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Citation
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Judgment date
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| October 2021 |
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Victim's sworn evidence and supporting circumstantial/medical evidence sufficed to prove rape beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Rape – proof of penetration – victim’s sworn evidence as best evidence; Evidence Act s.127 (child of tender age) distinction between minors and children under 14; Penal Code s.130(4)(a) slight penetration sufficient; medical evidence (absence of hymen/no bruises) not conclusive; amendment of charge under Criminal Procedure Act s.234(1); failure to call non-material witness – no adverse inference.
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1 October 2021 |
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Conviction quashed where identification was unreliable and cautioned statement was recorded outside the statutory four‑hour period.
Criminal law – Admissibility of cautioned statement – s.50(1)(a) CPA four‑hour rule; Identification of stranger – necessity of contemporaneous description to first recipient to avoid mistaken identity; Standard of proof – prosecution must prove identity beyond reasonable doubt; Sentencing – unnatural offence involving a child attracts life imprisonment under s.154(2) Penal Code.
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1 October 2021 |
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An applicant must show a point of law, not mere factual dispute, to obtain leave to appeal to the Court.
Leave to Appeal – requirement of a point of law; factual disputes (location of property) do not qualify as points of law; second bite under Rule 45(b); execution of Ward Tribunal decrees and competence of DLHT.
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1 October 2021 |
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Applicant failed to show good cause for extension to file notice of appeal and to apply for leave; application dismissed.
Extension of time – Rule 10 Court of Appeal Rules – requirement to show good cause; notice of appeal must be lodged before applying for leave (Rule 46(1)); distinction between technical and actual delay (Fortunatus Masha); illness, ignorance or negligence do not constitute good cause; illegality must be apparent on the face of the record (Lyamuya).
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1 October 2021 |
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Improperly admitted documentary exhibits expunged, but remaining evidence upheld convictions for armed robbery, rape and grievous harm.
Criminal law – identification evidence; documentary exhibits – requirement to admit and read out contents before reliance; expungement of improperly admitted exhibits; corroboration by medical evidence; elements of armed robbery (threat/use of weapon, theft).
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1 October 2021 |
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Leave granted to appeal on whether time to obtain a certified tribunal judgment copy is excludable from appeal limitation.
Land appeals – limitation – s.41(2) Land Disputes Courts Act – whether time spent procuring certified copy of tribunal judgment is excludable – requirement for leave – grant of leave to appeal.
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1 October 2021 |
| September 2021 |
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Omission to swear witnesses and to sign their evidence at the CMA vitiated proceedings; matter remitted for de novo hearing.
Labour arbitration — administration of oath to witnesses mandatory — failure vitiates proceedings; arbitrator's signature on witness evidence — omission undermines authenticity and is fatal; award and subsequent High Court proceedings arising from a null arbitration are set aside and matter remitted for de novo hearing before another arbitrator.
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30 September 2021 |
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Victim's uncorroborated testimony and an extra‑judicial confession upheld the rape conviction despite expunged statements.
Criminal law – Rape – Victim’s testimony need not be corroborated; Evidence Act s.127(6); Criminal Procedure Act s.50(1)(a) – cautioned statements and statutory time limit; Admissibility of extra‑judicial/confessional statements recorded by a Justice of the Peace; Procedural omission by appellate court and prejudice test.
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29 September 2021 |
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Absence of DPP consent and certificate rendered the subordinate court's trial of an economic offence a nullity; conviction quashed.
* Criminal procedure – Jurisdiction – Economic offences triable by High Court – DPP’s consent and certificate required to confer jurisdiction on subordinate courts (sections 3, 26(1) and 12(3) of the Act). * Absence/non-receipt of DPP’s consent and certificate renders subordinate court proceedings a nullity; subsequent High Court proceedings founded on such trial are likewise null. * Revisional powers – quashing of proceedings and conviction; discretion against retrial where prosecutorial error would enable filling evidential gaps (Fatehali Manji principle).
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29 September 2021 |
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Unproved suspected narcotics must be chemically analysed; admissions about a substance's identity cannot substitute for testing.
Drugs Control Act – requirement to submit suspected narcotics/psychotropics to Government Chemist for analysis (s.67; Reg.21); Failure to test renders exhibit inadmissible; Cautioned statement admissions on substance identity lack evidential weight without chemical analysis.
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28 September 2021 |
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Conviction quashed where identification and possession were not proved beyond reasonable doubt due to evidential gaps.
* Criminal law – Identification evidence – opportunity to observe, naming at earliest opportunity and corroboration; failure to call key eyewitness affects credibility. * Criminal law – Possession and recovery – abandoned property found in bush is not conclusive proof of possession; village and police witnesses relevant. * Criminal procedure – Variance between charge and evidence – special (constructive) owner versus actual owner; minor/curable variances. * Appellate procedure – duty of appellate court to consider grounds presented; Court of Appeal may decide omitted grounds or remit where appropriate. * Evidence – family/business associates may testify but credibility must be tested; absence of phone/M-Pesa corroboration weakens identification.
