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Citation
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Judgment date
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| November 2022 |
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Conviction quashed where medical exhibit was irregularly admitted and evidence, lacking key witnesses, proved only suspicion.
Criminal law – rape of a child – competency and non-production of child witness; admissibility of medical report (PF3) requiring reading/explanation after admission; sufficiency of circumstantial and hearsay evidence; duty to call material witnesses (street chairperson).
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9 November 2022 |
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Child’s unpromised testimony must be expunged, but being caught in flagrante delicto can sustain conviction.
Evidence – Child witness (section 127(2) Evidence Act) – failure to promise to tell truth requires expungement; Voir dire – absence of record; Identification – caught in flagrante delicto removes identification doubt; Medical evidence (PF3/Exh PEI) corroborates penetration; Sufficiency of remaining evidence to sustain conviction.
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9 November 2022 |
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Failure by a first appellate court to decide all substantial grounds is fatal; matter remitted for rehearing.
* Criminal procedure – first appeal – duty of first appellate court to re-appraise evidence and determine grounds of appeal – necessity to give reasons or indicate combination of grounds; failure is fatal and warrants quashing and remittal for rehearing.
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9 November 2022 |
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Failure to properly inform and direct assessors, especially on provocation, vitiated the murder trial; retrial ordered.
Criminal procedure – murder trial with assessors – duty to inform assessors of their role and responsibilities before trial – duty to sum up and explain relevant law and defences (including provocation) – non-direction or misdirection on vital point renders trial a nullity – retrial ordered.
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7 November 2022 |
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Omission of court name on charge sheet is curable; an unequivocal guilty plea bars challenge to conviction.
* Criminal procedure – charge sheet contents – omission of trial court’s name – curable defect where essential particulars disclosed (s.132 CPA). * Plea of guilty – when plea is unequivocal – admission of facts and mitigation confirm plea – limits on appeals from guilty pleas. * Evidence – no requirement to tender exhibits once accused pleads guilty and admits facts disclosing all elements of offence.
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7 November 2022 |
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Failure by the High Court to decide all grounds of appeal rendered its judgment null, warranting remittal for rehearing.
Criminal appeal — First appellate court’s duty to address grounds of appeal — Failure to determine all grounds is a fatal irregularity — Nullity of proceedings — Remittal for rehearing before a different judge; limited circumstances where higher court may re-evaluate evidence to avoid delay.
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7 November 2022 |
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Trial was a nullity for failing to inform assessors and explain vital legal points; retrial ordered.
* Criminal procedure – Trials with assessors – Duty to inform assessors of their role and responsibilities – Necessity of meaningful participation.
* Criminal procedure – Summing up under section 298(1) – Requirement to explain vital points of law to assessors before inviting opinions (confession, provocation).
* Non-compliance with sections 265 and 298(1) – Fatal omission rendering trial a nullity – Retrial as appropriate remedy.
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7 November 2022 |
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Failure to address and properly sum up to assessors vitiated the trial; conviction quashed and retrial ordered.
Criminal procedure — Trials with assessors — mandatory requirement to address assessors on their role and responsibilities; requirement to sum up substance of evidence and vital points of law (dying declarations, confessional statements, defences) to assessors; failure to do so vitiates proceedings; retrial ordered where evidence is not hopelessly weak.
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7 November 2022 |
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Conviction quashed where contradictions and unlawful corroborative evidence undermined proof beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – sexual offences against a child – credibility of child witness under section 127 Evidence Act; cautioned statement – statutory time limits under section 50 CPA – inadmissibility if exceeded; PF3 medical report – reliability and requirement to record referral/date; contradictions in prosecution evidence going to the root – acquittal.
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4 November 2022 |
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Inadequate summing up to assessors vitiated the trial; convictions quashed and retrial ordered.
* Criminal procedure – Assessors – Summing up to assessors – Requirement to summarise substance of prosecution and defence and explain vital legal points (s.298(1) CPA) – Failure to properly sum up vitiates proceedings.
* Trial irregularity – Inadequate summing up renders assessors' opinions unreliable and may nullify conviction.
* Remedy – Convictions quashed, sentences set aside and retrial ordered with assessors per s.265(1) CPA.
* Evidential issues (retracted cautioned statement) raised but not determined due to procedural nullity.
