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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 1986 |
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Appellate courts rightly found the respondent proved ownership of the entire disputed land on the balance of probabilities, appeal dismissed.
Land law – ownership dispute – burden of proof – whether respondent proved title on the balance of probabilities.* Credibility of witnesses – proper appraisal of conflicting oral testimony.* Appellate review – re-evaluation of facts and findings of primary court; third appeal limited where no question of law arises.* Relief – entitlement to whole disputed parcel and compensation for uprooted crops.
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20 December 1986 |
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A late notice of appeal without a successful extension renders the appeal incompetent and it will be struck off the register.
Criminal procedure — Appeal competence — Notice of appeal must be filed within 14 days under Rule 76(2), Court of Appeal Rules, 1979 — Late notice without successful extension renders appeal incompetent and liable to be struck off the register.
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19 December 1986 |
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Applicant’s challenge to an eight-year manslaughter sentence dismissed; sentencing judge properly exercised discretion.
Criminal law – Manslaughter – Sentencing – Appeal against sentence – Assessment of mitigating factors and exercise of judicial discretion – Appellate interference only where sentencing misdirection or manifest unfairness shown.
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6 December 1986 |
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Dying declaration held without probative value and improperly handled child evidence, so conviction quashed for lack of corroborated proof.
Criminal law – evidence of dying declaration – probative value; Evidence Decree s.118 – competence of child witnesses; Criminal Procedure Decree s.145 – affirmation and procedure for child evidence; requirement of corroboration for children's evidence; procedural requirements and recording of reasons; insufficiency of uncorroborated improper child evidence to sustain conviction.
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5 December 1986 |
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A second appeal raising no point of law will not disturb concurrent factual findings supported by evidence.
Criminal law – Appeal – Second appeal raising no point of law – Concurrent findings of fact by trial court and High Court not disturbed. Evidence – Identification and role of accused by complainant and eyewitness – sufficiency to sustain conviction. Procedural issue – Withdrawal of charge against co-accused and subsequent testimony did not vitiate convictions.
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3 December 1986 |
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Recent possession and identification by general features established cattle theft; conviction and sentence affirmed.
Criminal law – Cattle theft – possession and identification of stolen animals – identification by general features and descriptive document; sufficiency of proof beyond reasonable doubt. Criminal procedure – Amendment of charge – section 209 Criminal Procedure Code; improper rejection of prosecution evidence for charge-sheet discrepancy. Evidence – recent possession doctrine – short interval between theft and recovery supports conviction. Defence – credibility of robbery claim where not disclosed to investigating witnesses.
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3 December 1986 |
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Appellate court quashes murder conviction as unsafe due to contradictory witness statements and uncorroborated confession.
Criminal law – Murder – Safety of conviction where key witnesses' in‑court identifications contradict prior police statements; Confession/admission – admissibility and requirement of corroboration; Appellate review – trial judge's duty to resolve material contradictions and treat uncorroborated identifications with caution; Prosecutorial discretion – nolle prosequi and appearance of administration of justice.
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2 December 1986 |
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Appeal dismissed: circumstantial evidence and corroboration sufficient; appellants ordered to refund unrecovered stolen money.
Criminal law – stealing by servant – circumstantial evidence and custody of keys as incriminating fact. Evidence – accomplice testimony – requirement for corroboration and what constitutes adequate corroboration. Evidence – linking recovered property to original theft – bank-labelled bag and eyewitness testimony as connecting factors. Sentencing/statutory orders – Minimum Sentences Act 1972 (s.7) requires refund of unrecovered stolen money.
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2 December 1986 |
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Circumstantial and corroborative evidence sustained convictions for bank theft; appellants ordered to refund unrecovered balance.
Criminal law – stealing by servant – circumstantial evidence and corroboration; accomplice evidence; admissibility and sufficiency without fingerprint proof; restitution under Minimum Sentences Act s.7; scope of second appeal.
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2 December 1986 |
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Second appeal confined to law; corroborated circumstantial and accomplice-linked evidence upheld theft convictions and ordered restitution.
Criminal law – stealing by servant – sufficiency of circumstantial evidence; accomplice testimony – requirement for corroboration; scope of second appeal limited to points of law; sentencing – application of Minimum Sentences Act 1972 requiring refund of unrecovered stolen money.
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2 December 1986 |
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Circumstantial evidence sufficed to uphold a murder conviction despite misdirections about a repudiated confession.
Criminal law – Murder – Reliance on circumstantial evidence – Repudiated cautioned statement – requirement to assess truth or corroboration – post-arrest identification as part of confession not independent corroboration – sketch plan of limited value – provocation defence inadequately proved.
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2 December 1986 |
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Circumstantial evidence (excluding an inadmissible police confession) sufficed to uphold the murder conviction.
