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41 judgments found.
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December 2020
A trial court lacks power to close the prosecution's case; closure was quashed and trial remitted to continue.
Criminal law — Trial procedure — Closure of prosecution case — Whether a trial court may close the prosecution's case — Criminal Procedure Act s289(2), s293
18 December 2020
Conviction quashed where identification was unreliable and ownership evidence was irregular, defeating recent-possession proof.
Criminal law — doctrine of recent possession — cumulative elements (possession, positive proof of ownership, recent theft, subject of charge)
Criminal law — procedural rule to read admitted exhibits — failure leads to expungement
Criminal law — variance between charge and evidence
— improperly admitted cautioned statements may be expunged
— need to amend
Criminal law — Visual identification — requirements and reliability (Waziri Amani)
18 December 2020
Omission to frame and decide pleaded issue of consent to publication vitiated the trial proceedings; matter remitted for rehearing.
Civil procedure — defamation
— publication of photograph and consent
— Remittal for rehearing de novo where procedural omission taints judgment
Civil procedure — Framing of issues
17 December 2020
Failure to serve the notice of appeal on a directly affected party renders the appeal incompetent and it is struck out.
17 December 2020
Substituting a charge in judgment without calling the accused to plead violates section 234 and renders the judgment a nullity.
Criminal procedure — Amendment or substitution of charge
14 December 2020
Unsworn testimony before the CMA vitiates proceedings and requires a de novo rehearing.
Labour law — procedural fairness
— mandatory oath for witnesses before the CMA
— unsworn evidence vitiates proceedings
Labour law — Remedy — quash and remit for rehearing
11 December 2020
A trial court's failure to decide all framed issues renders its judgment defective and requires remittal for full determination.
Appellate practice — Appellate jurisdiction — Limits
— Court of Appeal cannot decide issues not decided by the High Court
— may only re-appraise decided matters
Civil procedure
— Framed issues — Duty of trial court to decide every framed issue
— remedy — Quash judgment and remit to trial court for determination of unresolved issues
11 December 2020
Substituting a charge in judgment without calling the accused to plead under section 234 CPA renders conviction a nullity; appellant released.
Criminal procedure — Amendment/substitution of charge
8 December 2020
June 2020
Application for revision struck out as time-barred and incompetent for omission of necessary records and improper procedure.
Appellate practice — Parties — non-party may seek revision but proper parties (e.g., court broker) may need joinder where necessary
Appellate practice — Revision
— competency — omission of lower Tribunal proceedings and essential High Court records renders revision application incompetent
— Time limit for filing
18 June 2020
The Court dismissed the appellant's appeal, finding penetration proved by credible victim and corroborative evidence and expunging an unlawful cautioned statement.
Civil procedure — Charge‑pleading — defects in citation of statutory provision may be curable under section 388(1) CPA where particulars and evidence give fair notice and no prejudice
Criminal law
— Identification/credibility — demeanour and corroboration of victim and family members sufficient to support conviction
— Rape — slight penetration is sufficient and may be proved by victim's evidence and corroboration
Evidence
— medical report (PF3) not always prerequisite
— oral evidence and non‑expert witness examinations can establish penetration and injury
17 June 2020
Conviction quashed where visual identification was not watertight and investigative omissions undermined prosecution credibility.
Appellate practice — Appellate review — Interference with concurrent findings permitted where lower courts misapprehend substance and quality of evidence causing miscarriage of justice
Criminal law — Visual identification — Evidence of recognition
Criminal procedure — Investigative omissions
Evidence — Variance between charge sheet and testimony (omission of alleged stolen gold stones) weakens witness reliability
17 June 2020
Statutory rape conviction quashed because prosecution failed to prove the victim's age; particulars are not evidence.
Civil procedure — Appeals — a general ground of failure to prove the case may permit consideration of related issues not specifically argued below
Civil procedure — remedy
— conviction may be quashed where an essential element is unproved
— retrial may be unjustified
Criminal law — Statutory rape — Proof of victim’s age is essential
Evidence
— Burden of proof
— Personal particulars/PF3 given prior to oath are not evidence
16 June 2020
High Court's failure to consider alleged trial illegality (s214(1) CPA) warranted Court of Appeal granting extension of time.
Appellate practice — Court of Appeal revisional powers s.4(2) AJA — Court may intervene suo motu and grant extension
Criminal procedure
— Extension of time to appeal — good cause — s361(2) Criminal Procedure Act
— Trial irregularity — Successor magistrate and s.214(1) Criminal Procedure Act
15 June 2020
Court allowed supplementation of an incomplete probate appeal record, invoking Rule 111, Rule 96(7) and the overriding objective.
