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Citation
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Judgment date
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| October 2017 |
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A fresh appeal after a struck-out appeal is incompetent unless the appellant first obtains extension of time.
Court of Appeal procedure – appeal struck out – notice of appeal struck out – requirement to apply for extension of time under Rule 47 before lodging fresh appeal – William Shija v Fortunatus Masha applied – labour matter, no order as to costs.
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13 October 2017 |
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Trial judge’s misdirection to assessors vitiated proceedings; no retrial ordered and appellants released.
Criminal procedure – Summing‑up to assessors – Trial judge must not disclose his own view or put extraneous matters to assessors; misdirection vitiates trial. Evidence – Identification and link to crime scene – absence of connection to scene may make retrial futile; release ordered.
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13 October 2017 |
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Trial Judge's improper directions to assessors vitiated the conviction; no retrial ordered and appellants released.
Criminal law – Summing up to assessors – Trial Judge must not disclose personal views or introduce extraneous matters – Misdirection vitiates proceedings; insufficiency of identity evidence; retrial inappropriate – Proceedings nullified under s.4(2) Appellate Jurisdiction Act; appellants released.
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13 October 2017 |
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Post-mortem report procured without Coroner’s order is admissible under section 291, subject to right to summon medical witness.
Criminal procedure – post-mortem reports – admissibility under section 291 Criminal Procedure Act despite absence of Coroner’s authorisation under the Inquests Act; Police General Orders cannot validly delegate Coroner’s statutory powers; post-mortem memorandum is not substantive evidence until the doctor testifies.
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13 October 2017 |
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12 October 2017 |
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A defective charge sheet failing to specify the rape category deprived the appellant of a fair trial; conviction quashed and release ordered.
Criminal procedure – Charge framing under s.135 CPA – Statement of offence must describe the offence and cite the enactment; defective reference to "section 130" (without subsection/category) where rape is multi‑categorised renders charge incurably defective and trial unfair. Evidence — Child witness — Proper voir dire required under s.127 Evidence Act. Appellate jurisdiction — Revisional powers (s.4(2) AJA) to nullify proceedings, quash conviction and set aside sentence; retrial only if in interests of justice.
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12 October 2017 |
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Whether an accomplice's statement corroborated by DNA and proper chain of custody can sustain murder convictions.
Criminal law – murder; accomplice's statement admissibility; need for corroboration of accomplice evidence; circumstantial evidence and DNA corroboration; chain of custody of exhibits; appellate re‑evaluation of circumstantial evidence.
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12 October 2017 |
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Trial court’s omission to formally convict before sentencing renders judgment void; appellate court quashed and remitted the record.
Criminal procedure – Conviction must precede sentence – Section 235(1) Criminal Procedure Act – Failure to enter conviction renders judgment a nullity – Revisional powers to quash and remit for proper conviction and sentencing.
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12 October 2017 |
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Conviction based on a defective charge citing a non-existent provision violates fair trial and is quashed.
Criminal procedure – Charge – where statement of offence fails to specify category of rape under s.130(2) – wrong/non-existent citation of statutory provision – incurable defect – fair trial – proceedings nullity – conviction quashed.
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12 October 2017 |
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Failure by both trial and first appellate courts to evaluate the defence rendered the conviction unsafe and was quashed.
Criminal law – armed robbery; identification evidence; confessional statement – admissibility and statutory eight‑hour rule (s.51(1)(b) CPA); appellate duty – re‑examination and objective evaluation of defence evidence; failure to consider defence renders conviction unsafe.
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12 October 2017 |
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Convictions quashed for defective particulars, unsworn evidence, improper guilty plea procedure and improperly admitted cautioned statements.
Criminal procedure — Robbery with violence — particulars must name the victim; Plea of guilty — prosecutor must state facts before conviction; Evidence — witnesses must be sworn or affirmed; Cautioned/confessional statements — trial-within-a-trial required upon retraction; Revisional jurisdiction — power to nullify proceedings for serious procedural defects.
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11 October 2017 |
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Reliance on an untendered psychiatric report denied the appellant a fair trial; retrial ordered.
Criminal law – admissibility of psychiatric/medical reports – report not tendered into evidence; fair trial – right to disclosure and opportunity to challenge expert evidence; judicial reliance on extraneous material; remedy – nullification of proceedings and retrial under section 4(2) AJA.
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11 October 2017 |
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Allowing assessors to cross-examine witnesses vitiates the trial, warranting quashing of convictions and an expedited retrial.
