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27 judgments found.
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December 1991
Forgery conviction set aside; convictions for uttering and attempting to obtain money upheld.
Criminal law — Forgery and uttering
— Attempt to obtain money by false pretences
— Circumstantial evidence
— False document (cheque)
— No automatic nullification absent prejudice
— Possibility of third‑party (Headquarters) involvement
— Sufficiency of proof of authorship
— Investigator acting as prosecutor
3 December 1991
Circumstantial evidence must exclude reasonable innocent explanations before sustaining a murder conviction.
Criminal law — Murder — circumstantial evidence — Appellate intervention where circumstantial proof is not watertight
3 December 1991
Failure to attach the decree to a memorandum of appeal renders the appeal invalid and requires dismissal.
Civil procedure
— High Court’s determination of an improperly constituted appeal is a nullity — District Court judgment restored
— Memorandum of Appeal — non‑compliance renders appeal invalid and liable to dismissal
Criminal law — Exhibits — unstamped exhibits not necessarily fatal
Land law — Registered land — disposition
3 December 1991
3 December 1991
Conviction for murder quashed for inadequate directions on intoxication; substituted with manslaughter and eight years' imprisonment.
Criminal law
— Intoxication — whether drunkenness negates specific intent for murder — Necessity of clear directions to jury/assessors
— substitution of conviction — murder to manslaughter where malice not proved
3 December 1991
November 1991
Notice of appeal struck out where appeal was out of time, no leave sought, and objectors lacked standing.
Civil procedure — Procedure — Appeal
Civil procedure — standing to appeal
— inherent jurisdiction not used to salvage defective appeal
— leave to appeal and time limits essential
— only parties or legal representatives may appeal
29 November 1991
Trial judge’s credibility findings and combined evidence of weapons, arson and statements established intent to kill; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law — Murder — proof of malice aforethought — use of weapons, arson and express statements as evidence of intent
Criminal procedure — Appeal against conviction — evaluation of alibi and alleged bias
Evidence
— accomplice/tender-age witness — competence, corroboration and weight of testimony
— Witness credibility — appellate deference to trial judge who heard witnesses
15 November 1991
Reported
Criminal law — Murder — Malice a forethought — Attacking a confessed thief with knife, club, fire, and utterances that he would die and be finished off — Whether establishing malice aforethought
Evidence
— Credibility of- Witnesses — Trial court best placed to determine credibility
— Evidence by witness of tender age — Witness aged fifteen years — Whether needing corroboration
15 November 1991
Admissibility of police-recorded confessions and sufficiency of medical evidence of death in a murder appeal.
Criminal law
— Confession to police — Admissibility and weight of an uncontradicted confession to a police officer empowered under the Evidence Act — Evidence Act s.27
— Medical evidence on cause of death — Whether medical opinion supported by surrounding circumstances suffices to establish homicidal cause
— prior inconsistent statements — Whether a police-recorded prior statement used to impeach may improperly admit an inadmissible confession
15 November 1991
On appeal the manslaughter conviction was quashed; substituted with assault causing actual bodily harm and the appellant ordered released.
Criminal law — Appeal against conviction
— evaluation of medical evidence (blunt object v. fist)
— manslaughter
— sentence and credit for time served
15 November 1991
July 1991
Full court set aside single judge’s extension of time due to respondent’s prolonged inaction and prior applications.
Civil procedure — extension of time — application for extension to file Notice of Appeal and record of appeal — Whether repeated earlier applications, withdrawals and unexplained delay justify refusal of further extension
26 July 1991
June 1991
Taxation of a bill of costs: instruction fees reduced, unsupported items trimmed, and three-quarters of the taxed amount awarded to the appellant.
Civil procedure — Costs and taxation — instruction (advocate) fees
— disbursements lacking receipts may be reduced but allowed where court record evidences attendance
— prior appellate directive limiting recoverable proportion (three-quarters) to be applied
— scope includes preparatory work and perusals
— taxing officer’s duty to assess reasonableness
29 June 1991
Taxing officer reduced excessive instruction and preparation claims, disallowed separate perusals, and fixed respondent's payable share at Shs. 443,493.75.
Taxation of costs; instruction fees and scope (preparation vs court attendance); perusals included in instruction fees (Third Schedule, para 9); reasonableness and proof of disbursements; attendance versus transport allowances; application of appellate cost directions.
29 June 1991
May 1991
Court affirmed convictions for attempted unlawful exportation, finding inconsistencies immaterial given corroboration and appellant’s conduct.
Criminal law — attempted unlawful exportation — airport seizure of briefcase containing foreign currency and minerals
Criminal law — corroboration — PW.2 and PW.3 corroborating PW.7
Criminal law — evidence and credibility — inconsistencies in witness statements
Criminal law — non‑calling of witnesses
— adverse inference
— sufficiency of evidence to sustain conviction
16 May 1991
Accomplice evidence, though dangerous if uncorroborated, may support murder convictions where common intention to use lethal force is proved.