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28 September 2021 |
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Inadequate summing up to assessors vitiated murder conviction; retrial refused due to reliance on a disputed cautioned statement.
Criminal appeal – assessors – duty of trial Judge to sum up adequately on vital points of law (circumstantial evidence) – omission vitiates proceedings; cautioned statement (exhibit) repudiated by accused – reliance thereon unsafe; retrial – Fatehali Manji principles – declined where prosecution case weak.
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28 September 2021 |
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Failure to serve the notice of appeal within 14 days renders the appeal incompetent and is struck out with costs.
* Civil procedure – Court of Appeal Rules, 2009 – Rule 84(1) mandatory requirement to serve notice of appeal within 14 days; non-compliance renders appeal incompetent. * Proof of service – absence of endorsement/signature on notice in record is fatal. * Preliminary objections – competence of appeal determined before merits; failure to comply with procedural rules attracts striking out with costs.
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28 September 2021 |
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Omission to administer oath and to sign witness testimony vitiates CMA proceedings and warrants quashing and retrial.
* Labour law — CMA procedure — mandatory oath/affirmation for witnesses — omission vitiates proceedings. * Evidence — signing of witness testimony — absence undermines authenticity of record and is fatal. * Appellate review — quashing and remittal for rehearing de novo where mandatory procedural safeguards were omitted.
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24 September 2021 |
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Failure to swear witnesses and absence of arbitrator's signature vitiated CMA proceedings; matter remitted for rehearing.
* Labour law – arbitration procedure – mandatory administration of oath to witnesses under G.N. No. 67 of 2007 (rule 25(1)) – failure vitiates proceedings. * Procedural requirement – arbitrator’s signature on recorded evidence – omission undermines authenticity and vitiates award. * Remedy – quash proceedings and remit for rehearing de novo before another arbitrator.
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24 September 2021 |
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Failure to properly sum up evidence and law to assessors vitiates trial, warranting retrial.
* Criminal procedure – trials with assessors – duty to sum up evidence and law to assessors; failure vitiates proceedings.
* Evidence – caution statement (retracted) and post-mortem corroboration; issues of extrajudicial statement production.
* Criminal law – defence of compulsion – requirement of imminent danger/grievous harm.
* Remedy – nullification of proceedings and order for retrial de novo before another judge and new assessors.
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23 September 2021 |
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Procedural omissions were harmless and eyewitness identification in daylight upheld the rape conviction.
Criminal procedure — s.214 CPA: lawful transfer and continuation of trial; s.234(2) CPA: substitution of charge and failure to recall witnesses — harmless where amendment corrects penal provision and causes no prejudice; delay in charging — cannot be raised for first time on appeal; identification evidence — previous acquaintance and daylight identification reliable; rape — corroborative medical and eyewitness evidence sufficient.
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23 September 2021 |
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A claimant lacking legal interest in land has no locus standi to sue, and proceedings must be quashed.
Land law – Locus standi – Claimant must have legal interest in land to sue; locus standi is jurisdictional and may be considered at any stage – Adverse possession not reached where claimant lacks locus standi – Ward Tribunal erred in entertaining claim by a person without title.
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23 September 2021 |
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Failure to direct assessors on alibi and repudiated confessions vitiated the trial; retrial ordered.
* Criminal procedure – assessors – duty of trial Judge to sum up adequately on all vital points of law; failure is fatal. * Criminal evidence – repudiated confessions – nature and conditions in which cautioned and extra-judicial statements may be acted upon. * Defence of alibi – duty to direct assessors on its nature and application. * Remedy – omission to direct assessors vitiates trial; ordinarily retrial de novo ordered, though limited cases permit only fresh summing-up.
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21 September 2021 |
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The appellant's conviction was quashed due to unexplained reporting delay and doubtful corroborative evidence.
Criminal law – rape of a child; evidence – best evidence principle (s.127(6) Evidence Act); corroboration – circumstantial support by secondary witness; documentary evidence – PF3 inadmissible if not read over; delay in reporting – effect on credibility; medical evidence – timing and probative value; benefit of doubt – acquittal where prosecution fails to exclude reasonable doubt.
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21 September 2021 |
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Conviction based on recent possession quashed because prosecution failed to prove the stolen phone belonged to the complainant.
Criminal law — Armed robbery — Doctrine of recent possession — Essential requirement to prove recovered property belonged to the complainant (identifying marks/serial numbers or receipt) — Failure to prove identity defeats recent-possession-based conviction.
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20 September 2021 |
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Failure to administer oaths and to sign witness testimonies vitiated CMA proceedings, warranting quashment and rehearing.
