Subordinate Court of Zambia - 2023 June

6 judgments
Skip past years
Skip past months
Skip to results

Results. 6 judgments found.

6 judgments
June 2023
Prosecution proved criminal trespass where accused entered signposted private plantation and unsworn defence was inconsistent.
  • Criminal trespass — unlawful entry onto private property — notice by signage — burden on prosecution to prove intent and lack of permission beyond reasonable doubt — weight of unsworn defence evidence.
26 June 2023
Intoxication did not negate intent; accused convicted of criminal trespass for entering fenced private premises.
  • Criminal trespass — unlawful entry onto private, fenced premises — intent to commit offence — intoxication defence under section 13(4) Penal Code — burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt — dock identification.
26 June 2023
Unlawful distraint: landlord must obtain court leave before seizing tenant’s goods; restitution ordered to remedy unjust enrichment.
  • Landlord and tenant law — distraint/distrain — Rent Act (Cap. 206) s.14 requires court leave to levy distress; unlawful distraint; unjust enrichment and restitution; exclusion of benefit from illegality.
22 June 2023
Accused convicted for naming the respondent a wizard; acquitted of using insulting language due to insufficient proof.
  • Witchcraft Act s3(a) — naming a person a wizard; Penal Code s179 — insulting language; identification at night by acquaintances; evidential burden on alibi; caution with relatives’ testimony; human-rights implications of witchcraft accusations.
21 June 2023
Circumstantial evidence and an unreliable alibi led to conviction for breaking into a workshop and stealing power tools.
  • Criminal law — Breaking and entering and theft — Elements of offence — Burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt — Alibi: requirement of particularity and timely raising — Circumstantial evidence: cogency and exclusion of reasonable hypothesis of innocence.
14 June 2023
Circumstantial evidence and an implausible afterthought defence supported convictions for stock theft.
  • Criminal law — Stock theft (s.275 Penal Code) — burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt — circumstantial evidence and ‘odd coincidences’ — credibility of afterthought defence and disputed documentary evidence.
2 June 2023