Criminal law — Murder — Joint enterprise and common intention — Whether defendants, who armed themselves to fish illegally at a guarded dam, shared a common intention to overcome resistance and cause death or grievous harm
Evidence
— Accomplice evidence — Caution in acting on uncorroborated accomplice testimony and requirement (or lack) of corroboration by independent witness
— Proof of presence and identity — sufficiency of independent witness evidence to identify third accused
16 May 1991
A statutory automatic ban on bail was struck down as overbroad and lacking constitutionally required procedural safeguards.
Constitutional law
— right to fair hearing (Article 13(6)(a)) — Denial of bail not equivalent to conviction or unlawful discrimination
— right to personal liberty (Article 15) — procedural safeguards required for lawful deprivation
Criminal procedure — Bail — Bailability — Statutory ban under s.148(5)(e): overbreadth and failure of proportionality (Article 30(2)(b) inapplicable)
16 May 1991
Section 148(5)(e) prohibiting bail was unconstitutional for lacking prescribed procedural safeguards and being overly broad.
Constitutional law — right to personal liberty (Article 15) — procedural safeguards required for lawful deprivation
Criminal procedure — Bail
Criminal procedure — Saving clause (Article 30) — proportionality and limits
— High Court jurisdiction to enforce fundamental rights (Article 30(3),(4))
— overbroad statutes not saved
Criminal procedure — separation of powers — legislature may limit discretion without usurping judicial adjudication
16 May 1991
Appeal allowed in part: marriage dissolved; registered title to Plot No.15 upheld for the appellant; custody of minors awarded to appellant.
Family law
— Divorce — irretrievable breakdown of marriage — custody of children — best interests of the child
— Procedural — unpleaded claims raised in evidence not entertained
— Property — registered title and title deed — admissibility — presumption of ownership
16 May 1991
Fresh visual identification and possession of a stolen vehicle part upheld appellants' robbery convictions and 15-year sentences.
Criminal law — Robbery with violence
— corroboration by witness placing accused near stolen vehicle
— identification parade not obligatory
— possession of ignition switch linked to stolen vehicle
— sentence enhancement for robbery with firearm justified
— Visual identification within 24 hours
16 May 1991
March 1991
A conviction rested on an uncorroborated dying declaration is unsafe without independent supporting evidence.
Criminal law — Evidence — dying declaration
— corroboration required for safe conviction
— identification in darkness and absence of motive raise serious doubt
— repetition shows consistency but not guaranteed accuracy
21 March 1991
Whether a High Court declaration that s.148(4)–(5) C.P.A. is unconstitutional binds a Principal Resident Magistrate under the doctrine of precedent.
Civil procedure
— Doctrine of precedent — Ratio decidendi binds lower courts
— obiter dicta do not — determining scope of issues decided in prior case
Criminal procedure — Bail
21 March 1991
A lower court is bound by a High Court ratio declaring s.148(4)–(5) of the Criminal Procedure Act unconstitutional, permitting bail.
Criminal procedure — Bail
21 March 1991
Reported
Civil procedure — Court of appeal rules
— Notice of Intention to Appeal — Essentials
— Right to apply for extension of time to appeal — Whether provisions prescribing period in which necessary steps for instituting appeals should be taken are mandatory
Civil procedure — Notice of appeal
— Form and Content of a
— Form D in the First Schedule to the Court of Appeal Rules 1979. Civil Practice and Procedure -Appeals to the Court of Appeal — Time in which to appeal and steps necessary to take before instituting appeal- Rule 83 of the Court of Appeal
11 March 1991
February 1991
An objection to execution disputing ownership of attached property must be brought in the executing court, not the Court of Appeal.
Civil procedure
— adjournment — No adjournment where documents are already on the record or in the court file
— Costs — Previous order for parties to bear own costs can be departed from where circumstances warrant awarding costs to the successful party
— execution of judgment
22 February 1991
January 1991
Appeal dismissed: conversion of the plaintiff’s livestock established; deceased defendant struck out; no costs order.
Civil procedure — deceased defendant — striking out or substitution of legal representative
Civil procedure — Pleadings
— need not be hyper-technical
— sufficiency of general description of property in conversion claim
Evidence — reliability of plaintiff’s testimony — voluntariness of confession — whether confession was obtained by torture
8 January 1991
Failure to serve notice of appeal timely and non‑compliance with appeal rules warranted striking out and refusal to extend time.
Civil procedure — Court of Appeal Rules — Rule 77(1) (service of notice of appeal within seven days) — Rule 82 (strike out for failure to take essential step) — Rule 83(1)/(2) (exception for application for copy of proceedings; requirement to send copy to respondent) — Rule 8 (discretion to extend time) — negligence of counsel and registry mistake — registrar’s certificate issued under mistake of fact.
1 January 1991
1 January 1991