Results.
134 judgments found.
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| March 1993 |
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Appellate court upheld aggravated robbery convictions based on trial judge's credibility and identification findings.
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Criminal law — aggravated robbery — credibility and demeanour findings — identification evidence — appellate deference to trial judge's factual findings.
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3 March 1993 |
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Appeal against excessive custodial sentence and corporal punishment succeeded; sentence reduced to three years and caning set aside.
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Criminal law — Sentencing — Excessive sentence — Manslaughter where assault was mild, no weapon used, victim elderly and death due to congestive cardiac failure; corporal punishment set aside.
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3 March 1993 |
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Court reduced a nine-year manslaughter sentence to four years, finding the original term excessive given no weapon was used.
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Criminal law — Manslaughter — Sentence — Whether a nine-year term was excessive where the assault involved no weapon — Appeal against sentence — Reduction to four years.
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3 March 1993 |
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Court reduced appellant's nine-year manslaughter sentence to four years, finding the original term excessive given no weapon used.
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Criminal law — Manslaughter — Sentence — Whether a nine-year term was excessive where death followed a non-weapon assault — appellate reduction to four years.
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3 March 1993 |
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Appellants' 20-year aggravated robbery sentence reduced to the mandatory 15 years despite aggravating hospitality abuse.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Sentencing — Abuse of hospitality as aggravating factor — Appellate reduction of sentence to statutory minimum mandatory term.
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3 March 1993 |
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Appellate court reduced an excessive 15-year manslaughter sentence to 3 years due to mitigating circumstances.
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Criminal law — Manslaughter — Sentence excessive — Mitigating circumstances (provocation/being hit while separating a fight) — Appellate reduction of sentence.
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3 March 1993 |
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Appellant's conduct and failure to surrender public funds supported conviction for theft by public servant; sentence upheld.
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Theft by public servant — circumstantial and conduct-based evidence — inference of guilty intention from refusal to surrender public funds and premature exclamation of theft — sufficiency of evidence — sentence not excessive.
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3 March 1993 |
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Appeal upheld in part: wall clock conviction affirmed, heaters acquitted, sentence reduced from five to two years' imprisonment with hard labour.
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Criminal law — theft by public servant — whether appellant was mere office orderly or active participant; evidence of erasure of government marks and presence during sale; permissibility of taking government property to private repairers; sentence excessive — reduced.
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3 March 1993 |
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Caning set aside as inappropriate with a long custodial term; manslaughter sentence reduced from nine to four years.
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Criminal law — manslaughter — sentencing — corporal punishment (caning) is inhuman/degrading and should be imposed sparingly; caning inappropriate when a long custodial sentence is passed; appellate reduction of excessive sentence.
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3 March 1993 |
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Repeated failure to verify deliveries and an incriminating endorsement established theft by servant; appeal dismissed.
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Criminal law — theft by servant — receipt procedures and endorsements on delivery notes as evidence of knowledge and misconsignment — breach of duty versus dishonest appropriation — appellate review of sentence.
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3 March 1993 |
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Appeal against robbery conviction and 16‑year sentence dismissed; identification and credibility findings upheld.
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Criminal law — Identification evidence — Corroboration and credibility assessments — Appeal against conviction — Adequacy of trial judge’s evaluation; Sentence — whether term of 16 years with hard labour is excessive.
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2 March 1993 |
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The applicant's conviction upheld: common intent to steal from premises includes intent to use force and rob a guard.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Common intention — Whether intent to steal from premises includes intent to use force and rob obstructing persons — Identification evidence — Conviction upheld.
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2 March 1993 |
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Daylight eyewitness identification and being caught red-handed justified the appellants' conviction and 20-year sentence; appeals dismissed.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Daylight eyewitness identification and apprehension 'red handed' — Defence explanations rejected — Failure to call taxi driver not fatal — Sentence 20 years with hard labour not excessive.
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2 March 1993 |
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Court upheld the 10-year manslaughter sentence despite appellant's remorse and claimed lack of intent.
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Criminal law — Manslaughter — Sentence — Appeal against sentence — Mitigation, remorse and absence of intent — Whether sentence is manifestly excessive.
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2 March 1993 |
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Conviction for aggravated robbery upheld where suspect witness was corroborated by complainant's identification and circumstances.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Suspect witness in possession of stolen property — Corroboration by complainant's identification and surrounding circumstances — Single identifying witness — Sentence not excessive.
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2 March 1993 |
| February 1993 |
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Conviction for theft upheld: witness evidence corroborated; record‑inaccuracy and conspiracy claims rejected; wrong place in particulars non‑prejudicial.
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Criminal law — Theft — Credibility and corroboration of accomplice/witness evidence — Reliance on independent corroboration (foreign witnesses) — Trial record accuracy — Alleged omission of defendant’s report to intelligence officer — Conspiracy allegations — Extra‑territorial jurisdiction (Penal Code s.6) and requirement to state actual place of offence in particulars.
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26 February 1993 |
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Confession excluded as unsafe; first appellant's murder conviction quashed, substituted conviction for receiving stolen goods; second appellant acquitted by reason of age.
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Criminal law — admissibility and safety of confession statements; appellate review of trial judge's credibility findings; Penal Code s.14(2) — criminal responsibility of children under twelve; aggravated robbery versus receiving stolen property.
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16 February 1993 |
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Appellant's aggravated robbery conviction upheld where identification and recovery corroboration were reliable despite complainant's drinking.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Identification by a partially intoxicated complainant — Recognition in moonlight — Corroboration by recovery of property and purchaser — Appeal dismissed.
