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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 1996 |
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A statutory title certificate does not defeat a prior purchaser’s equitable interest where the transferee had constructive notice.
Property law — equitable interest of purchaser in possession — constructive notice — statutory certificates under Housing (Statutory Improvement Area) Act not absolute; do not defeat overriding equitable rights of which transferee had notice.
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31 December 1996 |
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Employer not estopped from denying higher expatriate allowance where authorising director never approved it.
Practice – Estoppel: authority to bind employer; Employment contract – who may fix terms; Central bank approval not an offer to employee; Acquiescence and representation; Proof of agency/authority.
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31 December 1996 |
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Failure to follow disciplinary procedure and withhold evidence made the dismissal wrongful; reinstatement is an exceptional remedy.
Employment law – Wrongful dismissal – Procedural fairness – Failure to follow disciplinary code – Denial of particulars and access to evidence (security fuel book) – Reinstatement as exceptional remedy.
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9 December 1996 |
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Prior-permit requirement for public assemblies violates constitutional freedoms of assembly and expression.
Constitutional law – Public Order Act s.5(4) – prior-permit requirement – freedom of assembly and expression – prior restraint – lack of objective guidelines – arbitrary discretion – criminalisation of unauthorised assemblies – exemptions for office-holders.
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9 December 1996 |
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Appeal dismissed: identification evidence reliable; amendment to particulars non‑prejudicial; police investigation adequate.
Criminal law – Aggravated robbery – Identification evidence – Application of R v Turnbull – Amendment of particulars – Prejudice to fair trial – Adequacy of police investigation and corroboration by recovered property.
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4 December 1996 |
| November 1996 |
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Central bank approval of a higher allowance does not bind the employer; no estoppel where the increase lacked authorisation.
Practice — Estoppel — Effect of agent’s act where principal did not authorise variation; Employment contract — Authority to vary terms; Administrative approval (central bank) — Approval not constituting offer to employee or conclusive proof of agreed terms; Estoppel requires representation by authorised person and reasonable reliance.
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30 November 1996 |
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Pre-election challenges to presidential nominations are premature where statute prescribes post-swearing referral; Section 9(3) is procedural.
Constitutional law – Article 41(2) (nominations vs election validity) – Electoral Act s.9(3) – procedural time limits for electoral petitions – ultra vires challenge rejected.
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14 November 1996 |
| October 1996 |
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An unopposed civil appeal was allowed, the lower court’s decision set aside, and no order as to costs.
Civil appeal — unopposed appeal — appellate allowance — setting aside lower court decision — no order as to costs.
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3 October 1996 |
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Appellate court reduced first appellant's conviction to receiving stolen property and acquitted second appellant due to weak evidence.
Criminal law – Aggravated robbery – Identification and possession evidence – Misdirection by trial judge on peripheral linkage (fuel evidence) – Substitution of conviction to receiving stolen property – Acquittal where evidence is weak.
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1 October 1996 |
| September 1996 |
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Whether dismissal amounted to discrimination on grounds of social status and how "social status" is defined under employment law.
Labour law – Discrimination – Meaning and scope of "social status" under s.108 of the Industrial and Labour Relations Act – Qualification of earlier Ngwira authority – Onus on claimant to show reasonable cause to believe discrimination – Tribunal’s duty to make factual findings.
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29 September 1996 |
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Industrial Relations Court may probe termination reasons and award damages for wrongful dismissal beyond nominal social-status discrimination.
Labour law – unfair/wrongful dismissal – Industrial Relations Court jurisdiction under Section 85 – entitlement to damages and remedies – ability to probe employer's reasons for termination – limits of social status discrimination finding.
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29 September 1996 |
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Retrial inappropriate where evidence was inadequate and investigation concerned leakage, not a drugs offence.
Criminal procedure – Retrial – Whether retrial appropriate where prosecution evidence inadequate; Narcotics Act ss.29,30(d) – compulsion to disclose information; privilege against self‑incrimination – statutory exceptions; admissibility of warn‑and‑caution statements.
