Results.
537 judgments found.
|
|
|
| May 2025 |
|
|
Aggravated robbery not proved due to unestablished theft; accused convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
-
Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Elements: armed/with others; theft; violence — Failure to prove theft — Medical report and witness evidence of assault — s181(2) Criminal Procedure Code — Conviction for lesser offence: Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm (s248 Penal Code).
|
5 May 2025 |
|
The accused were convicted of murder based on eyewitness identification, post-mortem blunt force trauma and common intention.
-
Criminal law — Murder: elements of Section 200 Penal Code; malice aforethought under Section 204; common intention (Section 22); identification and eyewitness evidence; post-mortem evidence — blunt impact trauma
|
5 May 2025 |
|
After oral examination the court ordered the judgment debtor to pay K5,000 monthly to satisfy the rent judgment.
-
Rent arrears — Enforcement — Examination of judgment debtor — Determination of assets, income and liabilities — Instalment order for satisfaction of judgment — Warrant of distress and recovery of possession.
|
5 May 2025 |
|
|
2 May 2025 |
|
Delay due to illness, counsel’s death and a missing record did not justify dismissal for want of prosecution.
-
Civil procedure — Dismissal for want of prosecution — inordinate delay v. intentional default; excuses (illness, death of counsel, missing record, indigence) — court’s discretion to refuse dismissal; status conference; leave to appeal granted.
|
2 May 2025 |
| April 2025 |
|
|
A stay pending an IRD costs application was dismissed as speculative; IRD costs are rare and awarded only for unreasonable conduct.
-
Civil procedure — Stay of proceedings — Discretionary, exceptional remedy; Order 3/2 and inherent jurisdiction — Applicability of Order 17/2 where discontinued suit was in the Industrial Relations Division — Costs in IRD governed by Rule 44(1): awarded only for unreasonable, vexatious or improper conduct — Discontinuance not per se unreasonable — Speculative applications for stay dismissed.
|
25 April 2025 |
|
Failure to serve the required demand letter on the defendant renders the writ incompetent; service on counsel is insufficient.
-
Civil procedure — Order VI Rule 1(1)(d) — mandatory requirement to serve a letter of demand acknowledged by the defendant — service on advocates not a substitute; failure renders originating process incompetent; clerical errors curable but do not cure mandatory non-compliance.
|
24 April 2025 |
|
Court dismissed application to set aside judgment-on-admission where counterclaim existed, holding entry is discretionary and not automatically irregular.
-
Judgment on admission — Discretion of the Court — Counterclaim — Pleading and default — Regulatory breaches curable where no prejudice shown
|
24 April 2025 |
|
Time made of the essence by subsequent agreement; the plaintiff breached, rescission ordered and deposit refunded.
-
Contract for sale of land; Statute of Frauds — written memorandum; parol evidence rule; time made of the essence by subsequent agreement; specific performance refused where buyer in breach; rescission and refund of deposit ordered; failure to prove unjust enrichment or damages where party absent and did not call witnesses.
|
24 April 2025 |
|
Whether a preliminary Order 14A determination is appropriate where material facts about professional registration and entitlement to fees are disputed.
-
Civil procedure — Order 14A application — suitability for determination without trial — disputed material facts; Professional regulation — Zambia Institute of Architects Act — registration and enforceability of architectural fee claims; contractual illegality and third‑party entitlement to payments; unjust enrichment argument.
|
23 April 2025 |
|
Court refused to dismiss the land action for want of prosecution, finding delay justified by a pending application and death of instructing party.
-
Civil procedure — dismissal for want of prosecution — Order XXXI Rule 2(2) High Court Rules — draconian power to be exercised sparingly — requirement of prolonged/inordinate and inexcusable delay and prejudice — pending interlocutory application and death of instructing party as justification — costs in the cause.
|
23 April 2025 |
|
A respondent's notice of appeal filed out of time without leave renders the Lands Tribunal proceedings invalid and is set aside.
-
Lands Tribunal procedure — Time limits and limitation — Rule 3(2) Lands Tribunal Rules — Notice of appeal filed out of time without leave — Amendment of process — Abuse of court process — Stay pending payment of costs.
|
22 April 2025 |
|
Whether a money-lender registered under the Money Lenders Act may create equitable mortgages and sue in the High Court.
