proprietary right in company assets; Procedure — negligence/damages claims against receivers require writ not originating summons.
16 February 2010