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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 2010 |
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Appeal dismissed: armed robbery conviction and sentence upheld where accused refused counsel, failed to plead, and were in recent possession of stolen property.
Criminal law – Armed robbery – Particulars versus statement of offence – conviction under Section 294(2) valid where particulars allege firearms and charge explained; Right to counsel – choice – refusal to instruct counsel and absconding forfeits claim; Plea (s.204) – absence created by accused cannot vitiate trial; Evidence – recent possession and circumstantial coincidences sustain conviction.
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9 December 2010 |
| November 2010 |
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Substituting a closely related offence did not breach natural justice; evidence supported lawful dismissal of the applicant.
Employment law – unfair dismissal – substitution of charges – natural justice – misappropriation of funds v gross negligence – similar ingredients – disciplinary fairness – employer entitled to dismiss dishonest employee.
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12 November 2010 |
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Murder conviction upheld; death sentence set aside and reduced to 15 years’ imprisonment due to belief in witchcraft as an extenuating factor.
Criminal law – Murder – Eyewitness credibility; Confession evidence – oral confession and failure to produce written statement; Dereliction of duty – failure to produce document; Sentencing – belief in witchcraft as extenuating circumstance reducing death sentence to fixed term imprisonment.
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2 November 2010 |
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Overwhelming circumstantial evidence and recent possession can sustain murder and aggravated robbery convictions even if a contested confession is excluded.
Criminal law — Murder and aggravated robbery — Circumstantial evidence — Doctrine of recent possession — Confession/admissibility — Language dispute as general issue (no trial-within-a-trial required) — Conviction sustainable even without disputed confession.
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2 November 2010 |
| October 2010 |
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A mareva injunction requires solid evidence of real risk of asset dissipation; speculative fears warrant setting it aside.
Mareva injunction – pre-judgment freezing orders – requires solid evidence of real risk of asset dissipation; ordinary interlocutory injunction principles (adequacy of damages) subordinate; injunctions must be clear, limited to value of claim, and accompanied by undertakings and penal notice.
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19 October 2010 |
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Court censured counsel for facilitating a frivolous appeal, varied costs order, and apportioned taxed costs between counsel and appellant.
Civil procedure — wasted costs — counsel’s duty to court and client — withdrawal of representation — professional misconduct — apportionment of taxed costs — defective service and omission of show‑cause period.
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12 October 2010 |
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12 October 2010 |
| September 2010 |
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Insurer excused from indemnity where reliable evidence showed an unlicensed person drove the insured bus.
Insurance law – motor vehicle insurance – policy exception for vehicles driven by unlicensed persons – credibility of eyewitness and judicial inspection of vehicle – validity of PSV licence under Road Traffic Act.
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21 September 2010 |
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Failure to prove discrimination prevents a court from ordering an employer to sell company housing to employees.
Employment/housing — Alleged discrimination in employer sale of company houses — Burden of proof on alleging party — Offers accepted create contractual rights — Declaratory relief discretionary — Prior authority distinguishable where inducement/retaliation established.
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21 September 2010 |
| August 2010 |
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Allegations of "clandestine meetings" were not defamatory; fair comment unavailable and balanced reporting justified publication.
Defamation — meaning of defamatory words — fair comment defence — repetition of allegations versus opinion — duty to inform and balanced reporting — verification of sources — apology and estoppel (not decided because non-defamatory).
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26 August 2010 |
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A non-unionized employee's redundancy entitlements are governed by the staff handbook and statutory minima, not a time-limited collective agreement.
Labour law – redundancy entitlements – staff handbook v. collective agreement; application of Statutory Instrument No. 2 of 2002; inclusion of allowances in salary; notice pay; damages for humiliation.
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16 August 2010 |
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Appellate court upheld conviction and confirmed a 20-year sentence after endorsing trial judge's credibility findings and sufficiency of evidence.
Criminal law – Aggravated robbery – sufficiency of evidence and credibility findings – recovery and identification of stolen property – appellate review of sentence; 20 years' imprisonment with hard labour confirmed.
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11 August 2010 |
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An alternate director lacked authority to sell company property and the buyers were not bona fide purchasers for value.
Company law – authority of directors (alternate directors) – ostensible/apparent authority – indoor management (Turquand) rule – limits where execution sale and lack of board resolution exist; Bona fide purchaser for value without notice – requirements; Pleading and proof of fraud – necessity of specific pleading and higher standard of proof; Interest – variation to average short-term deposit rate and thereafter Bank of Zambia rate.
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6 August 2010 |
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Licensee occupying employer housing was not a sitting tenant or eligible purchaser; bona fide purchaser entitled to possession and equitable use payment.
Property law – sitting tenant versus licensee; employee eligibility to purchase employer housing; effect of secondment and retrenchment on purchase rights; bona fide purchaser; mesne profits and equitable compensation for use; assessment by Deputy Registrar.
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5 August 2010 |
| June 2010 |
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An ex‑parte foreign family order for return/wardship of children is not registerable under Zambia’s Foreign Judgments Act.
Foreign judgments — Reciprocal enforcement — Guardianship of infants excluded from registration — Requirement of finality and monetary award — Registration of ex‑parte family orders impermissible.
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15 June 2010 |
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Appeal dismissed where conflicting medical reports were not presented at trial, so court had no obligation to make an insanity finding.
Criminal law – Insanity/mental state – Section 167 Criminal Procedure Code – duty of trial court to make special finding only where evidence of insanity is adduced at trial; appellate relief not available where defence withdrew medical reports and did not call examining doctor. Murder – proof of malice aforethought without post-mortem – reliance on witness testimony and alleged confession.
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13 June 2010 |
| April 2010 |
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Garnishee relief requires an attachable debt; trial judge properly refused leave to appeal costs where debt was disputed and discretion was rightly exercised.
Garnishee proceedings – attachable debt requirement – Order 49; Garnishee nisi – ascertainable debt vs. payment schedule; Costs – appeals against costs-only orders – Section 24(1)(d); Judicial discretion to grant leave on costs; Effect of disputed account and pending litigation on garnishee relief.
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23 April 2010 |
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Whether a treaty bank’s immunity shields commercial acts — court found misdirection and restored protection for the applicant.
International organisations' immunity; restrictive vs absolute immunity; jure imperii vs jure gestionis; express waiver requirement (SI No.123/1992); access to justice; interlocutory injunction to protect property pendente lite.
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21 April 2010 |
| March 2010 |
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Applicant's wrongful-termination claim failed because he voluntarily applied for and accepted retirement under the statutory instrument.
Employment law – Retirement v retrenchment – Statutory Instrument No. 84 of 1997 – voluntariness of retirement application – clean hands/equity – entitlement to repatriation allowance.
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4 March 2010 |
| January 2010 |
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An interlocutory injunction that effectively determines the substantive issue of party membership is impermissible.
Interlocutory injunctions — prohibition on deciding merits at interlocutory stage — declaratory relief vs interim relief — balance of convenience and irreparable harm — political party membership/expulsion.
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7 January 2010 |