Supreme Court of Zambia - 2016 September

12 judgments
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Results. 12 judgments found.

12 judgments
September 2016
28 September 2016
Appellants' convictions and death sentences upheld: common purpose and reliable single-witness identification supported by corroborative circumstantial evidence.
  • Criminal law — murder — joint enterprise/common purpose — single identifying witness — connecting link; accomplice evidence — need for corroboration whether called by prosecution or defence; admissibility and sufficiency of circumstantial evidence.
14 September 2016
Whether conditioning repatriation benefits on vacating company housing unlawfully contracts out of the Employment Act.
  • Employment law — repatriation benefits — section 13(1) Employment Act — validity of contractual precondition (vacation of employer housing) — subsistence awards — mitigation and eviction following discharge of interim injunction — costs.
12 September 2016
Whether dismissal for alleged cash shortage and unauthorized receipting was procedurally fair and supported by sufficient facts.
  • Labour law — unfair dismissal — exhaustion of administrative remedies — scope of judicial review in disciplinary dismissals — procedural fairness and sufficiency of factual substratum to justify summary dismissal for fraud and failure to follow lawful instructions.
12 September 2016
Whether the applicant's delay in filing an industrial complaint was inordinate and not excused under section 85(3).
  • Industrial Relations Act s.85(3)(a) — exhaustion of administrative remedies — leave to file out of time — limitation periods — s.85(5) and substantial justice — inordinate delay — awaiting investigation/clearance not a sufficient excuse.
12 September 2016
Appeal dismissed: insufficient evidence of gross negligence; trial court validly deemed respondent retired under section 85A and awarded compensation.
  • Employment law — unfair dismissal — sufficiency of evidence for gross negligence — appellate review of factual findings — remedies under section 85A Industrial and Labour Relations Act (reinstatement, compensation, deeming retired).
12 September 2016
9 September 2016
An employee’s prolonged absence without an authentic medical certificate justified dismissal for desertion; retrospective foreign reports and procedural defects were ineffective.
  • Employment law — abandonment/desertion of duties — employee absent after unpaid leave without producing authentic medical certificate — retrospective foreign medical reports require authentication — procedural non‑compliance not fatal where misconduct warrants dismissal — appellate restraint on reconsidering pure findings of fact.
9 September 2016
A registered court‑annexed mediation settlement is final and binding; unclear settlements may be remitted back to mediation with judicial guidance.
  • Court‑annexed mediation — binding and final — no appeal, review or interpretation; court loses jurisdiction once settlement registered; inappropriate use of Deputy Registrar assessment; inherent jurisdiction to remit unclear settlements back to mediation; need for suitably qualified mediator for accounting disputes.
9 September 2016
9 September 2016
If defence withdraws concerns about fitness to plead, the court need not order a section 160 medical inquiry.
  • Criminal procedure — fitness to plead — section 160 CPC — mandatory inquiry when question arises — inquiry requires evidence, often medical — defence withdrawal of concern extinguishes duty to inquire — Mbaye precedent on procedure.
7 September 2016
An employer cannot unilaterally withdraw a communicated retirement to deny statutory LASF retirement benefits.
  • Superannuation law — entitlement to retirement benefits under S.28 v discharge under S.33(b) of LASF Act — notice of termination once given cannot be unilaterally withdrawn — employer bound by communicated mode of exit and LASF form — obiter dicta; new grounds not raiseable on appeal.
1 September 2016