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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 2001 |
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A written exculpatory letter can satisfy hearing requirements; failure to communicate absence may justify summary dismissal.
Employment law – dismissal – disciplinary hearing – written exculpatory letter as hearing – natural justice – failure to communicate absence – gross negligence – summary dismissal – procedural irregularity not prejudicial.
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28 December 2001 |
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Acceptance of a council's offer to purchase converted the tenancy into a vendor–purchaser relationship, entitling the applicant to specific performance.
Property law – council housing – offer to purchase; effect on existing tenancy; vendor–purchaser relationship; subletting; Rent Act s13(1)(g); specific performance.
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28 December 2001 |
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Appeal dismissed: trial court rightly found defendant caused collision and defamed plaintiff; travel-costs award set aside.
Road traffic accident — causation and credibility determinations; Defamation — allegation of corruption, publication and damages; Special damages — proof by quotations and foreseeability; Appellate review of factual findings.
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28 December 2001 |
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Eviction upheld where statutory notice existed and tenants failed to challenge arrears or call key witnesses.
Tenancy law — Eviction and distress — Validity of notice (letter dated 19/12/1994) — Rent arrears — Burden of proof and adverse effect of failing to call key witnesses — Act No.12 of 1994 empowering levy of distress.
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28 December 2001 |
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An accepted offer to purchase supersedes tenancy; vendor-purchaser relationship applies and subletting prohibition in tenancy no longer binds.
Property law – Offer to purchase council house – Effect of accepted offer and deposit on tenancy – Whether tenancy conditions (including prohibition on subletting) persist – Vendor–purchaser relationship superseding landlord–tenant – Specific performance.
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27 December 2001 |
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Acceptance of an offer to purchase converts landlord‑tenant status into vendor‑purchaser; sale terms, not tenancy rules, govern rescission.
Land law – Offer to purchase council house – Effect on tenancy – Acceptance by deposit converts landlord‑tenant into vendor‑purchaser relationship – Subletting without council consent – Rescission of sale and entitlement to specific performance.
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27 December 2001 |
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The tribunal lacked jurisdiction over this employment‑linked pool‑house sale; specific performance against the State is impermissible.
Land law — Sale of government pool houses; interpretation of Cabinet circular/preamble — scheme intended to empower Zambian nationals; Lands Tribunal jurisdiction — limited where dispute is essentially employment/condition of service; State Proceedings Act s.16(1) — specific performance not available against the State; Section 3 Lands Act — non‑Zambians require compliance (presidential consent).
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17 December 2001 |
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Well-lit eyewitness identification and medical evidence upheld convictions for aggravated robbery and attempted murder; appeals dismissed.
Criminal law – aggravated robbery and attempted murder – eyewitness identification – adequacy of opportunity to observe in well-lit conditions – fairness of identification parade – sufficiency of evidence despite absence of recovered stolen money or cartridge.
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16 December 2001 |
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A bank circular limiting bureau transactions did not bar the applicant’s claim for repayment; ex turpi causa was inapplicable.
Bank regulation – Bureau de change transaction limits – Illegality and ex turpi causa – Restitution of payments – Agency/vicarious liability – Regulatory circular addressed to institutions not the public – Fraud: insufficiency of evidence.
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13 December 2001 |
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Whether the bank could recover interest overpayments credited through employee fraud and whether customers could claim innocent reliance.
Banking law – Overpayment of interest – Fraud by bank employees – Change-of-position defence – Mistake versus fraud – Evidential basis for factual findings.
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12 December 2001 |
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Alleged illegality in a currency purchase did not bar recovery where the buyer lacked knowledge and title to the money remained intact.
Contract law – Illegality – ex turpi causa non oritur actio – knowledge and shared intent requirement; Bank of Zambia circular limiting bureaux de change transactions; restitution of money paid; employee acting in scope of employment.
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12 December 2001 |
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Where two judges of a three-judge panel agree, their majority judgment stands even if the third judge dies before delivery.
Civil procedure – appellate panels – effect of death of a judge after hearing but before judgment – majority of remaining judges may deliver judgment; rehearing only required if deadlock.
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12 December 2001 |
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An existing hotel must obtain a separate licence to operate a discotheque; discotheques are not integral to hotel management.
Administrative law – Licensing – Tourism Act ss.2, 13, 22 – Transitional exemption for existing hotels – Whether discotheques within hotels require separate licences – Discotheques not integral to core hotel business; analogous to separately licensed casinos and bars.
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12 December 2001 |
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A purchaser can recover money paid for a currency transaction that breached a regulatory directive absent shared illegal intent.
Banking/regulatory directive – alleged illegality under Bank of Zambia circular limiting bureau de change transactions – applicability of ex turpi causa non oritur actio – recovery of money paid under failed currency transaction – vicarious liability for cashier’s acts.
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12 December 2001 |
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An electricity supplier is not strictly liable for equipment damage from phase loss; consumers must take protective precautions.
Tort — Negligence — supplier’s duty co‑extensive with consumer’s duty; supplier not an insurer; strict liability inapplicable to electricity supply failures; appellate restraint on disturbing trial findings.
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12 December 2001 |
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Counter-offer rejected original offer so no binding sale; redundancy amendment not retrospective; hearing in defendant's absence permissible.
Contract law — offer and acceptance; counter-offer rejects original offer; court cannot impose new contractual terms. Employment law — amendment not retrospective; s.26B(3) of Employment (Amendment) Act 1997 inapplicable to pre-enactment redundancies. Civil procedure — absence of defendant; Order 35 Rule 3 permits hearing in defendant's absence; failure to attend does not automatically invalidate judgment
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6 December 2001 |