Results.
122 judgments found.
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| June 2002 |
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Appellants’ forgery and no-consent allegations were inadequately proved; appellee’s interest claims upheld due to defendants’ acquiescence.
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Civil procedure — appeal against findings of fact — appellate restraint unless findings are perverse or unsupported by evidence; Evidence — allegations of forgery and improper acquisition of title require clear proof; Banking law — acquiescence to interest charges may be inferred from account statements and lack of timely protest; Contract — cancellation of facility for non-payment does not amount to frustration of mortgage obligation.
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11 June 2002 |
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Appeal allowed with costs because the case was identical to a recent precedent; respondent absent.
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Civil appeal — reliance on recent precedent — case on all fours with earlier decision — adoption of reasoning in Choka v Chilufya — appeal allowed with costs.
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5 June 2002 |
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Appeal dismissed for lack of leave; storing Kwacha judgments in foreign currency impermissible; 100% interest awarded.
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Civil procedure — appeals from interlocutory/Chambers orders — leave required under s.24(1)(e); Currency law — judgments in domestic currency — impermissibility of notionally storing Kwacha in foreign currency and reconverting; Damages/enforcement — accounting for internal devaluation and delay; interest — 100% p.a. simple interest awarded in prolonged-delay context.
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5 June 2002 |
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Whether a contractual forfeiture and repossession clause is enforceable or contrary to public policy and unjust enrichment.
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Contract law — forfeiture clause in land sale — enforceability vs public policy — unjust enrichment — remedies for purchaser’s breach.
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5 June 2002 |
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An innocent purchaser cannot acquire title to a stolen vehicle; the remedy is against the seller, not retention of the vehicle.
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Sale of Goods Act s.22 (market overt) — stolen goods — bona fide purchaser — nemo dat quod non habet — Rowland v Divall — remedy against seller for purchase price.
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5 June 2002 |
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Appeal allowed by application of the prior identical decision; appellants awarded costs.
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Precedent — Application of a recently decided identical case (Choka v Chilufya) — Appeal allowed on same grounds — Award of costs to appellants.
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5 June 2002 |
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Order 113 summary eviction is not available against lawful employee occupants with genuine claims; it is confined to squatters.
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Civil procedure — Order 113 (White Book) — Summary procedure for possession — Inapplicable to lawful occupants/tenants or employee occupants (incidence of employment) — Suitable only for squatters or occupiers without licence or consent — Summary eviction inappropriate where real dispute exists
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4 June 2002 |
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Deputy Registrar lacked jurisdiction to assess pension benefits payable under the 1993 staff pension scheme; post-termination schemes do not apply.
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Employment law — wrongful dismissal — pension benefits payable under employer's staff pension scheme — assessment jurisdiction; Post-termination benefits — entitlement to schemes introduced after dismissal; Interest on judgments — requirement that party was wrongfully kept out of money; Mitigation — subsequent earnings do not reduce pension benefits under the scheme.
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4 June 2002 |
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Non-production of firearm not fatal where shot fired and spent cartridge accounted for; daylight single-witness ID upheld; appeal dismissed.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Proof of firearm: hearing a shot and the presence of a spent cartridge can suffice; Identification — single-witness daylight identification and reliability; Corroboration — not required where possibility of honest mistake is excluded; Mandatory sentence — appeal against prescribed death sentence.
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4 June 2002 |
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4 June 2002 |
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Doctrine of recent possession properly applied to convict appellant for aggravated robbery based on conduct and possession evidence.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Doctrine of recent possession — Circumstantial evidence and credibility findings — Whether possession weeks after theft can support inference of guilt.
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4 June 2002 |
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4 June 2002 |
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Buyer of a stolen vehicle in good faith cannot acquire title absent market overt; remedy is claim against seller.
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Sale of Goods — market overt — defined as open, public and legally constituted — purchaser in good faith does not acquire title from a thief absent market overt — thief cannot pass title — remedy against seller (Rowland v Divall)
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4 June 2002 |
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Contractual conditions governed repatriation, housing and uniform entitlements; no entitlement to cash repatriation, housing or uniform refund.
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Employment law — Conditions of service — Interpretation of contractual clause requiring employer to ‘bear the cost of repatriation by road or rail’ — Does not imply separate cash repatriation allowance; housing entitlement claims depend on retirement-date documentation and conduct; uniform deductions enforceable where conditions limit supplied items.
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4 June 2002 |
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Excessive force defeats provocation; a stable non‑marital intimacy can mitigate sentence but not negate a murder conviction.
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[Criminal Law] Murder — Provocation — Stable non‑marital intimate relationships treated like marriage — Proportionality of reaction — Excessive force defeats provocation — Failed provocation may mitigate sentence
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3 June 2002 |
| May 2002 |
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Consent judgment and aggravating circumstances can justify damages beyond notice pay, including gratuity and benefits.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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Section 123 immunity applies only to acts done in good faith and does not permit evasion of court orders; corporate committal proceeds by sequestration.
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Banking and Financial Services Act s123 — statutory immunity for officers only for acts done in good faith — contempt for non-compliance with court orders — liquidator's duties — committal of companies by sequestration — no estoppel 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 |
| 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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Joinder of diverse employees was inappropriate; share transfer does not create a new employer; appeal dismissed.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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Appellate court disapproved an age-difference sentencing formula and reduced a shockingly excessive 32-year term to ten years.
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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
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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.
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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 |
| March 2002 |
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Appeal against an eight-year manslaughter sentence dismissed; belief in witchcraft and family hardship insufficient to merit suspension.
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Criminal law — Manslaughter — Sentence — Appeal against sentence — belief in witchcraft as potential mitigation — family hardship and personal circumstances insufficient to warrant suspension — deterrence and public policy considerations
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5 March 2002 |
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Interim injunction against appointing a receiver was wrongly granted where borrower was in undisputed default and balance favoured lender.
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Civil procedure — Interlocutory injunction — Appointment of receiver — Status quo versus irreparable harm and balance of convenience — Unchallenged affidavit of indebtedness — Enforcement of security on default.
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5 March 2002 |
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Appeals dismissed; ten-year sentences upheld for witchcraft-motivated manslaughter, but hard labour removed for second appellant.
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Criminal law — Manslaughter — Group assault motivated by witchcraft suspicions — Deterrent sentencing — Mitigation (guilty plea, youth, bereavement) — Removal of hard labour.
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5 March 2002 |
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Appellate court affirms aggravated robbery convictions, deferring to trial judge’s credibility findings and identification evidence.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Identification and credibility — Trial judge’s advantage in assessing demeanour — Appellate restraint in overturning credibility findings.
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5 March 2002 |
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Guilty pleas were binding; six‑year manslaughter sentence upheld and hard labour replaced with simple imprisonment.
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Criminal law — Manslaughter — Guilty plea accepted in court bars challenge to conviction — Sentencing: mitigation weighed against seriousness of death and need to deter belief‑based violence (witchcraft accusations) — Appellate amendment of ancillary order of hard labour to simple imprisonment.
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5 March 2002 |
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Recovery of stolen vehicle plus possession of keys and leading police justified upholding aggravated robbery conviction.
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Criminal law — aggravated robbery — circumstantial evidence — recovery of stolen vehicle — appellant led police to vehicle — possession of keys — credibility findings; conviction upheld.
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5 March 2002 |