Supreme Court of Zambia - 1987 November

15 judgments
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Results. 15 judgments found.

15 judgments
November 1987
Seizure of an uncustomed, fraudulently documented vehicle upheld because the purchaser had notice and acquired no title.
  • Customs and Excise Act s.162 — seizure of uncustomed goods; Sale of Goods Act s.21(1) (nemo dat) and s.22 (market overt) — whether purchaser had notice; use of false customs/registration documents as constructive notice; fraudulently obtained goods — innocent purchaser doctrine; personal remedy against seller.
30 November 1987
Court grants a final 21-day extension to file appeal record and heads, refuses stay of possession, and requires security deposit or automatic dismissal.
  • Civil procedure — appeal — want of prosecution — final extension to file record and heads — automatic dismissal if conditions unmet; enforcement — refusal to stay possession order; security for judgment debt via jointly operated counsel account; costs against defaulting appellant.
24 November 1987
Applicants held liable for manslaughter under common purpose despite other villagers’ assaults; appeals against conviction and sentence dismissed.
  • Criminal law — Common criminal purpose — Joint adventurers and crimines participes — Causation where multiple assailants — Penal Code ss.207(d),(e) — Credibility findings on appeal — Manslaughter.
19 November 1987
Court upheld murder conviction, rejecting self-defence and finding witness corroboration sufficient; death sentence mandatory.
  • Criminal law — Murder — credibility and corroboration of witnesses — self‑defence rejected — independent corroboration by relative — mandatory death sentence.
19 November 1987
Conviction quashed where missing post‑mortem and unsafe in‑court identification rendered the murder charge unsupported.
  • Criminal law — murder — insufficiency of evidence where no post‑mortem produced — section 19(1) Criminal Procedure Code; identification evidence — requirement for identification parade; in‑court identification unsafe; unresolved evidential discrepancies; misdirection by trial judge.
18 November 1987
Joint participants in similar assaults may each be liable for resulting death despite other assailants' involvement.
  • Criminal law — common criminal purpose — joint adventurers and crimines participes — liability where multiple assailants contribute to death — causation under Penal Code ss. 207(d),(e) — appellate review of credibility findings — sentencing
18 November 1987
Conviction based on an unadjudicated confession was unsustainable where voluntariness was not properly considered.
  • Criminal law — confession — voluntariness of statement — trial-within-a-trial — appellate review where accused alleges police brutality — circumstantial evidence and reliance on confession.
18 November 1987
Possession of recently stolen property did not prove aggravated robbery; conviction substituted for receiving stolen property.
  • Criminal law — aggravated robbery — sufficiency of evidence — possession of recently stolen property; inference of guilt not necessarily sole inference — receiving stolen property (s.318(1)) — substitution of conviction and sentence on appeal.
17 November 1987
The prosecution must prove a confession's voluntariness; misdirection on burden renders conviction unsafe.
  • Criminal evidence — confession — voluntariness — burden of proof rests on prosecution to prove voluntariness beyond reasonable doubt; misdirection on burden renders conviction unsafe.
17 November 1987
Appellants' aggravated robbery convictions upheld despite trial misdirections; appellate proviso applied owing to substantial corroborative evidence.
  • Criminal law — confession evidence — voluntariness — trial court misdirected by relying on contents of disputed statements; Identification evidence — conflict in witness accounts and pre-parade sighting; Appellate proviso — applied where ample corroborative evidence renders conviction safe; Convictions for aggravated robbery upheld.
15 November 1987
Presence at a robbery plus sale of stolen goods does not sustain aggravated robbery; conviction substituted to receiving stolen property.
  • Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Sufficiency of evidence — Presence at offence and sale of stolen goods — Confession — Substitution of conviction to receiving stolen property (s.318(1) Penal Code) — Sentencing.
3 November 1987
Whether provocation (insults and assault) negated a murder conviction where appellant struck his father with a nearby hoe.
  • Criminal law — Provocation — Elements: act of provocation, actual and reasonable loss of self-control, proportionate retaliation; proportionality of retaliation where weapon at hand; appeal allowed and murder conviction/quashed and sentence reduced.
3 November 1987
Identification, recent possession and conduct sufficiently supported the aggravated robbery conviction; appeal dismissed.
  • Criminal law — aggravated robbery — identification evidence — recent possession of stolen property — corroboration — failure to explain possession — substitution of conviction — appellate review.
3 November 1987
Confessions improperly admitted; identification upheld; insufficient proof of firearm use—convictions reduced and 15-year sentences substituted.
  • Criminal law — confession statements — voluntariness — burden on prosecution to prove voluntariness; Identification — Turnbull principles — ample opportunity to observe; Evidence — proof of firearm — requirement of ballistic/forensic link to establish use of firearm; Substitution of conviction and sentence.
3 November 1987
Untried or subsequent related offences do not count as prior convictions under s.275; mandatory enhanced sentence requires earlier conviction.
  • Sentence — Mandatory minimum under s.275 Penal Code — "Second or subsequent" offence requires prior conviction existing before commission of later offence — Untried/outstanding charges do not attract enhanced sentence; prosecutorial consolidation of related charges important
2 November 1987