High Court of Zambia - 2012 November

14 judgments
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Results. 14 judgments found.

14 judgments
November 2012
Stay application dismissed because the claim is brought under the mortgage deed, which contains no arbitration clause.
  • Arbitration Act s10 — stay of proceedings — arbitration clause in personal guarantee — mortgage deed and facility letter lack arbitration clause — primary (mortgage) v secondary (guarantee) securities — originating summons under Order 30 r.14
27 November 2012
Mareva injunction denied where debt proven but risk of asset dissipation not established.
  • Mareva injunction — interlocutory freezing order — test: debt due and owing and real risk of dissipation — undertaking probative — foreign management/terminated contracts insufficient alone
26 November 2012
Court granted leave to commence committal proceedings for alleged contempt arising from false affidavit statements and allowed leave to appeal.
  • Contempt of Court — committal for contempt — alleged false statements on affidavit — distinction between abuse of process and contempt — requirement of mens rea and proof beyond reasonable doubt — leave to issue committal proceedings granted
24 November 2012
Prosecution failed to prove causation and malice; court excluded dying declarations and acquitted the accused of murder.
  • Criminal law — murder — elements: causation, unlawful act and malice aforethought — insufficiency of proof; Manslaughter — substitution of charge and requirement of causation; Evidence — res gestae/dying declarations: spontaneity and risk of concoction; Criminal Procedure — exercise of discretion to recall witnesses (s.149)
19 November 2012
Circumstantial evidence and related-witness risks left reasonable alternative inferences; the accused was acquitted of murder.
  • Criminal law — Circumstantial evidence in murder — Inference of guilt must be the only reasonable inference; suspect witnesses (relatives) — danger of false implication; s191A post-mortem reports and discretion to call medical officer
19 November 2012
Conviction of first accused based on recent possession and in-scene identification; second accused acquitted due to unfair identification parade.
  • Criminal law — Identification evidence — single identifying witness; Identification parade fairness; Doctrine of recent possession; Real exhibits destroyed; Amendment of Information to fit evidence; Judicial notice limits
19 November 2012
Assault caused death via perforated bowels and septicæmic shock, but malice aforethought for murder was not proved; convicted of manslaughter.
  • Criminal law — Homicide: causation and post‑operative death (s.207(a)); mens rea for murder/malice aforethought (s.204); manslaughter (s.199); witness credibility; expert opinion evidence; necessity of competing medical evidence
19 November 2012
First accused convicted of murder; provocation, self-defence and duress rejected; second accused acquitted for lack of common intention.
  • Criminal law — Murder — provocation, self-defence and duress — limits and requirements; circumstantial evidence and leading police to incriminating items as proof of knowledge; common purpose — requirement of a shared intention
19 November 2012
Affidavits by counsel that fail Order 5 requirements are inadmissible; applicant failed to show grounds for review or third‑party indemnity.
  • Civil procedure — Review under Order 39: fresh evidence test (materiality, discoverability, timing); Affidavits — counsel as deponent; hearsay and non‑compliance with Order 5 rules 16–18; Third‑party proceedings — indemnity and Order 16; Stay of execution pending third‑party proceedings
12 November 2012
Accused unfit to plead due to schizophrenia; court found murder proved and ordered detention during President's pleasure.
  • Criminal law — fitness to plead — psychiatric report (schizophrenia) — trial while unfit — leading evidence — murder proved — transferred malice — special finding unavailable where unfit — detention during President's pleasure (s167 CPC)
12 November 2012
The accused convicted of murder; drunkenness did not negate intent but served as an extenuating circumstance.
  • Criminal law — Murder — malice aforethought inferred from weapon and injuries; eyewitness identification corroborated by postmortem; voluntary intoxication not exculpatory but may mitigate; cultural belief in witchcraft considered an extenuating circumstance
12 November 2012
Accused convicted of joint murder for mob attacks; community belief in witchcraft treated as extenuating circumstance.
  • Criminal law — Murder — elements (death, unlawfulness, malice aforethought, causation) — Identification and corroboration of interested witnesses — Joint liability for mob killings — Circumstantial evidence — Belief in witchcraft as extenuating circumstance
11 November 2012
Accused convicted of murder under common purpose; cultural belief in witchcraft deemed an extenuating circumstance.
  • Criminal law — Murder: proof of elements (death, unlawfulness, malice aforethought, causation); identification by single witness; common purpose liability; cultural belief in witchcraft as mitigating circumstance; corroboration by postmortem
11 November 2012
Property purchased by respondent held to be a gift to the deceased; respondent must repay rents and pay costs.
  • Succession and property law — Gift versus loan in land purchase — Validity of certificate of title — Allegation of fraud/forgery requires clear pleading and proof — Accounting for rents — Laches/sleeping on rights
1 November 2012