-
Jurisdiction — High Court v Subordinate Courts — monetary limits; Banking and Financial Services Act exclusion of Money Lenders Act registrants; Moneylenders — creation/enforceability of equitable mortgages; Illegality defence — late plea and benefitted party; Order 14A applications to determine preliminary questions of law.
|
16 April 2025 |
|
Application to set aside ex parte committal leave dismissed because supporting affidavit was improperly sworn by counsel.
-
Contempt proceedings — personal service of order and committal process; Affidavits — impropriety of counsel swearing affidavits in contentious matters; Consent orders — requirement for penal notice and clear time for compliance; Waiver — "fresh steps" doctrine and procedural objections; Courts — strict adherence to procedure in contempt applications.
|
16 April 2025 |
|
Default judgment set aside for arguable defence, but action dismissed for plaintiffs' failure to attend two status conferences.
-
Civil procedure — Default judgment — Setting aside default judgment where an arguable defence exists; Civil procedure — Dismissal for failure to attend scheduling/status conferences — Order XIX Rule 7 (mandatory 'shall'); procedural compliance and consequences; costs; leave to appeal.
|
14 April 2025 |
|
Application to dismiss for want of prosecution granted due to inordinate, inexcusable delay threatening a fair trial.
-
Civil procedure — dismissal for want of prosecution; inordinate and inexcusable delay; abuse of court process; responsibility to follow up for Orders for Directions; prejudice to fair trial; costs; leave to appeal.
|
14 April 2025 |
|
Court orders completion of sale for half acre, treats separate K98,000 transaction as a loan, awards K23,000 plus interest and costs.
-
Property law — Sale versus loan: distinguishing a sale agreement from a loan secured by land; specific performance for land; admissibility and weight of advertisement, written agreement and bank transfer as evidence; award of interest and costs; leave to appeal granted.
|
3 April 2025 |
|
Application to consolidate arbitration-related actions dismissed because the matters were in different divisions and transfer was required.
-
Civil procedure — Consolidation of actions — Order III r5 HCR and Order 4 r9 RSC — divisional jurisdiction — arbitration awards — transfer vs consolidation — mootness of interlocutory award proceedings.
|
2 April 2025 |
| March 2025 |
|
|
Court orders plaintiffs to file an undertaking as to damages within 14 days after finding omission not automatically fatal to injunction.
-
Civil procedure — interlocutory injunction — undertaking as to damages — requirement and purpose — omission not automatically fatal — court’s discretion to require undertaking post-grant where justice demands.
|
31 March 2025 |
|
Committal proceedings set aside: notice lacked particulars and order lacked mandatory penal notice; personal service defect not fatal in context.
-
Civil procedure — Committal for contempt — Order 52 RSC — Particularity required in notice of motion; Order 45 RSC — Penal notice mandatory where order requires a person to do an act; personal service — defect curable where represented party had notice.
|
31 March 2025 |
|
The applicant's stay application pending appeal was refused because the appeal showed no realistic prospects and no exceptional circumstances.
-
Civil procedure — Stay of execution pending appeal; Order XXXVI Rule 10 HCR; appeal does not automatically stay execution; discretionary remedy; assessment of prospects of success; requirement of exceptional circumstances.
|
28 March 2025 |
|
Application for stay of execution denied: defendants failed to show prospects of success or good and convincing reasons.
-
Civil procedure — Stay of execution pending appeal — Application requires good and convincing reasons — Court to preview prospects of success and assess irreparable harm — Successful litigant not to be deprived of judgment’s fruits as a matter of course.
|
27 March 2025 |
|
Court discharged an ex parte stay of a Law Association suspension due to non-disclosure and failure to show irreparable harm.
-
Arbitration Act s.11 — interim measures; Rule 16 (LAZ General Rules) — scope and applicability to disputes with LPC; ex parte orders — duty of full disclosure; injunctive relief — status quo, irreparable harm and balance of convenience; disciplinary proceedings of legal practitioners.
|
27 March 2025 |
|
Court discharged an ex-parte stay, holding courts cannot stay non-judicial party decisions and expunged defective affidavit paragraphs.
-
Civil procedure — stay of proceedings — limits of court’s power to stay extrajudicial decisions of a political party leader; judicial review exception; procedural compliance with affidavit rules (Order 5 rules 15 and 20(c)); substitution of parties premature without formal Registrar recognition.
|
25 March 2025 |
|
Court dismissed application to disqualify plaintiff’s counsel for conflict absent proof of relevant confidential information and risk of disclosure.