Labour law — CMA procedure — mandatory administration of oath to witnesses (Rule 25(1) GN No. 67/2007; Oaths and Statutory Declarations Act); requirement for arbitrator's signature to authenticate witness evidence; omissions vitiate proceedings — quashment and remittal for retrial.
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20 September 2021 |
| June 2021 |
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Retracted cautioned confessions admissible if judicially warned and corroborated; JP-recorded confession vitiated for non‑compliance.
Criminal law – Murder – Reliance on retracted cautioned statements – Trial judge must warn herself of dangers and be satisfied of truth; extra-judicial statements by Justices of the Peace must comply with Chief Justice's Instructions; corroboration by independent evidence and autopsy may validate retracted confessions.
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21 June 2021 |
| May 2021 |
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Clarificatory questions by assessors do not vitiate proceedings; fatal stabbing during a fight amounted to manslaughter, not murder.
• Criminal law – role of assessors – assessors may ask questions for clarification under section 177 Evidence Act but must not cross-examine as adverse parties.
• Criminal law – murder v. manslaughter – death occurring in the course of a fight is manslaughter absent malice aforethought.
• Procedure – prejudice required to invalidate proceedings where assessors question witnesses.
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7 May 2021 |
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An action brought in the name of an unincorporated trust by an unauthorized person renders proceedings a nullity.
* Trustees Incorporation Act – corporate status – requirement to sue and be sued in the corporate name including "Registered Trustees"; * Locus standi – who may institute proceedings for a registered trustees' body; * Authority of representatives – persons authorised to sue for a body corporate; * Procedural defect – misnomer/unauthorised institution of suit may render proceedings a nullity.
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7 May 2021 |
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Court of Appeal lacks jurisdiction to entertain second‑bite leave application where High Court refused leave under pre‑2018 law.
Land law — Leave to appeal — Exclusivity of High Court jurisdiction under pre‑2018 section 47 Cap. 216 — Second‑bite applications under Rule 45(b) — 2018 amendment to section 47 and non‑retrospectivity — Remedy: extension of time under section 11 Appellate Jurisdiction Act.
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7 May 2021 |
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Employer failed to prove valid reason and fair procedure for termination; appeal dismissed and award upheld.
Labour law – unfair termination – employer's burden under s.37(2) ELRA to prove valid/fair reason and procedure – procedural fairness – Rule 13(2) (service of charge) – admissibility and opportunity to tender medical evidence.
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6 May 2021 |
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Search and seizure irregularities and unreliable witness evidence vitiated conviction for possession of government trophies.
* Criminal procedure – committal proceedings – partial non‑compliance with Rule 8(3) GN. No.267 of 2016 – not always fatal if accused later afforded full opportunity to defend. * Search and seizure – Police Form No.91 (PF91) – material contradictions, missing/irregular signatures and unexplained anomalies vitiate exhibit. * Evidence – failure to call key witnesses and unreliable independent witness entitles court to draw adverse inference. * Applicability – searches under CPA require compliance with section 38(1) and (3); Wildlife Act provision on independent witnesses for dwelling searches is not a substitute when CPA procedure is used. * Standard of proof – where admissibility and authenticity of seizure form is excluded, prosecution fails to prove possession beyond reasonable doubt.
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5 May 2021 |
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Victim's credible testimony and medical evidence upheld convictions; illegal sub‑minimum sentences corrected to statutory penalties.
Criminal law – rape and unnatural offence on a child; victim's testimony as primary evidence; medical report corroboration; admissibility and credibility of investigating officer's evidence; no legal requirement for DNA/STD evidence; procedural compliance with trial recommencement; correction of illegal sentences to statutory minima.
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4 May 2021 |
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Appellant failed to prove gift inter vivos or ownership; adverse possession unpleaded; appeal dismissed with costs.
* Land law – ownership – gift inter vivos – burden of proof and preponderance of probabilities; credibility of witnesses. * Pleadings – party bound by pleadings; adverse possession cannot be raised without pleading. * Family land – disposition by beneficiary and locus standi to sell – requirement for direct evidence of sale.
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4 May 2021 |
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Extension of time granted because non-joinder and denial of hearing constituted apparent illegality affecting applicant's title.
* Civil procedure – Extension of time under Rule 10 – discretion exercised where good cause shown; * Requirement to account for every day of delay, but unexplained delay may be excused where apparent illegality exists; * Jurisdiction/illegality – non-joinder and denial of hearing in proceedings affecting proprietary rights constitutes apparent illegality and may render judgment a nullity; * Revision as appropriate remedy where aggrieved person was not a party to earlier proceedings affecting their rights.
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3 May 2021 |
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Failure to properly direct assessors on circumstantial evidence voids the trial and mandates a retrial.
Criminal procedure – Trials with assessors – Duty to sum up – Circumstantial evidence must be fully explained to assessors; omission is fatal. Sections 265, 298 Criminal Procedure Act; retrial ordered.