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9 September 1996 |
| August 1996 |
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Aggravated robbery conviction quashed for lack of proof; substituted conviction for receiving stolen property with six-year sentence imposed.
Criminal law – Evidence – Identification and proof of robbery; Possession of stolen property – Appropriate conviction of receiving where robbery not established; Appeal – Substitution of conviction and sentence by appellate court.
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6 August 1996 |
| July 1996 |
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Forced-signature allegations require a trial-within-a-trial; convictions upheld on other compelling evidence.
Criminal procedure – Statements – Voluntariness – Trial-within-a-trial required where voluntariness (including signatures) is in issue; denial of making a statement despite beatings is a credibility issue; misdirection where judge failed to hold preliminary hearing; proviso applied to uphold convictions.
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8 July 1996 |
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A court cannot convert an interim consent order into a final judgment to avoid adjudication; doing so denies parties justice.
Civil procedure — Consent/interim settlement — Whether an interim consent order can be treated as final — Court’s duty to adjudicate and finally determine disputes — High Court Act s.9(2) and s.13; Constitution Article 1(9) — Denial of justice where judge leaves substantive issues untried.
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4 July 1996 |
| June 1996 |
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A Supreme Court will not rescind its consent order remitting a matter for retrial absent mistake of law or fraud.
Civil procedure — Order for retrial by consent — Review of court’s own decisions — Jurisdiction to revisit judgments limited to mistake of law or fraud — Inherent jurisdiction not demonstrated.
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10 June 1996 |
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The court confirmed conviction for aggravated robbery, finding the appellant's warn-and-caution statement voluntary and admissible.
Criminal law — Admissibility of confession — Warn-and-caution statement — Voluntariness assessed in trial within a trial — Allegations of police beating and starvation — Confession can sustain conviction if found voluntary.
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6 June 1996 |
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Court upheld conviction because the warn-and-caution statement was voluntary and admissible despite limited forensic evidence.
Criminal law – Admissibility of confessions – Warn-and-caution statement – Voluntariness and trial-within-a-trial.
Criminal procedure – Reliance on confession as sole or decisive evidence.
Forensic evidence – Blood grouping and fingerprints; inconclusive or unpursued forensic issues do not necessarily undermine admissible confession.
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6 June 1996 |
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Conviction for aggravated robbery upheld; sentence increased from 15 to 20 years due to aggravating circumstances.
Criminal law – Aggravated robbery – Possession of recently stolen property as evidence of guilt – Identification and continuous observation in low light – Sentencing: appellate increase of statutory minimum where circumstances warrant (gang offence; elderly victim).
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5 June 1996 |
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Technical breach for issuing redundancy notices before redeployment attempts; damages limited to contractual notice entitlements.
Employment law – redundancy agreement – obligation to endeavour to find alternative employment before declaring redundancies – technical breach where no alternatives exist – measure of damages for breach of redundancy agreement measured by contractual notice/pay in lieu, not a year’s salary – age discrimination claim dismissed.
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4 June 1996 |
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Consecutive sentences for separate receiving offences committed months apart were appropriate; ten-year effective sentence not excessive.
Criminal law – Sentencing – Concurrent versus consecutive sentences – Separate offences vs course of conduct – Preferable to try related matters together but distinct incidents may be sentenced separately – Receiving stolen property – Condign sentence.
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4 June 1996 |
| May 1996 |
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Appellant failed to prove dismissal was discrimination based on social status; evidence supported dismissal for facilitating fraudulent traveller's cheques.
Employment law — unfair dismissal — discrimination based on social status — burden of proof on complainant — comparators and causal link — procedural fairness — dismissal for facilitating issuance of travellers cheques without required approval.
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31 May 1996 |
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31 May 1996 |
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Bank liable for converting sale proceeds after agreeing to retain dollars; prior Bank of Zambia approval was not legally required.
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22 May 1996 |
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The slip rule corrects clerical errors only and cannot be used to reopen or set aside a final judgment.
