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Supreme Court of Zambia - 1976

4 judgments
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4 judgments
September 1976
Haonga & Others v The People (45 of 1976) [1976] ZMSC 1 (21 September 1976)
Whether lack of proof of common design defeats murder convictions and permits conviction only for a lesser offence under section 181(2).
  • Criminal law — common design and felony — liability for death caused by one participant; presence at scene and inability to identify perpetrator; admissibility and weight of confessions and witness evidence; substitution for minor offence under s.181(2); onus under s.294(2) (capital aggravated robbery)
21 September 1976
January 1976
Benua v The People (SCZ Judgment No. 4 of 1976) [1976] ZMSC 3 (27 January 1976)
A guilty plea must be considered in sentencing; failure to do so is an error in principle.
  • Criminal law — Sentence — Plea of guilty must be taken into account — Failure to do so an error in principle — Common purpose renders co‑accused equally guilty despite one holding a weapon.
27 January 1976
Chabala v The People (SCZ Judgment No. 3 of 1976) [1976] ZMSC 4 (27 January 1976)
Conviction cannot rest on recent possession alone if the accused’s explanation might reasonably be true; no onus on accused.
  • Criminal law — Theft — Recent possession doctrine — Inference from recent possession — Accused’s explanation — No onus to prove explanation — Court must consider whether explanation might reasonably be true.
27 January 1976
Alubisho v The People (SCZ Judgment No. 2 of 1976) [1976] ZMSC 2 (13 January 1976)
An appellate court must not increase the appellant's sentence merely because it would have imposed a different one.
  • Criminal law — Appeal against sentence — Sentencing discretion resides primarily with trial court — Appellate interference only if sentence wrong in principle, manifestly excessive or totally inadequate inducing shock, or exceptional circumstances — Appellate judge must not substitute his own discretion for trial court's.
13 January 1976