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4 November 2022 |
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Failure to properly sum up to assessors renders the trial a nullity and warrants an expedited retrial.
Criminal procedure — Summing up to assessors — Requirement under section 298(1) CPA to summarise facts and explain relevant law — Failure to do so renders trial a nullity; retrial ordered. — Assessors’ role — Section 265(1) CPA. — Cautioned statement (admission) issue not determinative in view of fatal summing-up omission.
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4 November 2022 |
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Inadequate summing-up to assessors rendered the trial a nullity; conviction quashed and retrial ordered.
* Criminal procedure – Summing-up to assessors – Section 298(1) CPA – duty to explain substance of evidence and vital legal points; failure is fatal.
* Assessors – inability to give meaningful opinion where summing-up is inadequate – renders trial without aid of assessors and nullity.
* Confessional statement – retracted cautioned statement – evidential value and need for proper directions in summing-up.
* Remedy – conviction quashed and sentence set aside; retrial (trial de novo) ordered before another Judge with assessors (s265(1)).
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3 November 2022 |
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Where an accused's age is disputed the court must inquire under the Law of the Child Act; failure warrants quashing and retrial.
Criminal procedure — disputed age of accused — duty to inquire under Law of the Child Act ss.113–114 and Rule 12 (Juvenile Court Procedure Rules) — proof by birth certificate, medical evidence, school records or social welfare information — failure to inquire constitutes miscarriage of justice; remedy: quash conviction and order retrial.
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1 November 2022 |
| October 2022 |
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Inadequate summing up to assessors on circumstantial evidence and confession renders the trial a nullity; retrial ordered.
* Criminal procedure – summing up to assessors – section 298(1) CPA – mandatory duty to explain substance of evidence and direct on salient legal points; * Evidence – circumstantial evidence and presumption of last person seen with deceased – requirement to direct assessors; * Evidence – confessional/cautioned statement – need to direct on reliability; * Procedural irregularity – inadequate summing up renders trial without assessors and a nullity; * Remedy – conviction quashed, sentence set aside, retrial ordered.
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31 October 2022 |
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Failure to inform and properly address assessors vitiated the trial; conviction quashed and retrial ordered.
Assessors' participation – must be informed of roles before trial; summing up to assessors – judge must summarize evidence and explain vital points of law (circumstantial evidence, corroboration, retracted confession, common intention, last-seen doctrine); introduction of extraneous matters in summing up vitiates trial; where trial vitiated by such defects, retrial may be ordered.
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31 October 2022 |
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Material variance between charged date and prosecution evidence undermined proof beyond reasonable doubt; conviction quashed.
Criminal law – unnatural offence – variance between charge particulars (date) and prosecution evidence – duty of prosecution to prove particulars – requirement to amend charge under section 234(1) Criminal Procedure Act – failure to address variance amounts to fatal defect.
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28 October 2022 |
| May 2022 |
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Demolition lawful where applicant developed in a declared planning area without permit and failed to comply with enforcement notices.
Urban planning and development law — planning area designation; requirement of planning consent/building permit fordevelopment; enforcement notices and demolition for non-compliance; retrospective inapplicability argument rejected whereprior planning regime applied; water-source protection considerations.
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2 May 2022 |
| March 2022 |
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Whether a handwritten disposition and competing land titles were valid and whether both certificates should be set aside.
* Land law – disposition of registered land – validity of handwritten donation and requirement of corroborative evidence. * Evidence – burden of proof on party alleging disposition; elevated standard to prove fraud in civil proceedings. * Titles – competing certificates of occupancy/title; court’s power to declare titles invalid where earlier title exists or process tainted. * Probate/administration – appointment as administratrix does not automatically confer ownership of estate land.
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31 March 2022 |
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Court of Appeal dismissed review: it may only review its own judgment, not re-open lower court proceedings.
Review — Scope of review under s.4(4) AJA and rule 66(1) Court of Appeal Rules — review confined to this Court's judgment or order; error on face of the record means this Court's record. Jurisdiction — may be raised anytime but in review must be apparent on the Court of Appeal's record. Amendments to plaint and new evidence in subordinate courts — matters for High Court review (Order XLII CPC), not for Court of Appeal review.
