High Court of Zambia - 2011 August

15 judgments
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Results. 15 judgments found.

15 judgments
August 2011
A forfeiture-on-default arrangement amounted to a sale, not an equitable mortgage, so the mortgage action was misconceived.
  • Real property — Equitable mortgage v forfeiture/sale — Deposit of title deeds providing forfeiture on default amounts to sale not mortgage; Mortgage remedies (foreclosure/redemption) inapplicable; Originating summons improperly used for non-mortgage dispute; Allegation of duress requires proof; Registered assignment enforceable on its face
30 August 2011
Court corrected an accidental omission to include the correctly described mortgaged property and allowed post-judgment amendment of pleadings.
  • Civil procedure — review for accidental slip or omission — Order 39 High Court Act; Amendment of pleadings after judgment — Order 20 r.8(9) (White Book) — Misdescription of mortgaged property — Joinder of parties must be before judgment
28 August 2011
Prosecution failed to prove identity or link evidence sufficiently; court found no case to answer and acquitted the accused.
  • Criminal law — vandalism and theft — identity of perpetrator — adequacy of prosecution evidence; confessions — circumstances of making and admissibility; evidence of leading police to scene; connection of scrap-sale evidence to alleged theft; no case to answer (Mwewa Munoro)
28 August 2011
Accused convicted of aggravated robbery where prosecution proved armed joint attack, use/threat of violence and common intention.
  • Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — elements: armed attack, use or threat of violence and theft — identification and mistaken identity — joint liability/common intention (s21) — non-recovery of stolen property irrelevant where participation proved
25 August 2011
Accused convicted of murder; post-mortem and dying declarations corroborated child witness; no dereliction in forensic or medical evidence procedures.
  • Criminal law — Murder: elements — causation, unlawful act, malice aforethought; Evidence — medical report under s191A, need to call pathologist; Forensics — fingerprint uplift and dereliction of duty; Evidence of child witnesses — corroboration; Res gestae and dying declarations as corroborative evidence; Provocation and reduction to manslaughter
24 August 2011
An appeals board need not apply strict court evidence rules; dismissal upheld for bribery and abuse of office.
  • Administrative law — Local Government Appeals Board; standard of evidence in administrative tribunals; natural justice and bias; predetermination; disciplinary dismissal for bribery/abuse of office; illegal land allocation
23 August 2011
Interim injunction granted where defendants’ defences of justification and fair comment lacked realistic prospects.
  • Defamation — Interim injunction — rule against prior restraint — American Cynamid principles; Bonnard v Perryman — defences of justification and fair comment require sufficient particulars and factual basis; injunction refused only where those defences have realistic prospects of success
22 August 2011
The plaintiff’s fatal‑accident claim was held statute‑barred because the original writ was not validly served or timely renewed.
  • Limitation of actions — Fatal Accidents Act — three‑year limitation; validity and renewal of writs — service within 12 months; late renewal ineffective; negotiations do not suspend limitation; registry cause‑number errors not curative
17 August 2011
Neighbour identification and post-mortem evidence established malice aforethought and supported a murder conviction.
  • Criminal law — Murder — Identification evidence by neighbours — Malice aforethought inferred from words and conduct — Post-mortem establishing causation — Proof beyond reasonable doubt
17 August 2011
Sentences for offences forming a course of conduct should run concurrently; similarity can suffice even if offences are temporally separated.
  • Sentencing — concurrent vs consecutive terms — course of conduct principle — temporal proximity and similarity of offences — obtaining money by false pretences (Penal Code s.309(a)) — prior convictions considered but not a substitute for correct sentencing principle
17 August 2011
High Court may hear pre‑nomination presidential eligibility claims, but action dismissed for denying affected aspirant a hearing.
  • Constitutional and electoral law — Pre-nomination challenges to presidential eligibility — High Court jurisdiction vs
  • Supreme Court exclusive post‑election jurisdiction — Capacity of Electoral Commission to be sued — Presidential immunity not extending to personal qualification — Audi alteram partem requirement
8 August 2011
Transferee failed to offer statutory share-allotment option and disclose purchase price; court varied compulsory acquisition terms.
  • Company law — compulsory acquisition under s.237 — statutory option for allotment of transferee shares or cash at holders’ option — interpretation of s.237(1)(b); Takeovers law — Clause 58(1) valuation requirement; duty to disclose consideration; court power to vary compulsory acquisition terms under s.237(4)
4 August 2011
Court granted a limited interlocutory injunction restraining publications alleging the applicant’s involvement with or advocacy of homosexuality.
  • Defamation — interlocutory injunction; Bonnard v Perryman principle; justification and fair comment defences; malice; Reynolds responsible journalism; freedom of expression vs protection of reputation; election-context irreparable harm
4 August 2011
A purchaser with constructive notice of an occupying spouse’s equitable interest takes subject to that interest.
  • Land law — matrimonial/equitable interests in family home — purchaser’s constructive notice of occupying spouse’s interest — authority of spouse to sell — Statute of Frauds (s.4) compliance
2 August 2011
Court granted interim injunction restraining broadcast and distribution of allegedly defamatory election‑period programmes; defences unlikely to succeed.
  • Defamation — Interim injunction — Public figure and political broadcasts — Justification, fair comment and Reynolds qualified privilege — Responsible journalism and verification — Election-period reputational harm — Restraint on broadcast and commercial distribution pending trial
1 August 2011