Supreme Court of Zambia - 2002 April

17 judgments
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Results. 17 judgments found.

17 judgments
April 2002
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.
29 April 2002
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.
29 April 2002
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.
26 April 2002
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.
26 April 2002
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.
26 April 2002
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.
26 April 2002
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.
24 April 2002
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.
24 April 2002
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.
24 April 2002
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.
24 April 2002
Joinder of diverse employees was inappropriate; share transfer does not create a new employer; appeal dismissed.
  • Employment law — joinder of multiple claimants with varying circumstances — corporate personality and share transfers do not change employer — unilateral alteration of terms and repudiation — appellate restraint on unpleaded issues
23 April 2002
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.
16 April 2002
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.
16 April 2002
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.
16 April 2002
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.
16 April 2002
Appellate court disapproved an age-difference sentencing formula and reduced a shockingly excessive 32-year term to ten years.
  • Criminal law — Sentencing — Novel age-difference sentencing formula disapproved — Excessive and shocking sentence — Need to credit guilty plea, first offender status and time spent in custody
15 April 2002
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.
2 April 2002