* Criminal procedure – Assessors' role – Assessors may ask clarification questions but must not cross-examine witnesses; cross-examination by assessors is an incurable irregularity that vitiates the trial. * Appellate jurisdiction – Revisional power (s.4(2) AJA) – Court may nullify proceedings and order retrial. * Other evidential issues (repudiated statements; chain of custody) left undecided after nullification.
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10 October 2017 |
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Extension of time must be sought in the subordinate court exercising extended jurisdiction, not the High Court.
* Appellate Jurisdiction Act s.11(1) – extension of time – jurisdictional forum where appeal lies from a subordinate court exercising extended powers; * Criminal Procedure Act s.256A – transfer to subordinate court with extended jurisdiction; * Effect of transfer – case to be tried in subordinate court and appeal lies directly to Court of Appeal; * Nullity of High Court order granting extension where jurisdiction absent; * Consequence – notice of appeal filed out of time; appeal incompetent and struck out.
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9 October 2017 |
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Denial of assessors' statutory opportunity to question witnesses rendered the trial null, prompting quashing of conviction and retrial.
Criminal procedure – assessors' role – denial of opportunity to put questions to witnesses renders trial a nullity; assessors must not cross-examine; procedural irregularity fatal to conviction.
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9 October 2017 |
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Review application filed over five years late; struck out as time‑barred under rule 66(3).
* Criminal procedure – Review applications – Rule 66(3) Court of Appeal Rules 2009 – Sixty-day limitation – Application filed out of time – Incompetence and striking out.
* Procedural law – Effect of earlier review application struck out – Requirement to seek extension of time before filing a fresh review after limitation has expired.
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6 October 2017 |
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A notice of appeal citing the wrong lower court registration number is incurably defective and the appeal is struck out.
Criminal procedure – Notice of appeal – Requirement to state correct trial/appellate court and registration number – Rule 68(1) Court of Appeal Rules 2009 – Failure to comply renders notice incurably defective and appeal incompetent – Competency may be raised sua sponte.
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5 October 2017 |
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A review application filed more than sixty days after the impugned judgment is incompetent and must be struck out.
Criminal procedure — Review of judgment — Rule 66(3) Court of Appeal Rules, 2009 — Sixty-day time limit for filing notice of motion for review — Earlier struck-out review application does not permit fresh filing after limitation without extension of time — Application filed out of time is incompetent and struck out.
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5 October 2017 |
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4 October 2017 |
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Conviction quashed because cautioned and extra-judicial statements were admitted without assessors; retrial ordered.
* Criminal procedure – High Court trials must be with the aid of assessors (s.265 Criminal Procedure Act); failure to have assessors present when admitting cautioned and extra-judicial statements amounts to miscarriage of justice; remedy – quashing of proceedings and retrial under revisional jurisdiction (s.4(2) Appellate Jurisdiction Act).
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3 October 2017 |
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Allowing assessors to cross-examine witnesses vitiates the trial and mandates quashing and retrial.
Criminal procedure – Role of assessors – Assessors may put questions only with leave of court (s.177 Evidence Act); cross-examination is the province of the adverse party (s.146) – Allowing assessors to cross-examine creates appearance of bias and vitiates proceedings – Remedy: quash proceedings, set aside conviction and order retrial; revisional powers (s.4(2) AJA).
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3 October 2017 |
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Omission to record a conviction before sentencing is fatal; proceedings quashed and matter remitted for proper conviction and sentencing.
Criminal procedure — Mandatory entry of conviction before sentencing (s.235(1) CPA) — Judgment must specify offence and statutory provision (s.312 CPA) — Omission to convict fatal not curable — Remedy: quash and remit for proper conviction and sentencing — Sentence may run from original sentencing date.
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3 October 2017 |
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Failure to record a conviction before sentencing is fatal and requires quashing and remittal for proper conviction and sentencing.
* Criminal procedure – Mandatory entry of conviction – Section 235(1) CPA – Failure to enter conviction before sentencing is fatal.
* Criminal procedure – Contents of judgment – Section 312(2) CPA – judgment must specify offence and statutory provision.
* Remedies – Quashing and remitting proceedings – Appellate revisional powers under section 4(2) AJA.
* Procedure – Abatement of appeal on death – Rule 78(1) Court of Appeal Rules.
* Sentencing – Effect of reconstituted judgment – sentence to run from original sentencing date.
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3 October 2017 |
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Failure to record a key witness’s speech/hearing impairments vitiated the trial; retrial denied as not in interests of justice.
Criminal procedure – recording of witness evidence – s210(a) CPA requires magistrate to record each witness’s evidence; omission to record material impairments vitiates proceedings; inclusion of facts in judgment not in proceedings fatal; retrial discretionary and not ordered where prosecution might merely fill evidential gaps (Fatehali Manji principle).