-
Procedure — preliminary issues under Order 33 Rule 3 may be raised by notice of motion; Legal Practitioners Rules — conflict of interest and duty of confidentiality (including former clients); admissibility — expunction of hearsay paragraphs; refusal to disqualify counsel absent proof of relevant confidential information and risk of disclosure.
|
24 March 2025 |
|
An interlocutory injunction preserved the plaintiff's possession of customary land pending trial over alleged fraudulent conversion to leasehold.
-
Civil procedure — Interlocutory injunction — Preservation of status quo — American Cyanamid principles — Land dispute under customary tenure — Alleged fraudulent conversion to leasehold — Adequacy of damages — Balance of convenience.
|
19 March 2025 |
|
Claim for unlawful termination and related damages dismissed as statute-barred under the Limitation Act; leave to appeal granted.
-
Limitation of actions — Limitation Act 1939 s.2(1) — claim for unlawful termination time-barred — court declines to determine other preliminary objections — dismissal for statute-bar.
|
18 March 2025 |
|
The applicant's unlawful termination claim was statute-barred under the six-year limitation period and was dismissed.
-
Limitation Act 1939 s.2(1) — six-year limitation for actions in contract and tort — unlawful termination claim held time-barred; procedural objections unnecessary to decide once statute-barred; dismissal with leave to appeal granted.
|
18 March 2025 |
|
Specific performance ordered for the applicant despite vendor not being registered owner; privity and Statute of Frauds considered.
-
Contract for sale of land — Specific performance — Statute of Frauds s.4 (written memorandum and signature) — Privity of contract and enforceability against non‑owner/signatory — Security pledge of land — Alternative relief by refund and interest.
|
18 March 2025 |
|
A disciplinary communication to board members was protected by qualified privilege; defamation claim dismissed for lack of proven malice.
-
Defamation — meaning and publication; Qualified privilege — common interest between sender and addressees; Malice — required to defeat qualified privilege; Burden of proof on plaintiff to rebut privilege.
|
11 March 2025 |
| February 2025 |
|
|
Whether alleged defamatory media reports harmed the applicant's reputation and justified damages.
-
Defamation — libel — publications alleging involvement in illegal timber cartel — burden on plaintiff to prove reputational injury to right‑thinking members of society — plaintiff's own testimony insufficient — truth/justification and fair comment pleaded but claims dismissed for failure to prove defamation.
|
28 February 2025 |
|
Court corrected a clerical error to award costs against the applicant under rules permitting correction of accidental slips.
-
Civil procedure — Correction of clerical mistakes/accidental slips in judgments — Order 20 Rule 11 RSC; Order 3 Rule 2 HCR — Costs — Hutten v Harris; Trinity Engineering.
|
21 February 2025 |
|
Default judgment set aside where defendant showed an arguable defence and no prejudice to the plaintiff.
-
Civil procedure — Default judgment — Setting aside under Order 20 Rule 3 HCR; Order 47 RSC — Arguable defence on the merits paramount — Explanation for default secondary — Prejudice to plaintiff considered — Stay of execution — Leave to appeal granted
|
19 February 2025 |
|
Whether enforcing school uniform rules requiring removal of dreadlocks unlawfully infringes a minor's religious freedom and right to education.
-
Constitutional law — Freedom of conscience and religion — School uniform and appearance rules — Reasonable limitations and public interest; Discrimination on grounds of creed; Right to education; Article 28 remedies.
|
19 February 2025 |
-
Alleged violation of the right to freedom of conscience and religion, right to education, and right to protection from discrimination
|
19 February 2025 |
|
Application to strike out for lack of jurisdiction and failure to disclose a cause of action dismissed; matter ordered to full trial.
-
Procedure — Preliminary points of law — Order 14A & Order 33 RSC — Order 28(8) RSC permitting conversion of originating summons to writ where contentious issues exist — jurisdictional and cause-of-action objections — dismissal of preliminary application and order to proceed to full trial.
|
19 February 2025 |
|
Court held no leave required to issue a writ of possession in a mortgage action commenced under Order 30 Rule 14 HCR.
