Supreme Court of Zambia - 1988 August

11 judgments
Skip past Court registries
Skip past years
Skip past months
Skip to results

Results. 11 judgments found.

11 judgments
August 1988
Restricted publication and a late apology reduce defamation damages; 'contumelious' endorsement can plead exemplary damages.
  • Defamation — restricted publication and late apology as mitigating factors for quantum; exemplary damages sufficiently pleaded by 'contumelious' endorsement; servant personally liable where plaintiff sued servant alone; appellate reduction of excessive award
29 August 1988
Accused must be charged with armed robbery for death sentence; poor ID needs corroboration; unlifted fingerprints raise rebuttable presumption.
  • Criminal law — Disclosure of particulars: accused must be notified when charged with armed robbery; Identification evidence — in-court identification requires corroboration (e.g., recent possession); Fingerprints — failure to lift raises rebuttable presumption they are not the accused's; Sentencing — death sentence inappropriate where armed robbery not charged
24 August 1988
An injunction was inappropriate because the dispute was monetary and damages would adequately compensate the plaintiff.
  • Civil procedure — Interim injunction — Appropriateness where dispute is monetary — Balance of convenience only relevant if harm is irreparable and damages inadequate
24 August 1988
Conviction for obtaining money by false pretences upheld where evidence established deliberate misrepresentation despite weaknesses on related counts.
  • Criminal law — Obtaining money by false pretences — sufficiency of evidence — relevance of financial regulations on proof of identity — effect of acquittals on related counts on distinct conviction.
23 August 1988
Identification must be corroborated; possession of stolen goods can support conviction for receiving stolen property if armed-robbery identification fails.
  • Criminal law — armed robbery — identification at parade — corroboration by possession of recently stolen property — substitution of conviction for receiving stolen property — admissibility/weight of exhibits identified but not formally produced — sufficiency of firearm evidence for capital charge.
23 August 1988
Parties may validly contract to sell land conditionally upon obtaining Presidential consent under section 13(1).
  • Land law — Presidential consent — Validity of contracts for sale of land conditional on obtaining Presidential consent (Land (Conversion of Titles) Act, s.13(1)) — Summary judgment — Dismissal as frivolous and vexatious
17 August 1988
Failure to report contacts with alleged plotters, coupled with association, can justify preventive detention under public security law.
  • Constitutional law — Habeas corpus — Preventive detention under Preservation of Public Security Act — Failure to report contacts with alleged plotters — Relevance of criminal-law defences — Article 26 and judicial inquiry into reasonableness of detention
11 August 1988
Compensatory damages for assault and false imprisonment may include an exemplary element; interest adjusted for inflationary effects.
  • Damages — False imprisonment and assault — Compensatory award to include an exemplary element where conduct aggravated; quantum increased for inadequacy; inflation/devaluation to be considered in setting interest
10 August 1988
Employer's winding-up does not automatically curtail a deceased employee's future earning capacity for damages assessment.
  • Damages — Fatal Accidents — employer winding-up does not automatically negate future earning capacity; assessment by realistic multipliers; date of award governs kwacha valuation; interest on damages
10 August 1988
Conviction for aggravated robbery upheld; original 45-year sentence reduced to 25 years as excessive.
  • Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — identification evidence and corroboration — possession of proceeds — appellate review of sentence — excessive custodial term substituted.
9 August 1988
Aggravated robbery convictions quashed for lack of evidence and substituted with receiving stolen property convictions, each attracting five years' imprisonment.
  • Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — insufficiency of evidence to prove violence/threat — Convictions quashed — Substitution with offences of receiving stolen property (s.118 Penal Code) — Sentencing to concurrent five years' imprisonment with hard labour.
9 August 1988