Appellate practice
— Competence of appeal — Notice of Appeal and completeness of record
— Amendment — Rule 111 and Rule 96(7) — Application of overriding objective to cure procedural defects
Probate law — Probate procedure — Court’s discretion to permit supplementation to avoid delay in estate administration
15 June 2020
Extension of time granted for filing appeal documents due to technical delay and inconsequential omission to cite a rule.
Civil procedure — Court of Appeal — extension of time — technical delay where applicant pursued related proceedings — promptness and absence of mala fides justify grant of extension
10 June 2020
A non-party purchaser may seek revision; extension granted after accounting for actual delay and minor formal errors.
Civil procedure
— extension of time — Distinction between actual delay (excusable where applicant was unaware) and technical delay (not attributable to applicant)
— Preliminary objections — Typographical errors in party names and formal defects should not defeat substantive justice
— Revision — Non-party affected by a decision may apply for revision where no right of appeal exists
10 June 2020
Appellate court quashed a 20-year sentence for failure to consider appellant's guilty plea and time spent in remand.
Criminal law — Sentencing discretion — appellate interference where trial court overlooked material mitigating factors (guilty plea, time in remand) — importation of extraneous facts at sentencing aggravating offence — quashing and substituting sentence to effect immediate release
5 June 2020
Appellate court set aside a 20-year manslaughter sentence for failure to consider guilty plea and remand time, ordering immediate release.
Criminal law — Sentencing discretion — appellate interference where trial court overlooked material mitigating factors (guilty plea; remand custody) — importation of extraneous facts into sentencing — manslaughter sentence set aside and substituted with immediate release
1 June 2020
May 2020
Failure to hear parties before deciding a newly raised jurisdictional issue rendered the High Court's appeal proceedings a nullity.
Appellate practice — Appellate procedure — raising jurisdictional issues suo motu while composing judgment — duty to give parties an opportunity to be heard
Civil procedure
— Constitutional right to be heard — breach renders proceedings a nullity
— preliminary objection — pure point of law — scope and limits of disposing appeals by preliminary objection
11 May 2020
The respondent was entitled to repatriation expenses and subsistence; appeal against High Court award dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure — Procedural — unchallenged trial evidence should not be disturbed on appeal
Employment law — Repatriation expenses and subsistence allowances
— appellate review on weight of evidence
— evidence of distance for transport calculations (TANROADS)
— proof requirements and employer's records
Evidence — Proof of salary — salary slip not always required where amount is uncontroverted and employer holds records
11 May 2020
April 2020
Extension of time denied where applicant failed to account for delay and show arguable grounds for review.
Civil procedure — extension of time
— Admissibility/expunction of exhibits and need for arguable grounds at extension stage
— good cause
— Pleading and evidential requirements for alleging illegality or denial of hearing
— technical delay distinguished from actual delay
10 April 2020
The appellant's appeal was allowed where the time for obtaining trial records was excluded and the right to be heard was denied.
Criminal law — Procedural irregularity — Summary dismissals
Criminal procedure — Appeals — Exclusion of time for obtaining certified copies (s.361(1) CPA)
Natural justice — Right to be heard — Right to be heard (audi alteram partem)
2 April 2020
March 2020
Rule 10 cannot revive an appeal deemed dismissed or compel record supply or acquittal.
Appellate practice — Appeal procedure — notice of appeal — institution of appeal by notice — Registrar’s duty to prepare and serve record of appeal
Civil procedure — Court of Appeal
Criminal law — Criminal appeals — withdrawal — withdrawal deemed dismissal
31 March 2020
Plea of guilty was equivocal because narrated facts failed to disclose essential elements; convictions quashed and retrials ordered.
Criminal procedure
— plea of guilty — Equivocal plea — Duty to explain ingredients and to record facts
— Appeal — Notice of intention to appeal — Exercise of revisional jurisdiction under AJA s 4(2)
31 March 2020
Equivocal guilty pleas lacking essential elements of armed robbery were quashed; retrials ordered with time served deducted.
Criminal law — Plea of guilty — Equivocal plea — Trial court’s duty to ensure plea is unequivocal and to explain every constituent of the offence
Criminal procedure — Conviction on plea of guilty — Recording admissions in accused's own words — Criminal Procedure Act s 228(2)
Appellate practice — Revision — Court of Appeal may invoke s.4(2) revisional jurisdiction to quash proceedings and strike out incompetent appeals — Appellate Jurisdiction Act s 4(2)
31 March 2020
Rule 10 cannot revive a deemed‑dismissed appeal nor remedy the Registrar’s failure to supply the record of appeal.