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16 February 1993 |
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Conviction quashed where the trial magistrate ignored recalled evidence and misstated possession, creating reasonable doubt.
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Criminal law — hunting offences — appeal — trial magistrate's misdirection by failing to consider recalled evidence and mischaracterising denials — reasonable doubt — conviction quashed; forfeiture of firearm set aside.
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16 February 1993 |
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Conviction quashed where reasonable doubt arose from a possible accidental firearm discharge during a struggle.
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Criminal law — murder — accidental firearm discharge during a struggle — credibility findings on appeal — reasonable doubt — conviction quashed.
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3 February 1993 |
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Sentence for manslaughter reduced where record showed assault with bare hands and trial judge failed to consider weapon use.
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Criminal law — Manslaughter — Sentencing — Effect of use of bare hands versus weapon — Appellate reduction where trial judge failed to consider weapon use — Reliance on Kasungani v The People.
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2 February 1993 |
| January 1993 |
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An advocate cannot withdraw informally; court leave and consideration of 'sufficient cause' are required before setting aside default judgments.
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Civil procedure — Advocate’s withdrawal — Formal leave of court required; informal cessation of retainer improper. Default/ex parte judgment — Setting aside — Court must consider 'sufficient cause' under Order 35 Rule 5
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Costs — retrial ordered due to procedural unfairness caused by former advocates
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29 January 1993 |
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Specific performance ordered for proven sale of land; alternative refund improper absent impossibility; no retrial despite defendant not heard.
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Contract — sale of land — part performance and proof of agreement by payment and signed offer; Remedy — specific performance preferred; alternative refund inappropriate absent impossibility; procedural fairness — failure to hear defendant not fatal where pleaded defenses bound to fail.
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28 January 1993 |
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Identification evidence upheld; conviction and sentence for aggravated robbery against the appellant affirmed.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Identification evidence — Reliability and opportunity to observe — Corroboration not required where independent witness supports complainant — Recent possession and associated items — Sentence appropriateness for brutal robbery.
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25 January 1993 |
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Lump-sum awards combining pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages are erroneous; pecuniary loss must be proved.
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Damages — Separation of pecuniary and non-pecuniary heads; necessity to prove net pecuniary loss; aggravated conduct reflected in compensatory award; interest from issue of writ where appellate award alters damages
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21 January 1993 |
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The appellant's dismissal was justified; reinstatement of the respondent after long absence was inappropriate.
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Employment law — dismissal for unauthorised absence — contractual requirement for medical evidence — effect of non‑compliance with Employment Act s.36 and Special Provisions Regulations — reinstatement as discretionary remedy and inappropriateness after long delay
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21 January 1993 |
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A trial court must not substitute an expert handwriting opinion for its own conclusion; conviction quashed, other convictions upheld and re-sentenced.
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Criminal law — Espionage — Expert handwriting evidence as guide not substitute for court's conclusion — Misreliance on expert opinion vitiates conviction; corroboration and sufficiency of evidence for communication and information-gathering offences; re-sentencing after quashing a count.
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20 January 1993 |
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Doubt over provocation resolved for the appellant; murder conviction quashed and substituted with manslaughter sentence.
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Criminal law — Murder v. manslaughter — Provocation and cooling-off period — Appellate substitution of conviction and re-sentencing.
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19 January 1993 |
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A stay of judgment suspends doubts about the appellant’s nationality; he must not be treated as a prohibited immigrant pending appeal.
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Judgment stay — effect on citizenship questions — doubts as to nationality held in abeyance pending appeal — appellant not to be treated as prohibited immigrant pending appeal — procedural objections on personal service not decided — government non‑harassment undertaking.
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14 January 1993 |
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Appellate court remitted the case after finding the trial judge wrongly refused to consider defendants’ scheme and directed reconsideration with timelines.
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Civil procedure — appellate review and remittal — trial judge’s duty to consider rival implementation schemes — discretion as to timing of restitution — refusal to supervise running litigation — appointment of auditors and computation of compensation to handover date.
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12 January 1993 |
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Whether verbal provocation or self-defence can reduce a murder conviction where retaliation was disproportionate and there was time to cool down.
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Criminal law — Provocation — Whether verbal insults amount to provocation reducing murder to manslaughter — Disproportionate retaliation and time to cool off — Self-defence not established; conviction for murder sustained.
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6 January 1993 |
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Verbal provocation did not reduce murder to manslaughter; conviction and 25‑year sentence upheld.
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Criminal law — Murder — Provocation — Whether verbal remarks reducing relationship tension can constitute provocation — cooling time and proportionality of retaliation; admissibility of Warned and Caution statement; mitigation at sentencing.
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6 January 1993 |
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Failed provocation did not reduce murder to manslaughter; 25-year sentence upheld on appeal.
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Criminal law — Murder — Provocation — Whether verbal statements and delay created sudden provocation — Proportionality of retaliation — Self-defence — Mitigating circumstances at sentencing — Appeal against sentence.
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6 January 1993 |
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Seller liable for refund and contractual damages; court rejects dollar conversion of Kwacha award and refers damages assessment to Deputy Registrar.
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Sale of Goods Act 1893 — breach for failure to deliver — measure of damages as difference between contract price and market price at time goods should have been delivered or when action should reasonably have been brought; rejection of foreign-currency conversion of Kwacha obligations; no double recovery for conversion and breach; refund with interest; counterclaim dismissed for remoteness.
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6 January 1993 |