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3 May 2021 |
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Child’s unsworn testimony, properly received and corroborated, upheld conviction for grave sexual abuse; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – sexual offence (grave sexual abuse) – child witnesses – Evidence Act s.127 (unsworn evidence, promise to tell truth, corroboration) – presence of social welfare officer required only in Juvenile Court proceedings – mitigation procedure – sufficiency of evidence.
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3 May 2021 |
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The applicant’s uncorroborated claim of a lost review filing and lack of arguable review grounds warranted dismissal.
Criminal procedure — extension of time under Rule 10 — requirement to show good cause and account for each day of delay; must demonstrate an arguable review case under Rule 66(1); review distinct from appeal — factual complaints are not review grounds; uncorroborated claims of a lost filing are insufficient evidence.
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3 May 2021 |
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Failure to direct assessors on malice, alibi and provocation rendered the trial a nullity; conviction quashed and retrial ordered.
Criminal procedure – summing up to assessors – section 298(1) CPA – failure to direct assessors on malice aforethought, alibi and provocation renders trial a nullity; conviction quashed; retrial ordered; appellant remanded pending retrial.
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3 May 2021 |
| April 2021 |
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Failure to serve the written request for High Court copies under Rule 90(3) prevents reliance on delay exception, rendering the appeal time‑barred.
Civil procedure — Appeal time limits — Rule 90(1) and (3), Tanzania Court of Appeal Rules — Written application for copies must be served on respondents — Non‑compliance bars reliance on Registrar’s certificate of delay — Appeal filed out of time — Struck out.
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30 April 2021 |
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A credible child‑victim’s testimony under section 127(7) can alone sustain conviction if the court records reasons.
* Evidence – Sexual offences – Section 127(7) Evidence Act – Child‑victim (tender years) testimony may suffice without corroboration if court records credibility reasons.
* Evidence – Corroboration – Playmate and medical evidence can support victim’s testimony.
* Criminal procedure – Alibi defence – Notice requirement under section 194(4) – failure to give notice renders alibi weak.
* Appellate practice – Second appeals limited to grounds raised in first appellate court; new grounds not entertainable.
* Preliminary hearing – Calling witness not listed at preliminary hearing is permissible.
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30 April 2021 |
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High Court's sua motu decision without hearing violated right to be heard; ruling and subsequent review nullified.
Natural justice – right to be heard – court raising and deciding point of law suo motu without hearing parties – decision nullity; competence of applications based on enabling provisions; review of High Court rulings; amendment of section 47 LDCA removing leave requirement in land matters.
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30 April 2021 |
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Victim's testimony and medical report proved statutory rape; concurrent factual findings upheld and appeal dismissed.
* Criminal law – Sexual offences – Statutory rape under section 130(2)(e) – proof of victim's age – medical report admissible to establish age. * Evidence Act s.127 – victim's testimony in sexual offences can suffice to prove penetration; corroboration not always required. * Appellate procedure – scope of second appeal – concurrent findings of fact will not be disturbed absent demonstrable error, misdirection or miscarriage of justice. * Credibility – inconsistent defence statements undermine accused's account.
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30 April 2021 |
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A plea of "Ni kweli" with unreserved factual admissions constituted an unequivocal guilty plea; appeal dismissed.
* Criminal procedure – plea of guilty – whether utterance "Ni kweli" constitutes an unequivocal plea.
* Criminal procedure – s.360(1) CPA – general bar to appeals on guilty pleas and recognized exceptions (Laurence Mpinga criteria).
* Evidence – admission of facts and exhibits (cautioned and extrajudicial statements) as basis for conviction on plea.
* Substantive law – elements of armed robbery (theft, weapon, threat to use violence).
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29 April 2021 |
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Court upheld convictions for possession and attempted dealing in government trophies; valuation certificate rejected but convictions sustained.
Wildlife Conservation Act – unlawful possession and dealing in government trophies – evidence sufficiency – search and seizure in remote area without independent witness – competence and admissibility of trophy valuation certificate – valuation under Regulations – burden and statutory presumptions (ss.86,100,106,114 WCA).
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29 April 2021 |
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Where a trial record is missing, the originating Deputy Registrar must trace or reconstruct it to preserve the appellant's right to appeal.
* Criminal procedure — Missing or destroyed trial record — Registrar’s duty under Rule 71 to prepare and, where necessary, reconstruct the record. * Right to appeal and fair hearing — Article 13(6)(a) — requirement that appellate record be adequate for proper consideration. * Reconstruction of records — coordinated, exhaustive searches involving DPP, police, prison, National Archives and registries. * Procedural direction — Deputy Registrar (originating registry) to prepare record within 60 days; if irretrievable, to reconstruct with stakeholders.
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28 April 2021 |