Practice — Correction of judgments — Slip rule (order 20 / rule 78) — Clerical errors only — Not a vehicle to review or set aside final judgments — Finality of appeals — Remedy for fraud by action to set aside.
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22 May 1996 |
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Court reduces respondents' discrimination compensation to twelve months' salary and fixes deemed retirement as 2 December 1991.
Employment law — Discrimination on political grounds — Early retirement deemed date — Quantum of damages for wrongful discrimination — Interest at average bank deposit rate — Damages non-taxable — No deduction of salary in lieu of notice.
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22 May 1996 |
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Evidence did not establish malice aforethought; murder conviction substituted for manslaughter with a six-year sentence.
Criminal law — Murder v. manslaughter — Requirement of malice aforethought — Substitution of conviction — Sentence reduction to imprisonment for manslaughter.
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21 May 1996 |
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A court may stay execution of a tax warrant pending resolution where judicial protection against injury is necessary.
Tax law — Warrant of distress under Income Tax Act — Assessed tax payable despite objection — Court's inherent jurisdiction/judicial review — Stay of execution pending determination where objection undecided.
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14 May 1996 |
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14 May 1996 |
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Appeal dismissed: conviction upheld where accused was seen selling stolen property and his explanation was rejected.
Criminal law – Aggravated robbery; corroboration of accomplice/escapee evidence; possession and sale of stolen property as admissible circumstantial proof; recovery and discovery supporting conviction.
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7 May 1996 |
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Murder conviction upheld; death sentence commuted to 15 years' imprisonment due to mutual affray and appellant's youth.
Criminal law – Murder – self-defence; voluntary mutual combat; provocation and drunkenness as defences; sentencing – extenuating circumstances warranting commutation of death sentence to fixed term imprisonment.
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7 May 1996 |
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Appellate court upheld trial credibility finding, refused self-defence, but reduced death sentence to ten years for extenuating drunkenness.
Criminal law – Credibility – Distinction between adverse finding as to credit and resolving conflicting versions – Witness not to be held untruthful solely because conflict exists; Self-defence and death per infortunium require acceptance of accused's version; Sentence mitigation – drunkenness as extenuating circumstance.
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7 May 1996 |
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Convictions quashed for lack of sufficient evidence linking appellant to drugs; analyst report held admissible.
Narcotic Drugs Act – trafficking v. possession – charging both offences; evidential sufficiency and safe conviction; admissibility of analyst report under s.192(1) C.P.C.; vehicle forfeiture.
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7 May 1996 |
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Conviction upheld where appellant was found selling stolen property and his explanation was rejected.
Criminal law – aggravated robbery – accused found selling stolen property – accomplice/escapee information as lead – corroboration not required where possession, eyewitness evidence and recovery of property support conviction.
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7 May 1996 |
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Appellate court upheld trial credibility finding, rejected self-defence, and reduced death sentence due to extenuating drunkenness.
Evidence – credibility: proper approach to resolving conflicting accounts; distinction between adverse finding as to credit and resolving credibility. Criminal law – self-defence; sentence – extenuating circumstances of drunkenness reducing moral culpability.
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6 May 1996 |
| April 1996 |
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Aggravated robbery conviction set aside and substituted with receiving stolen property where information defective and evidence insufficient.
Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Sufficiency of evidence; Defective information — failure to allege joint action or that accused was armed; Substitution of conviction — receiving stolen property (s.318(1)); Sentence substitution.
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17 April 1996 |
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Appellant's aggravated robbery conviction upheld: possession of knife and recovered goods supported conviction despite bias complaint.
Criminal law – Aggravated robbery – Identification and credibility – Possession of weapon and recovered stolen goods as corroboration – Requirement to call all witnesses – Appellate review of alleged judicial bias.
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16 April 1996 |
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Section 69 criminalising defamation of the President upheld as constitutionally permissible and non‑discriminatory.
Constitutional law — freedom of expression — criminal defamation of the Head of State (s.69 Penal Code) — Article 20(3) exceptions (public order) — "law", vagueness and overbreadth — proportionality and democratic‑society test — Article 23 discrimination (exhaustive grounds) — burden of proof on State.