-
Civil procedure — enforcement of possession — writ of possession — mortgage actions — necessity of leave of court — equivalence of Order 30 Rule 14 HCR and Order 88 RSC — notice to party — setting aside for irregularity.
|
19 February 2025 |
|
The plaintiff’s relitigation of boundary/re-planning issues was barred as res judicata and an abuse of process; suit dismissed.
-
Civil procedure — Res judicata and abuse of process — multiplicity of actions; Order 14A and Order 33 RSC — prerequisites for determination of preliminary points; Section 13 High Court Act — final determination and avoidance of multiplicity; Skeleton Arguments — factual assertions require affidavit support
|
6 February 2025 |
|
Board lacked jurisdiction to try Vice‑Chancellor; appellant awarded arrears, benefits and three months’ salary damages.
-
Higher Education Act — Staff Tribunal required for disciplinary cases (Third Schedule, para 22); Employment discipline — double jeopardy analogy; Contract/disciplinary code interpretation — typographical error and contra proferentem; Natural justice and jurisdiction; Remedies for wrongful dismissal — arrears, benefits, damages, interest; Interpretation of “period of appeal.”
|
6 February 2025 |
|
An interlocutory injunction obtained after incomplete service was maintained where omission was not deliberate and damages may be inadequate.
-
Interim injunction — discharge — Order 27 Rule 4 HCR — substituted service — service irregularity — clean hands — American Cyanamid test (serious question, adequacy of damages, balance of convenience) — leave to appeal
|
5 February 2025 |
|
A returning officer validly invalidated the petitioner's nomination for failing to produce an original valid voter's card.
-
Electoral law — nomination validity; production of original voters card as prima facie proof of registration — regulation 18(1)(d); affidavit and certified copy requirements; election timetable vs nomination timetable; returning officer's power to accept or reject nominations
|
3 February 2025 |
| January 2025 |
|
|
Court refused summary determination under Order 14A, finding redundancy and bonus entitlement issues contentious and needing full trial.
-
Civil procedure — Order 14A (White Book) — summary determination inappropriate where issues are contentious and fact-dependent; redundancy, retirement notice and accrued bonus entitlement; applicability of pension amendment.
|
30 January 2025 |
|
The applicant's request to stay proceedings for alleged document fraud was dismissed and the disputed document expunged.
-
Civil procedure — stay of proceedings — concurrent criminal investigations — high threshold for stay; Verification and authentication of disputed documents; Expungement where joint verification order not complied with; Burden on applicant to show prejudice and estimate duration; Balancing competing interests and preserving plaintiff’s right to expeditious trial.
|
29 January 2025 |
|
Court held that circumstantial and forensic evidence sufficed to put the accused to their defence on a murder charge.
-
Criminal law — Murder — No-case-to-answer (s.206 CPC) — Test for prima facie case — Circumstantial evidence and forensic (post‑mortem) evidence sufficient to put accused to defence.
|
27 January 2025 |
|
|
25 January 2025 |
|
Plaintiff's claims for higher gratuity, extra allowances, repatriation and vehicle compensation dismissed; defendant acted in good faith.
-
Employment law — incorporation of harmonization report by admission; gratuity computation and consolidated allowances; repatriation allowance limited to relocated employees; vehicle allocation and right of first refusal; exemplary and punitive damages refused where employer promptly remedied miscalculation.
|
24 January 2025 |
|
Failure to comply with Order 53 time limits justified discharge of leave to commence judicial review and costs to respondents.
-
Judicial review — Leave to commence — Order 53 (White Book) — duty to enter motion within 14 days — non-prosecution — discharge of leave — consequences of procedural non-compliance — costs.
|
21 January 2025 |
|
Whether procedural defects in a memorandum of appearance and late filing justify striking out the defence; court dismissed challenge.
|
21 January 2025 |
|
A pending application for leave to appeal does not justify a stay absent arguable prospects of success and exceptional circumstances.
-
Civil procedure — Stay of proceedings pending leave to appeal — Application properly before High Court where leave to appeal is pending — Principles: pending appeal/leave, arguable prospects, risk of nugatory appeal, exceptional circumstances, promptness — Stay refused where no prospects of success.
|
21 January 2025 |
|
Defendants may recall witnesses for cross-examination on post-pleadings documents where a consent order and justice require it.
-
Civil procedure — recall of witnesses — cross-examination on documents produced after close of pleadings — consent order permitting re-opening of case — prevention of miscarriage of justice.
|
13 January 2025 |