Results.
21 judgments found.
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| October 1990 |
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Appeal dismissed: identification and witness credibility upheld despite minor inconsistencies; conviction for aggravated robbery affirmed.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Identification evidence — Witness credibility — Darkness and vegetation — Alleged inconsistencies not amounting to material contradictions — Appeal dismissed.
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25 October 1990 |
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Administrator General liable for devastavit where negligent delay barred an insurer claim; damages limited to Law Reform Act quantum.
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Damages; Negligence; Devastavit by delay in pursuing estate claims; Administrator General Act s.30 not available if not pleaded; Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act measure of damages; interest and costs
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22 October 1990 |
| September 1990 |
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Interlocutory injunctions in wrongful dismissal require clear right and irreparable harm; reinstatement is rare.
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Injunctions — interlocutory relief in wrongful dismissal cases — requirement of clear right and necessity to prevent irreparable harm — reinstatement as rare, exceptional remedy
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26 September 1990 |
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Appeal allowed: wrongful eviction claim not barred by res judicata; matter remitted for trial and costs to follow.
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Civil procedure — Res judicata — Wrongful eviction claim not barred where it was never tried; misleading pleadings may still disclose viable causes of action; remittal to trial court — Abuse of process — Re-litigation of unresolved issues not abusive.
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13 September 1990 |
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Appellate review raised and increased damages for inadequately assessed pain, loss of amenities and earnings, and awarded interest.
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Assessment of damages — appellate interference — standards for setting aside awards; personal injury — adequacy of general damages for pain and suffering and loss of amenities; special damages — proof by taxi operator without documentary records; mitigation of loss — reasonableness of not employing a driver; interest on damages
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10 September 1990 |
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Default judgment obtained under a defective writ set aside; respondent must repay amounts and bear appellant's costs.
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Civil procedure — Defective writ/incorrectly entitled and served writ — Default judgment set aside — Repayment of sums paid under set-aside judgment — Leave to amend writ — Costs awarded against respondent.
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4 September 1990 |
| August 1990 |
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Recent possession or sale of stolen goods alone cannot sustain aggravated robbery; convictions substituted for receiving stolen property.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Insufficient evidence where only proof is sale/possession of stolen goods — Recent possession does not alone establish participation in robbery — Substitution of conviction to receiving stolen property — Sentence imposed.
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14 August 1990 |
| July 1990 |
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Court set aside eight‑year sentence imposed under mistaken belief mandatory minimums applied; re‑sentencing required.
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Criminal law — Stock theft — Sentencing — Mandatory minimum sentences (Act No.2 of 1987) not retrospective — Sentencing judge’s error — Number of animals relevant but not determinative.
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25 July 1990 |
| June 1990 |
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Conviction unsafe where key prosecution witnesses had interests and lacked independent corroboration; mutual corroboration inadequate.
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Criminal law — Corroboration — Witnesses with interest to serve (failure to report; detention) — Mutual corroboration of suspect witnesses only where independent evidence of separate incidents or circumstances exclude joint fabrication — Lack of independent corroboration renders conviction unsafe
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18 June 1990 |
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Supreme Court lacks jurisdiction to grant bail absent a properly lodged appeal to the Supreme Court under sections 12 or 14.
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Criminal procedure — Bail — Jurisdiction of Supreme Court — Order 27 of Rules of the Supreme Court — Supreme Court Act ss.12, 14 and 22 — Appeal prerequisite for granting bail — Prior decisions per incuriam
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17 June 1990 |
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Court refused late filing of answer; delay self‑inflicted, counsel’s affidavit inadequate, appeal dismissed with costs.
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Civil procedure — extension of time — application to file answer out of time — need for satisfactory explanation and absence of self‑inflicted delay; admissibility and weight of affidavits sworn by counsel; public policy against reopening finalized divorce proceedings.
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15 June 1990 |
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Consent judgment upheld; without prejudice letters unnecessary and counsel's ostensible authority bound the appellant.
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Civil procedure — Settlement by consent — 'Without prejudice' negotiations generally inadmissible but sometimes producible; counsel's actual and ostensible authority to bind client; consent judgments not lightly withdrawn absent fraud or mistake
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4 June 1990 |
| May 1990 |
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Suspending part of a long sentence beyond statutory limits is unlawful; sentence reduced and backdated to custody.
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Criminal law — Manslaughter — Sentence — Suspension of sentence — Section 16 Criminal Procedure Code — Suspension limited to three years and must incentivize good behaviour; credit for time in custody; improper rejection of prosecution facts at sentencing
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21 May 1990 |
| March 1990 |
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Dismissal for non-attendance was set aside: appropriate remedy is strike-out with restoration, matter remitted for merits consideration.
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Civil procedure — non-attendance at hearing — striking out vs dismissal — restoration application — procedural fairness in handling applications for leave to appeal from deputy registrar’s summary judgment.
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2 March 1990 |
| February 1990 |
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Court reduced an excessive K306,000 award to K90,000 and set K300/week as a guide for pain and suffering valuations.
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Damages — personal injury — near-total loss of use of limb; pain and suffering — appropriate weekly rate (K300/week) — conversion of foreign awards into kwacha: realistic approach, not strict exchange-rate multiplication — valuation date generally that of the High Court award
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28 February 1990 |
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A named newspaper report with matching particulars was held to refer to the plaintiff; defendants’ privilege and fair-comment defences failed.
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Defamation — Libel — Identification by name and particulars — When words are understood to refer to the plaintiff; Defences — Qualified privilege and fair comment — burden of proof; Reliance on foreign correspondent and failure to produce foreign court transcript; Quantum of damages for imputation of criminality
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27 February 1990 |
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Plaintiff must prove reference in libel; court found articles referred to plaintiff and awarded damages.
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Defamation — Libel — Reference to plaintiff; burden of proof on plaintiff; qualified privilege and fair comment; damages awarded
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27 February 1990 |
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Implied landlord duty to maintain common lifts exists but is limited to reasonable care, not a guarantee of constant availability.
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Landlord and tenant — implied obligation to maintain common parts (lifts/stairs) in tall multi-occupied buildings — scope: reasonable care not absolute warranty — liability where landlord negligent; quiet enjoyment covenant not breached absent active interference
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18 February 1990 |
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Appeal allowed: murder conviction reduced to manslaughter where trial judge failed to address affray/self‑defence allegation.
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Criminal law — murder v. manslaughter — provocation and self-defence (affray) — appellate review where trial judge omits to address material defence — doubt resolved for accused — sentencing for serious manslaughter.
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7 February 1990 |
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Convictions for fraudulent misapplication of service property quashed where materials were properly authorized and no intent to permanently deprive proved.
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Criminal law — Fraudulent misapplication of service property — Sufficiency of evidence — Authorization of procurement for government house repairs — Intention to permanently deprive — DPP discontinues support — Convictions quashed.
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7 February 1990 |
| January 1990 |
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Damages for inconvenience are recoverable in breach of contract, but a periodic award for alternative transport was set aside where title failed to pass.
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Contract — Sale of goods — Failure to pass good title — Remedies: refund of purchase price with interest and reimbursement of expenses; damages for inconvenience recoverable in breach of contract; periodic award for alternative transport set aside where inappropriate given total failure of consideration.
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7 January 1990 |