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2 October 2017 |
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Unreliable visual/voice identification and improper convictions on main and alternative charges resulted in quashing of appellants' convictions.
Criminal law — Identification evidence — Visual and voice identification — necessity to describe source and intensity of light, distance, duration and physical features — identification parade; Criminal procedure — Improper conviction on both main and alternative counts — prejudice and need to avoid double findings.
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2 October 2017 |
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Assessors' cross‑examination breaches impartiality; proceedings quashed and retrial ordered with new assessors.
* Criminal procedure — assessors — role and limits — assessors may put questions through the court (s177 Evidence Act) but must not conduct cross‑examination. * Evidence — cross‑examination reserved to adverse party (ss146–147 Evidence Act) — cross‑examination by assessors amounts to bias. * Fair trial — rule against bias — assessors' cross‑examination vitiates proceedings. * Remedy — proceedings quashed, conviction and sentence set aside, retrial before another Judge with new assessors.
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2 October 2017 |
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A High Court must formally convict before sentencing; failure to do so renders the sentence illegal and is quashed.
Criminal procedure — Plea of guilty and convictions in the High Court — Formal conviction required before sentencing; omission to convict is fatal and renders sentence illegal; remedy — quash sentence and remit for formal conviction under revisional powers.
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2 October 2017 |
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Child witness not given required voir dire; her testimony expunged and conviction quashed, retrial refused.
* Evidence — Child witness — Omission to conduct voir dire under s.127(1)/(2) — Complete omission requires discounting/expunging testimony (Kimbute Otiniel). * Criminal procedure — Retrial — Factors to consider (Fatehali Manji); retrial not ordered where conviction unsustainable and retrial would permit prosecution to fill evidentiary gaps. * Appellate jurisdiction — Revisional powers under s.4(2) to nullify defective proceedings and quash conviction.
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2 October 2017 |
| September 2017 |
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Failure to record a key witness’s speech/hearing impairment vitiated the trial; conviction quashed and retrial refused.
Criminal procedure – failure to record witness’s speech and hearing impairment – breach of section 210(a) CPA; section 212 CPA inapplicable where issue is physical impairment not demeanour; inclusion of extraneous facts in judgment vitiates proceedings; retrial refused where conviction set aside for insufficiency/weakness of evidence (Fatehali Manji principle).
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29 September 2017 |
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Failure to enter conviction before sentencing renders judgment and appeals null, requiring quash and remittal for compliant conviction and sentencing.
* Criminal procedure – conviction must be formally entered before sentence – sections 235(1) and 312(2) Criminal Procedure Act. * Failure to enter conviction before sentencing is a fatal irregularity and renders judgment and sentence nullity. * Appellate proceedings founded on a nullity cannot be upheld. * Revisionary powers under section 4(2) Appellate Jurisdiction Act to quash and remit for compliance. * Re‑sentence must account for time already served.
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22 September 2017 |
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22 September 2017 |
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22 September 2017 |
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22 September 2017 |
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22 September 2017 |
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Failure to enter a conviction renders the trial judgment and sentence a nullity; case remitted for conviction and lawful sentencing.
* Criminal procedure – conviction prerequisite to valid sentence – sections 235 and 312 CPA. * Failure to enter conviction is a fatal irregularity rendering judgment and sentence a nullity. * Appellate jurisdiction – power under section 4(2) AJA to quash and remit for entry of conviction. * Sentencing – direction that sentence, when validly imposed, run from original sentencing date.
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21 September 2017 |
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Omission to enter a conviction renders judgment and sentence void and requires quashal and remittal to trial court.
Criminal procedure – Conviction and sentence – Sections 235 and 312 CPA – Failure to enter conviction is a fatal irregularity rendering judgment and sentence nullity – Appellate remedy under section 4(2) AJA to quash and remit – Sentence must be backdated to original sentencing date where appropriate.
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21 September 2017 |
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21 September 2017 |
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A review application filed more than sixty days after judgment is time‑barred and was struck out; seek an extension first.
* Civil procedure – Review applications under Rule 66(1) – Rule 66(3) sixty‑day filing requirement – time limits mandatory – out‑of‑time applications incompetent and struck out; remedy by applying for extension of time.
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20 September 2017 |
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Whether accomplice statement and DNA‑corroborated possession of body parts sustain murder convictions; first two affirmed, latter two quashed.
Criminal law – accomplice evidence – admissibility and caution required when convicting on uncorroborated accomplice statements; Circumstantial evidence – must be incapable of more than one reasonable inference; Forensic evidence – chain of custody and DNA corroboration of possession of human remains; Appeal – re‑evaluation of circumstantial evidence by appellate court.
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12 September 2017 |