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Supreme Court of Zambia - 1982 October

3 judgments
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3 judgments
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Judgment date
October 1982
Attorney-General v Musakanya (S.C.Z. Judgment 17 of 1981) [1982] ZMSC 20 (7 October 1982)
Lack of a specific date does not automatically make detention grounds vague; 14-day furnishing limit is mandatory.
Constitutional law – detention – Article 27(1)(a): "as soon as is reasonably practicable" implies urgency; "not more than fourteen days" is mandatory; vagueness test is adequacy of information to enable meaningful representation – absence of specific date does not automatically render grounds vague – alibi distinct from vagueness – duty to specify known dates – costs follow the event but appellate outcome may alter costs order.
 7 October 1982
Muvuma Kambanja Situna v the People (Appeal No.72 Of 1982; SCZ Judgment No.28 Of 1982) [1982] ZMSC 28 (5 October 1982)
Conviction unsafe where single frightened eyewitness identification and inadmissible police hearsay were relied upon.
Criminal law — Identification: single identifying witness — risk of honest mistake; necessity of searching questions and careful assessment of prevailing conditions. Evidence — Hearsay: statements to police not properly in evidence and not falling under s.4 or other exceptions are inadmissible to prove their truth. Trial judgment must demonstrate adequate consideration of defence evidence; failure is a misdirection rendering conviction unsafe.
 5 October 1982
In Re: The People (S.C.Z. Judgment 28 of 1982) [1982] ZMSC 19 (4 October 1982)
Single-witness identification requires strict scrutiny and unintroduced police hearsay is inadmissible.
Criminal law — Identification — Single identifying witness — Need for careful testing to exclude honest mistake; Identification parade — adequacy and limits; Evidence — Hearsay and police statements not properly introduced — inadmissible; Trial judgment — must show consideration of evidence favourable to accused.
 4 October 1982