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Supreme Court of Zambia - 2019 July

14 judgments
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14 judgments
July 2019
Silishebo v The People (172 of 2018) [2019] ZMSC 246 (31 July 2019)
31 July 2019
Siisii v Toyota Zambia Ltd (Appeal 172 of 2016) [2019] ZMSC 355 (30 July 2019)
Appeal dismissed: dismissal upheld as procedurally adequate and not shown to have caused prejudice to the appellant.
  • Employment law — unfair dismissal — disciplinary procedure — staff manual compliance — composition of disciplinary committee — apparent bias — right to cross-examine — sufficiency of evidence — hearsay and appellate review.
30 July 2019
Zambia Bottlers v Mwamba (95 of 2016) [2019] ZMSC 256 (24 July 2019)
Insufficient analyst and medical evidence and mis-evaluation of production safeguards defeated causation in a product-liability claim.
  • Product liability; duty of care by manufacturer; causation; insufficiency of public analyst and medical reports; proper evaluation of unchallenged production and sanitation evidence.
24 July 2019
Zambia Bottlers v Mwamba (Appeal 95 of 2016) [2019] ZMSC 307 (24 July 2019)
Claim failed because analyst and medical evidence did not establish causation between the drink and the respondent's fungal infection.
  • Product liability/negligence — causation — adequacy of public analyst and medical reports — evidential requirements to link alleged contaminated beverage to injury — evaluation of manufacturer’s sanitization and inspection evidence.
24 July 2019
African Life Financial Services Limited v Zambia Revenue Authority (39 of 2017) [2019] ZMSC 252 (23 July 2019)
Whether a restructuring 'special dividend' was capital or revenue in nature and whether withholding tax relief under section 91 was available.
  • Income Tax — Withholding tax on dividends; characterization of distributions as capital or revenue; test considers application (use) of distributed profits not solely source; section 2(3) Income Tax Act; relief under section 91; Companies Act — share premium account uses.
23 July 2019
African Life Financial Services Ltd v Zambia Revenue Authority (Appeal 39 of 2017) [2019] ZMSC 298 (23 July 2019)
Whether a dividend arising from restructuring is capital or revenue for withholding tax purposes.
  • Tax law — withholding tax on dividends; dividend characterisation — capital v. revenue; test depends on application not solely source; restructuring transactions; s.2(3) Income Tax Act; relief under s.91.
23 July 2019
Beauty Simakomo Mukanda v Siayula and Anor (Appeal 168 of 2016) [2019] ZMSC 319 (23 July 2019)
Appellant failed to prove ownership; customary alienation by chief after local consultation was valid.
  • Customary land — Alienation by chief with headman and village committee — validity where local customary procedures followed; Civil standard of proof — balance of probabilities in competing oral evidence; Evaluation of witnesses — failure to call material witness may undermine claim; Distinction between alienation of State land and customary land (Lands Act provisions inapplicable).
23 July 2019
World Vision Zambia v Kabila Sitali (APPEAL NO. 177/2016; SCZ/8/213/2016) [2019] ZMSC 381 (23 July 2019)
Damages for unfair dismissal reduced to 12 months due to fixed-term contract and mitigation by respondent.
  • Employment law — unfair dismissal; damages for wrongful termination; fixed-term contract and mitigation; unjust enrichment; quantum of damages; interest at Bank of Zambia average deposit/lending rates; forensic exoneration.
23 July 2019
The People v Director of Public Prosecutions (Selected Judgment No.21 of 2019) [2019] ZMSC 375 (16 July 2019)
Transitional constitutional provisions can preserve appellate rights pending enactment of enabling legislation; motion dismissed, no costs.
  • Constitutional transition — continuity of laws pending enactment of enabling legislation — jurisdiction to grant leave to appeal; accrued rights preserved by transitional provisions; validity and scope of Practice Directions during constitutional transition; role of Constitutional Court vs other superior courts in constitutional interpretation.
16 July 2019
John Chipawa Sakalanda v Ramji Bhimji Menard Khuti and Anor (SELECTED JUDGMENT NO. 20/2019) [2019] ZMSC 389 (9 July 2019)
Whether a permanent resident qualifies to purchase a government institutional house without presidential written consent under s3(3).
  • Lands Act s3(3) — statutory construction: subsections disjunctive; permanent resident (s3(3)(a)) independently qualifies non‑Zambians to own land; Civil Service Home Ownership Scheme eligibility; presidential written consent (s3(3)(c) required and non‑delegable); evidentiary requirement for presidential consent; sale of government institutional houses.
9 July 2019
John Chipawa Sakulanda v Ramji Bhimji Menand Khuti and Anors (Appeal 113 of 2006) [2019] ZMSC 370 (9 July 2019)
Whether section 3(3) of the Lands Act is disjunctive and whether ‘permanent resident’ status alone suffices to acquire land.
  • Lands Act s.3(3) — statutory construction; subsections disjunctive; permanent resident (s.3(3)(a)) suffices to own land; presidential consent (s.3(3)(c)) requires writing under President’s hand; eligibility for government institutional house under Civil Service Home Ownership Scheme.
9 July 2019
OMNI Building Contractors v Maoka (Appeal 125 of 2014) [2019] ZMSC 310 (9 July 2019)
Court held respondent was an employee (contract of service) despite lump-sum payments and lack of statutory deductions.
  • Employment law — contract of service v contract for services — definition of 'employee' under Employment Act — method of remuneration not determinative — evidentiary weight of employer-originated documents — statutory deductions not conclusive.
9 July 2019
Philip Chinyama v People (Appeal 25 of 2015) [2019] ZMSC 296 (9 July 2019)
Appellant's conviction upheld where officer's eyewitness chase and capture placed him fleeing the scene despite ballistic inconsistencies.
  • Criminal law — Conviction on evidence of flight and pursuit — Eyewitness police chase as direct evidence; admissibility of evidence obtained without warn-and-caution; no obligation to call s.294 evidence where credibility resolved; ballistic mismatch not fatal where presence at scene proved.
9 July 2019
Munankwenka v The People (209 of 2015) [2019] ZMSC 255 (5 July 2019)
Circumstantial evidence including recent possession, blood-stained clothes and flight upheld convictions; identification found reliable.
  • Criminal law — aggravated robbery and murder — circumstantial evidence — recent possession and flight — identification evidence — risk of mistaken identity — failure to call informants.
5 July 2019