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Citation
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Judgment date
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| April 2002 |
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Whether the applicant proved a debt when an overdraft was transferred into a loan account despite a zero overdraft balance.
Bank law – Proof of bank indebtedness – Overdraft transferred to loan account – Burden of proof on plaintiff – Evidential value of bank records (Bankers Evidence Act) – Liquidation and insider borrowing concerns.
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29 April 2002 |
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Privatization via debt-swap extinguished sitting-tenant purchase rights; no prima facie right to sustain an injunction, appeal dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure – interlocutory injunctions – requirement to establish prima facie legal right, balance of convenience and irreparable harm; fresh evidence on appeal – relevance and availability at trial; privatization and debt-swap extinguishing sitting-tenant purchase rights.
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29 April 2002 |
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Appeal upheld in part: pro rata 1994/95 air tickets, repayment of K6,618,802.00 housing deductions, adjusted interest and costs to appellant.
Employment law — wrongful/summary dismissal upheld as null; terminal benefits — salary base for calculation; contract entitlements — air-ticket claims and pleading sufficiency; employer deductions — home-ownership scheme proven and repayable; interest — short-term deposit rate then Bank of Zambia lending rate; vehicle disposal formula — age of vehicle determines applicable valuation method.
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26 April 2002 |
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Redundancy, though harsh, was lawful; the appellant need not continue the respondent's study sponsorship.
Employment law – Redundancy and procedural compliance under Collective Agreement Clause 25(1) – Labour Commissioner/Union approval – Sponsorship obligations upon termination – Specific performance v. damages.
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26 April 2002 |
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Partnership ended 11 Nov 1990; expulsion void until then; share transfers invalid for non-payment; accounting and winding-up ordered.
Partnership law – expulsion and dissolution – de facto termination date – Partnership Act 1890 – validity of partnership meeting and admission of partner – sale of company shares – failure of consideration/non-payment – accountancy and winding up – injunctions in partnership disputes.
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26 April 2002 |
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Dismissals for collective action without observance of disciplinary procedures were unfair; redundancy packages ordered instead of reinstatement.
Employment law – unfair dismissal – procedural fairness and compliance with disciplinary code – collective employee action – proportionality of dismissal – redundancy as alternative remedy.
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26 April 2002 |
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An appeal against dismissal fails where the respondent's disciplinary procedures were properly followed and natural justice observed.
Employment law – wrongful dismissal – internal disciplinary procedures – natural justice – court's limited review role – sufficiency of factual basis for discipline.
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24 April 2002 |
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Perpetual ban on terrace music lifted; court allowed limited late-night music balancing neighbourly rights, with damages for breaches.
Nuisance — noise — not determinable by fixed decibel threshold — reasonableness/balancing of rights (time, place, manner) — injunction must be proportionate — limited-hours relief and aggravated damages for breach.
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24 April 2002 |
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Change of share ownership does not create a new employer; mixed-claim joinder inappropriate; appeal dismissed.
Corporate personality — change of shareholding/renaming does not create a new employer; Employment law — unilateral detrimental alterations may amount to repudiation but only for employees who elect to terminate; Joinder — plaintiffs in materially different circumstances should not be joined; Appellate procedure — court will not decide claims not pleaded or evidenced below.
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24 April 2002 |
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Seizure under customs law requires proof of mens rea; appellate court upheld trial judge's reasonable loss-of-use award.
Customs and Excise Act s149(b) — aiding and abetting smuggling — mens rea required, not absolute liability — seizure of carrier's vehicle — damages for loss of use — appellate restraint where trial judge makes reasonable 'guesstimate' of unproven special loss.
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24 April 2002 |
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Employees in varied circumstances cannot pursue a single joint claim that share transfer created a new employer.
Employment law – joinder of employees with differing circumstances – transfer of shares does not change corporate employer – corporate personality (Salomon) – unilateral alteration of contract terms and repudiation – inadmissibility of unpleaded issues on appeal.
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23 April 2002 |
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Whether a murder conviction can rest on a 15‑year‑old's sworn identification and related corroboration issues.
Criminal law — Identification evidence — Sworn evidence of a child under 16 — Requirement for caution and practical corroboration; Opportunity to observe and prior acquaintance as supporting identification; Post‑mortem evidence as supporting 'something more'; Sentence — death — absence of extenuation.
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16 April 2002 |
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Trial judge erred in ignoring welfare recommendation; reformatory order quashed and probation substituted.
Criminal law – Juvenile sentencing – Welfare officer report – Departure from recommendation requires reasons – Manslaughter vs murder characterization – Credit for guilty plea – Reformatory order substituted with probation.
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16 April 2002 |
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Appeal against summary dismissal for involvement in concealing bank overdrafts dismissed; leave pay ordered less indebtedness.
Employment law – unfair dismissal – employee found complicit in concealing unauthorized bank overdrafts; appellate review limited to points of law or mixed law and fact under s.27 Industrial and Labour Relations Act; entitlement to accrued leave subject to set-off for indebtedness.
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16 April 2002 |
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An age-based sentencing formula keeping an offender until the victim’s age is unlawful and produced an excessive sentence.
Sentencing — novel age-based custody formula disapproved — excessive sentence — guilty plea and time-served credit — substitution of sentence.
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16 April 2002 |
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A sentencing formula subtracting the defendant's age from the victim's age is unlawful and produced an excessive sentence.
Criminal law – Sentencing – Excessive sentence – Novel age-difference sentencing formula disapproved – Guilty plea and time in custody require credit – Sentences producing shock must be corrected.
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15 April 2002 |
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Circumstantial evidence placing the appellant at the scene upheld conviction for aggravated robbery; minimum sentence not challengeable.
Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Circumstantial evidence — Identification — Recovery of stolen property near apprehended suspect — Appeal against conviction and minimum statutory sentence.
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2 April 2002 |