Criminal law – Circumstantial evidence – sufficiency to convict of murder. Evidence – cautioned/confessional statement to police – admissibility and effect of repudiation. Evidence – conduct showing scene and sketch plan – when such matters are inseparable from a confession. Criminal defence – provocation – requirement of proof of alleged provocative act (adultery).
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2 December 1986 |
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Appeals against cattle‑theft convictions and sentences dismissed; evidence of recovery and arrest upheld; one appeal abated on death.
Criminal law – cattle theft – evidence of recovery and identification; lawfulness of arrest; sentencing – deterrence and proportionality; abatement of appeal on death (Rule 71).
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2 December 1986 |
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Appeal against cattle theft convictions and sentences dismissed; trial court’s acceptance of police and witness evidence upheld.
Criminal law – cattle theft – credibility of eyewitness and police evidence – suspects seen driving away stolen cattle – flight on sight – appeal against conviction and sentence – sentencing considerations: youth and recovery of property versus deterrence.
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2 December 1986 |
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Appeals against convictions for cattle theft dismissed; convictions and deterrent sentences upheld despite absence of recovered stock.
Criminal law – Theft – Cattle theft – Sufficiency of evidence to support convictions where stolen stock not physically recovered – credibility of evidence regarding armed party and circumstances of arrest. Sentencing – Deterrent sentences justified in areas with rampant cattle rustling.
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2 December 1986 |
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The court upheld the appellants' convictions and sentences for cattle theft, finding prosecution eyewitness evidence credible.
Criminal law – cattle theft – whether appellants were among persons driving away stolen cattle – credibility of complainant and police witnesses. Criminal procedure – appeal – abatement of appeal on death of appellant under court rules. Sentencing – factors considered (youth, recovery of stolen property, prevalence of rustling) – necessity of deterrent sentences; sentences below statutory maximum upheld.
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2 December 1986 |
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Appellate court upheld murder conviction, rejecting custom and mental confusion defences and dismissing the appeal.
Criminal law – Murder – Evidence – Confession to private individuals and conduct at trial – weight and sufficiency of proof. Customary law – No recognition of customs permitting killing of another human being as a defence to murder. Mental condition – Alleged mental confusion/diminished responsibility not a recognized exculpatory defence in this case. Procedure – Defective particulars in information curable under appellate rules (Rule 103).
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2 December 1986 |
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Customary practice and diminished responsibility do not excuse murder; appeal against conviction dismissed.
Criminal law – murder – sufficiency of confession and conduct to prove killing; customary practices as non‑recognised defences; mental confusion/diminished responsibility not a statutory defence; defective particulars curable under procedural rules.
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2 December 1986 |
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Confessions held admissible and corroborated; appeals against murder convictions and death sentences dismissed.
Criminal law – murder – reliance on extra‑judicial confessions – admissibility and voluntariness; waiver of objections not raised at trial; corroboration of confessions by independent evidence (medical/ballistic and traced stolen property).
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1 December 1986 |
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The appellants' convictions based on extra-judicial confessions, duly recorded and corroborated, were upheld and appeals dismissed.
Criminal law – extra-judicial confessions – admissibility where recorded by District Personnel Officer appointed as justice of the peace; voluntariness – failure to object at trial precludes raising on appeal; corroboration of confession by independent evidence; appeal against conviction and sentence dismissed.
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1 December 1986 |
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Unreliable single-child identification and the trial judge’s failure to address an alibi rendered the murder conviction unsafe.
Criminal law – Identification – single child eyewitness whose account contained inconsistencies and improbable detail – conviction unsafe. Criminal procedure – Trial judge’s duty to consider and deal with alibi; to confine recapitulation to evidence on record. Appellate review – safety of conviction where identification evidence is doubtful.
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1 December 1986 |
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Conviction based solely on uncorroborated purchaser testimony was unsafe and therefore quashed.
Criminal law – conviction based on single witness – uncorroborated identification and testimony of purchaser/possible receiver – material inconsistencies and absence of corroboration render conviction unsafe – appellate re‑evaluation on first appeal.
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1 December 1986 |
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Conviction quashed where sole uncorroborated purchaser’s testimony was unreliable and the prosecution’s case was inconsistent.
Criminal law – conviction unsafe where based on uncorroborated testimony of an interested witness; need for caution in identification evidence. Evidence – weight of eyewitness/identification evidence; importance of corroboration and consistency in chronology. Appellate review – interference warranted where trial court wrongly founded conviction on unimpressive or uncorroborated evidence.
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1 December 1986 |
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1 December 1986 |
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Court upheld ten-year sentence for corrupt police officer, finding it not manifestly excessive and aggravated by breach of trust.
Criminal law – Corruption – Sentencing – Appeal against sentence – Whether sentence manifestly excessive; Police officer’s position as aggravating factor; Prevention of Corruption Act; Economic and Organised Crime Control Act.
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1 December 1986 |