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Citation
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Judgment date
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| August 2007 |
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A receiver of a specified public corporation lacks locus standi in an appeal if it was not a party at trial; joinder refused.
Public Corporations Act; specification of public corporation — PSRC as official receiver; Bankruptcy Act s.9(1) — protection of specified public corporation and requirement of leave for creditors; locus standi — a receiver/PSRC not entitled to be joined in appeal if not party at trial; joinder and amendment of record at appellate stage.
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29 August 2007 |
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Eyewitness identification at night upheld; appellant's alibi rejected and armed robbery conviction affirmed.
Criminal law – Armed robbery – Visual identification – Reliability of in‑scene identification where there was light and prolonged opportunity to observe – Waziri Amani criteria applied. Criminal procedure – Defence of alibi – relevance and compliance with statutory notice (s.194(4) & (5))
Appeal – concurrent findings of fact – no interference where eyewitness evidence accepted as credible
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27 August 2007 |
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Appeal dismissed: identification, recent possession and absence of grocery witnesses did not undermine conviction.
Criminal law – robbery with violence – visual identification – application of Waziri Amani tests – recent possession doctrine – failure to call particular witnesses does not automatically attract adverse inference.
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24 August 2007 |
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Identification at night and reliance on a co-accused’s uncorroborated confession rendered the conviction unsafe.
Criminal law – robbery with violence – identification evidence at night (torch and moonlight) – reliability of voice identification; Evidence Act – admissibility and weight of co-accused’s confession (s.33(1) and s.33(2)) – prohibition against conviction solely on co-accused confession; misapplication of accomplice provision (s.142); defective charge – curable irregularity under Criminal Procedure Act.
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24 August 2007 |
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A ten-year sentence for manslaughter was not manifestly excessive; the applicant's appeal against sentence is dismissed.
Criminal law – Manslaughter – Sentence – Whether ten-year term was manifestly excessive – Plea of guilty and first offender mitigation – Limits of appellate interference with sentencing discretion.
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24 August 2007 |
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A properly recorded, voluntarily made repudiated caution statement can sustain a murder conviction absent independent corroboration.
Criminal law – Murder – Repudiated/ retracted caution statement (confession) – voluntariness – trial-within-a-trial – corroboration not strictly required but prudence demands corroboration in material particulars – detailed confession may suffice to ground conviction.
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24 August 2007 |
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Appellate court reduced a manifestly excessive 15‑year manslaughter sentence to seven years for failure to consider mitigation.
Criminal law – Sentencing – Manslaughter – Appellate interference where sentence is manifestly excessive, error in principle, or failure to consider material mitigation; first‑offender and familial circumstances relevant to mitigation.
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24 August 2007 |
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Reported
The appellant's acts short of penetration constituted attempted rape; conviction and sentence upheld.
Criminal law — Rape — penetration requirement; Attempt — section 380 Penal Code — overt acts manifesting intention; Interruption by third party does not negate attempt; Conviction for attempted rape upheld on facts.
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24 August 2007 |
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Extension of time to file review denied where delay unexplained and reliance on Chief Justice's letter was insufficient.
Extension of time – application for review – 60-day rule – reasons for delay – correspondence to Chief Justice does not constitute review application – extra-judicial remedies do not stop limitation period – alleged illegality not previously raised cannot justify enlargement of time.
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23 August 2007 |
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Co-accused confessions require independent corroboration; issue estoppel bars re-litigation of admissibility previously decided between same parties.
Evidence — Confessions and extra-judicial statements; Section 33(1)–(2) Evidence Act — Co-accused confessions not sole basis for conviction; corroboration requirements; voluntariness and torture allegations; procedure for statements to Justices of the Peace; issue estoppel in criminal appeals — previously decided admissibility between same parties binding
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23 August 2007 |
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A subsequent suit directly and substantially the same as a prior suit must be stayed, not dismissed, under section 8.
Civil Procedure – res sub judice – section 8 Civil Procedure Code – court shall not proceed with trial where matter directly and substantially in issue in previously instituted suit – statutory consequence is stay of subsequent suit, not dismissal – party invoking section 8 should produce plaint/particulars of earlier suit for comparison.
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17 August 2007 |
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Applicant permitted to substitute respondent's name; adding new documents requires Rule 92, not Rule 104.
Civil procedure — Amendment of record of appeal — Rule 104 Court of Appeal Rules 1979 — Substitution of respondent's name by operation of law (Ports Act 2004) — Removal of respondent where not a specified corporation — Addition of documents to record requires supplementary record under Rule 92 — Inherent powers under Rule 3 not to be used where express provision exists.
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17 August 2007 |
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Interlocutory orders in criminal proceedings are not appealable or revisable; reference dismissed and trial to proceed.
Criminal procedure – interlocutory order – order overruling objection to prosecutor – not finally disposing rights – appeals/revision barred by Written Laws (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No.3) Act, 2002 and Criminal Procedure provisions; manifest error on face of record and jurisdictional defects must be clear to override statutory bar; matter to proceed to trial.
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15 August 2007 |
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Application for extension of time and leave to appeal was incompetent and struck out for failure to first apply to the High Court.
Civil procedure — Competence of application to Court of Appeal — Rule 44 requires applications for extension of time/leave to be first made to the High Court
Appeals — Leave to appeal — Court may grant leave based on some grounds though not all advanced
Appellate Jurisdiction Act — s5(1)(c) and s5(2)(c) — distinction regarding certification of points of law by the High Court
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13 August 2007 |
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Stay of execution granted pending appeal only upon deposit of the full decretal amount into court.
Stay of execution — Rule 9(2)(b) Court of Appeal Rules — applicant must show sufficient cause; allegation of strong chances of success insufficient; must specify particulars of substantial and irreparable loss — court may condition stay on deposit/security of decretal amount.
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9 August 2007 |
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An appellant's illness can constitute sufficient cause to re-admit an appeal dismissed for non-appearance.
Civil procedure – Appeals from primary courts – Rule 17 re-admission after dismissal under Rule 13(2) – sufficiency of cause – illness/unconsciousness preventing appearance – discretion to re-admit and order as to costs.
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9 August 2007 |
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6 August 2007 |
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A written statement of defence filed after the statutory period without a court order may be struck out; registry staff cannot grant extensions.
Civil procedure – Order VIII Rule 1(2) CPC – time for filing written statement of defence; registry/administrative acts cannot substitute for court orders; discretion to extend time limited by statutory residual period and precedent; striking out late pleadings filed without leave proper where defendant absent at hearing.
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6 August 2007 |