Results.
16 judgments found.
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| July 1987 |
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The appellants' convictions and 18-year sentences upheld due to reliable identification and corroborative warn and caution statements.
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Criminal law — aggravated robbery; identification — prior acquaintance and daylight; corroboration — warn and caution statements admissible; appellate review — deference to trial court credibility findings; sentence — 18 years with hard labour justified for violent robbery and sexual assault.
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29 July 1987 |
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Cogent circumstantial evidence and a voluntary confession can sustain a murder conviction despite no medical cause of death.
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Criminal law — murder — circumstantial evidence — identification of decomposed body — admissibility of confession — voluntariness (trial within a trial) — absence of medical cause of death not fatal where evidence is cogent.
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29 July 1987 |
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Aggravated robbery conviction quashed and substituted with receiving stolen property where possession and knowledge were proved.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — sufficiency of evidence; Criminal law — Receiving stolen property — possession plus knowledge as basis for conviction; Appeal — substitution of conviction and sentence on appeal where evidence supports a lesser offence.
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28 July 1987 |
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Conviction quashed where trial court misdirected by ignoring another officer’s prior access to the safe key.
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Criminal law — theft by public servant — circumstantial inference of exclusive access to safe key — misdirection on material fact (prior access by another officer) — proviso to section 15(1) Supreme Court Act inapplicable.
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28 July 1987 |
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Specific performance granted for house sale; dismissal held wrongful as employer failed to prove alleged misconduct.
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Contract for sale of land — Statute of Frauds s.4 — letters as sufficient memorandum; Specific performance — land — damages inadequate; Wrongful summary dismissal — burden of proof on employer — allegations not proved; Damages measured by contractual notice period.
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27 July 1987 |
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In-court identification corroborated by accused leading police to stolen items upheld; particulars amended to "a cash box".
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Criminal law — aggravated robbery — defective particulars and amendment — in‑court identification corroborated by accused leading police to stolen property — fingerprint evidence defects cured by accused's admission — appellate review of credibility findings.
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15 July 1987 |
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Murder conviction reduced to manslaughter where provocation raised reasonable doubt despite rejected self-defence.
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Criminal law — murder v. manslaughter; self-defence rejected where accused had disarmed deceased; provocation assessed for proportionality; appeal substituting manslaughter; sentence fixed at ten years' imprisonment with hard labour.
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15 July 1987 |
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The court reduced the appellant's sentence after finding the trial judge relied on a withdrawn allegation to aggravate sentence.
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Criminal law — Manslaughter — Sentencing — Use of withdrawn allegation as aggravating factor — Error of principle; Guilty plea and first offender status — mitigation; Sentencing gravity where elderly vulnerable victim sustains multiple fatal injuries.
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14 July 1987 |
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A police officer cannot be convicted under s.250(b) for assaulting another officer; appellate court substituted common assault conviction.
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Criminal law — Assault on police officer — Interpretation of "any person" in s.250(b) Penal Code — Police officers not within protection of s.250(b) when assaulting fellow officers — Disciplinary provisions do not oust criminal prosecution — Substitution of conviction to lesser offence (common assault) under appellate powers.
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14 July 1987 |
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Conviction upheld under proviso despite misdirected confession hearing because independent confessions and identification supported guilt.
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Criminal law — Stock theft — Confessions — Trial within a trial — Voluntariness — Misconduct/misdirection by trial court — Proviso to Section 15(1) Supreme Court of Zambia Act — Identification evidence — Mandatory minimum sentence not appealable.
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14 July 1987 |
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Uncorroborated child evidence excluded; self‑defence rejected but severe provocation reduced murder to manslaughter, six‑year sentence.
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Criminal law — evidence of children of tender years — voir dire — requirement of corroboration under Juveniles Act s.122(1) — uncorroborated child evidence excluded; self‑defence — excessive force; provocation — reduction of murder to manslaughter; sentencing.
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14 July 1987 |
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An offender who was a juvenile when offending but is no longer at trial is tried as an adult but sentenced as a juvenile.
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Criminal law — Juvenile — Trial jurisdiction when accused no longer juvenile — Sentencing to follow age at time of offence — Retrial jurisdiction clarified
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13 July 1987 |
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Medical evidence and recent possession of a stolen vehicle and gun can sustain an aggravated robbery conviction despite uncertain identification.
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Criminal law — Aggravated/armed robbery (s.294(2)) — firearm element — medical evidence of gunshot wounds — identity evidence — limited opportunity to observe — recent possession of stolen vehicle and firearm as connecting evidence.
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12 July 1987 |
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Court held alleged failure to produce documents does not justify altering a final judgment for accidental omission.
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Civil procedure — correction of judgments — alleged accidental slip or omission — finality of judgments — no general rule to amend final judgments on dissatisfaction — failure to produce documents by a party does not constitute judicial slip or omission.
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9 July 1987 |
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Court upheld K15,000 damages for nine‑year‑old’s partial finger amputation, finding the award not excessive.
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Damages — personal injuries — partial amputation of finger (distal phalanx) — quantum — Workmen’s Compensation Act not applicable to non‑earning infant — appellate interference only if award wholly unreasonable — inflation assessed as at trial judgment date
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1 July 1987 |
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Speed cannot be inferred without expert evidence; court awarded fixed loss-of-expectation-of-life damages.
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Evidence — expert evidence on vehicle speed — inadmissibility of inferring excessive speed without expert estimation; Tort — contributory negligence — cannot be founded on unsupported speed inference; Damages — Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act — loss of expectation of life — moderate, fixed awards regardless of age; Quantum guidance — K1,500 (pre-3 Oct 1985), recommended K3,000 thereafter
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1 July 1987 |