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Citation
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Judgment date
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| May 2002 |
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Consent judgment and aggravating circumstances can justify damages beyond notice pay, including gratuity and benefits.
Employment law – Wrongful dismissal – Measure of damages – Consent judgment – Aggravating circumstances (transfer, demotion, suspension) – Entitlement to gratuity and contractual benefits – Assessment by Deputy Registrar.
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31 May 2002 |
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21 May 2002 |
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21 May 2002 |
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Appellate court upheld trial judge’s factual findings that customs records and a gate pass showed export; appeal dismissed with costs.
Customs seizure and judicial review – credibility of witnesses – gate pass and Customs records as proof of exit – appellate review of trial judge’s factual findings.
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21 May 2002 |
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Refusal to make factual findings in an alleged discriminatory early retirement warranted reversal and an award of damages.
Employment law – wrongful/unlawful retirement – discrimination on social status and seniority – duty to investigate facts; interpretation of Ngwira revisited; Industrial Relations Court must do substantial justice; remedy: package plus two years' salary and interest; costs to appellant.
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17 May 2002 |
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Appellant's failure to attend assessment led court to set aside speculative awards; respondent entitled only to pension contribution refund with interest.
Civil procedure – assessment of damages by Deputy Registrar – duty to mitigate – future earnings award inappropriate where claimant immediately re‑employed; employment law – entitlement to long service bonus requires qualifying service; damages for emotional distress/aggravation require evidential basis; interest and costs.
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17 May 2002 |
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Refusal to restore struck-out application was proper due to inordinate delay; s281 does not bar proceedings by a liquidator/receiver.
Civil procedure – restoration of struck-out matters – inordinate delay and absence of satisfactory explanation – refusal to restore proper; Companies Act s281 – leave required to sue a company in liquidation only where action is against the company, not where proceedings are pursued by its liquidator/receiver; foreclosure and sale – default foreclosure and subsequent sale held not nullity where appellants delayed and did not dispute debt.
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16 May 2002 |
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Liquidators cannot invoke statutory immunity to disobey court orders; companies face sequestration for contempt, not personal committal.
Banking and Financial Services Act s.123 – statutory immunity for acts done in good faith – cannot justify disobedience of court orders; contempt against companies proceeds by sequestration; estoppel cannot be set up against a statute.
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12 May 2002 |
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Court upheld 10-year manslaughter sentences for witchcraft-related mob killing, varying one sentence to simple imprisonment.
Criminal law – Manslaughter – Sentencing – Deterrence in witchcraft-related mob violence – Guilty plea and mitigation – Appeal against sentence – Hard labour varied to simple imprisonment.
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7 May 2002 |
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Conviction for grievous bodily harm upheld; custodial sentence set aside and replaced by fine with compensation.
Criminal law – Grievous bodily harm – Sufficiency of evidence to support conviction; Sentencing – Failure to consider mitigation – Substitution of custodial sentence with fine and compensation.
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5 May 2002 |
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Conviction for aggravated robbery upheld based on recent possession of stolen property despite identification misgivings.
Criminal law – Aggravated robbery – Identification evidence; Recent possession of stolen property as corroboration; Conviction upheld despite misgivings about witness identification.
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5 May 2002 |
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A unilateral variation of an employment contract without the employee's consent is ineffective; employee entitled to contractual benefits.
Employment law – written contract enforceable – unilateral variation invalid without consent; estoppel – continued work not acceptance where salary unpaid; set-off of drawings; interest on judgment – average short-term deposit rate to judgment then bank lending rate; costs against appellant.
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2 May 2002 |