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31 March 2022 |
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Conviction upheld: cautioned statements expunged; admission and corroboration sustain warrantless-search evidence.
Criminal law – possession of government trophies – admissibility of cautioned statements recorded outside statutory four-hour limit – expunged. Criminal procedure – change of trial magistrate – compliance with s.214(1) CPA and prejudice test. Criminal procedure – warrantless search of premises – non-fatal where accused admits possession and was present during search. Evidence – co-accused admission admissible against another (Evidence Act s.33) when corroborated. Evidence – competence of game ranger/wildlife ranger to value trophies under Wildlife Conservation Act s.86(4).
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30 March 2022 |
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Failure to administer and record oath to CMA witnesses vitiates proceedings; award and High Court order quashed and remitted for rehearing.
Labour law – CMA procedure – Rule 19(2)(a) and Rule 25(1) – witnesses must testify on oath or affirmation – failure to record oath/affirmation vitiates proceedings – record must show compliance – indication in award does not cure defect – remedy: quash and remit for rehearing before different arbitrator.
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28 March 2022 |
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Conviction quashed where alleged trophy exhibits were admitted for identification only and not produced in evidence.
Criminal law – evidence – identification-only exhibits have no evidential value; inventories substitute only for perishable exhibits with proper disposal orders – non-production of core physical exhibits undermines proof beyond reasonable doubt.
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25 March 2022 |
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Victim and corroborative evidence upheld conviction; thirty‑year sentence quashed and substituted with mandatory life imprisonment.
* Criminal law – Unnatural offence – Evidence – Victim’s direct testimony corroborated by eyewitness and medical oral evidence establishing penetration – PF3 expunged but oral testimony survives. * Procedural – Delay in arrest immaterial where offence was reported promptly. * Sentencing – Section 154(2) Penal Code (as amended) mandates life imprisonment for unnatural offences against persons under 18; appellate court may substitute illegal sentence under s.4(2) AJA.
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25 March 2022 |
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Failure to inform assessors of their role and to properly sum up legal issues vitiated the trial, requiring quashing of conviction and retrial.
* Criminal procedure – Trials with aid of assessors – Requirement to inform assessors of their role and responsibilities – failure renders trial not with aid of assessors and is fatal.
* Criminal procedure – Summing up – Necessity to explain salient facts in relation to law (e.g., identification and circumstantial evidence) to assessors for meaningful opinions.
* Appeal – Procedural irregularity – Inadequate involvement of assessors vitiates conviction and warrants retrial.
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24 March 2022 |
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Improper voir dire rendered the child-victim incompetent; conviction quashed for lack of admissible corroboration.
Criminal law – Child witness competence – Section 127(2) Evidence Act – Proper voir dire required to establish understanding of oath and duty to tell truth; unsworn/incompetent child evidence has no value; PF3 inadmissible without authoring medical witness or readout; accused cannot be convicted on weakness of defence.
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24 March 2022 |
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Convictions quashed because visual identification evidence was unreliable and identification parade added no value.
* Criminal law – Visual identification – sufficiency and reliability of eye-witness identification; contradictions and signs of tutoring undermine conviction. * Criminal procedure – Identification parade – limited value where witnesses were familiar with suspect. * Evidence – failure to name suspect at earliest opportunity affects reliability. * Charging – caution against separate counts for assault/grievous harm where they form ingredients of armed robbery.
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24 March 2022 |
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Identification by recognition and voice in poor lighting was unreliable to convict the applicants.
* Criminal law – Evidence – visual identification by recognition – Courts must eliminate all possibilities of mistaken identity before acting on single-witness identification. * Criminal law – Evidence – identification at night – source and intensity of light must be explained. * Criminal law – Evidence – voice identification – inherently weak and requires careful scrutiny (strength, duration, familiarity). * Criminal procedure – Appellate review – convictions unsafe where identification evidence is unreliable.
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24 March 2022 |
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Uncontradicted affidavit and excusable delay justified extension of time to apply to set aside an ex parte judgment.
Civil procedure — Extension of time — Good cause — Applicant's uncontradicted affidavit sufficient to prove date of knowledge — Ex parte judgment — Accounting for delay — Technical/clerical defects in earlier applications do not necessarily indicate applicant's negligence.
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22 March 2022 |