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11 April 1996 |
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Criminal defamation of the President upheld as a constitutionally permissible, non‑discriminatory limitation on free expression.
Criminal defamation of the President; constitutional law—freedom of expression (Art.20) and permissible limitations; vagueness/precision of law; proportionality and public order; non-discrimination (Art.23).
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10 April 1996 |
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Fair-comment defence upheld where a newspaper published balanced reader opinions based on prior reports, absent evidence of malice.
Defamation — Libel — Defence of fair comment — Publication of readers' opinions — Basis in prior press reports — Burden of proof on defendant — Malice required to defeat fair comment — Failure to verify not per se malice — Admissibility of prior articles to show source of public opinion.
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4 April 1996 |
| March 1996 |
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Payment in lieu of notice lawfully terminates a fixed-term employment; damages limited to reasonable notice (six months on these facts).
Employment law – fixed-term contract – termination by payment in lieu of notice – reasonable notice as measure of damages in absence of express clause – discrimination under s108 requires proof of statutory grounds – industrial relations court may consider other pleaded grounds.
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15 March 1996 |
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Applicant's claim of lawful use of force and accidental discharge rejected; conviction and death sentence upheld.
Criminal law – Murder – Use of force in effecting arrest (Police Act s24(1)(c)) – Defence of accidental discharge – Credibility of eyewitnesses – Postmortem wound consistency – Sentencing – extinuating circumstances.
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5 March 1996 |
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Whether employer was estopped from denying an unauthorised increase in an expatriate's inducement allowance.
Agency and authority – whether local director could bind employer to increased expatriate inducement allowance; estoppel – requirements and limits; evidential assessment of oral and documentary proof; Bank approval not dispositive.
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5 March 1996 |
| February 1996 |
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Corroborated child identification and conduct (flight and leading police to mutilated body) upheld circumstantial murder conviction and death sentence.
Criminal law – Murder – Circumstantial evidence – Child witness credibility and voir dire – Corroboration – Fleeing from police – Leading police to body – Mutual accusations – Application of Mpofu – Mandatory death sentence in heinous/ritual mutilation case.
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19 February 1996 |
| January 1996 |
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29 January 1996 |
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An election may be void under section 18(2)(a) for corrupt practices affecting the result, regardless of candidate’s personal involvement.
Electoral law – Section 18(2) – Grounds for voiding election – Paragraphs (a) and (c) are independent – Nullification for corrupt/illegal practices or intimidation affecting voters’ choice – Candidate culpability under paragraph (c).
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24 January 1996 |
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An election may be void under s 18(2)(a) for wrongdoing that affected the result even if the candidate was not personally involved.
Electoral law – s 18(2) Electoral Act – independence of grounds – para (a) voids election where corrupt or illegal practices affected result irrespective of candidate's personal involvement – para (c) addresses candidate/agent knowledge, consent or approval.
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24 January 1996 |
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An election may be void under s.18(2)(a) for misconduct affecting voters even without the candidate's personal involvement.
Electoral law – Section 18(2) – paragraphs (a) and (c) are independent – (a) voids election where misconduct affected voters irrespective of who committed it; (c) penalises candidate/agents for misconduct with their knowledge or consent.
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23 January 1996 |
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Whether section 5(4) of the Public Order Act unlawfully restricts constitutional freedom of assembly.
Constitutional law – freedom of assembly and association – reasonable limits and ‘‘reasonably required’’ test; Public Order Act s.5(4) – validity and necessity to enable police regulation; burden on challenger to prove unconstitutionality; persuasive but non‑binding role of foreign authorities in interpretation.
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10 January 1996 |
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Appeals dismissed where identification, recovery of stolen property and recent possession supported aggravated robbery convictions.
Criminal law – Aggravated robbery – Identification and recovery of stolen property – Recent possession – Admissibility of statements made in presence of accused – Sufficiency of circumstantial evidence on appeal.
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10 January 1996 |