Appellate practice
— extension of time to file notice of appeal — Requirement for good cause under Rule 10 of the Court of Appeal Rules — Court of Appeal Rules 2009 Rule 10
— Notice of appeal deemed withdrawn — Appeal withdrawn under Rule 77(1) is deemed dismissed and cannot be revived by Rule 10 — Rule 77(1) Court of Appeal Rules, 2009
31 March 2020
Plea of guilty must clearly admit every ingredient; failure to show how weapon was used vitiates conviction.
Criminal law — Armed robbery — Plea of guilty — Typographical/record errors do not cure substantive failure to inform accused — Appellate and revisional jurisdiction under s.4(2) AJA to quash convictions and order re-arraignment where first appeal overlooked matters arising from filed notice of intention to appeal
28 March 2020
Leave granted to amend notice of appeal under Rule 111 to omit two appellants; service objection dismissed.
Civil procedure
— Appeal
— Service of process — attempted service and failure to file reply affidavit
27 March 2020
Appeal was incompetent for failure to give notice within ten days; High Court should have struck out, not dismissed, and its order was quashed.
Criminal procedure — Appeal — Failure renders appeal to High Court incompetent — High Court's dismissal instead of striking out is unlawful
27 March 2020
An appeal filed without the statutory ten-day notice is incompetent and should be struck out, not dismissed; appellant may apply for extension.
Criminal procedure — Appeal competence — incompetent appeals should be struck out not dismissed — right to apply for extension under s.361(2) CPA
27 March 2020
Failure to read the fresh charge and record a plea vitiated the trial; conviction quashed and retrial ordered.
Criminal law
— Arraignment and plea-taking — Failure to read substituted/fresh charge and to take plea — Section 228(1) Criminal Procedure Act
— Retrial — quashed prior proceedings are a nullity
— Right to know charge and fair trial — opportunity to defend
27 March 2020
Victim's credible testimony, prompt complaint and medical evidence sustained rape conviction and mandatory life sentence.
Criminal law
— sentencing — Statutory life sentence — Statutory life imprisonment (s.131(3) Penal Code)
— sexual offences against a child — Credibility of child complainant and corroboration by parent and medical evidence — Identification and corroboration of child testimony and medical (PF3) evidence
Criminal procedure — Language and interpretation — delayed provision of interpreter does not vitiate proceedings absent prejudice
27 March 2020
Apparent illegality from an unpleaded issue justified extension of time for the applicant to seek a certificate on a point of law.
Civil procedure
— extension of time — good cause — illegality apparent on face of record — Trial judge raising and deciding unpleaded issue
— Rule 48 — omission to cite specific
27 March 2020
An executing court may not review a final Conciliation Board/Minister decision; proceedings doing so are nullities.
Labour law — executing court lacks jurisdiction to review or vary final Board/Minister determinations
— matter remitted for proper execution
— proceedings founded on such review are nullities
25 March 2020
Primary Court lacked jurisdiction to hear adultery damages absent proof of customary or Islamic marriage; appeal dismissed.
Civil procedure — Primary court jurisdiction — Adultery damages
25 March 2020
Appellant failed to prove adverse possession; submissions are not evidence and appeal dismissed with costs.
Land law
— adverse possession
— Evidence — submissions are not admissible as additional evidence unless properly ordered under s.34 LDA
20 March 2020
Appellant failed to prove adverse possession; appellate submissions do not substitute for admissible evidence, appeal dismissed.
Land law
— adverse possession — elements required (abandonment, actual possession, animus, uninterrupted statutory period)
— Evidence — submissions on appeal are not additional evidence under s.34(1) LDA without formal order
— Law of Limitation Act s.3(1) and s.9(2) — time runs from dispossession
19 March 2020
Appellant failed to prove adverse possession; written submissions are not admissible additional evidence; appeal dismissed.
Evidence — Additional evidence on appeal
— admissibility only when properly ordered and recorded under s.34(1) LDA
— submissions are not evidence (Morandi Rutakyamirwa; Karmali test)
Land law — adverse possession
— actual, open and uninterrupted possession
— animus possidendi
— requirements: abandonment by true owner
19 March 2020
February 2020
Certificate of title is conclusive ownership; licensees cannot claim adverse possession or defeat eviction by limitation.
Land law
— Certificate of Title
— challenge for alleged fraudulent registration requires cogent proof and appropriate procedural steps (e.g., counterclaim/join registrar)
— Jurisdiction — High Court rightly ordered vacant possession against licensees
— Limitation — permissionary/consensual occupation is not adverse possession and does not bar owner's eviction claim
25 February 2020
Appeal dismissed: subordinate court had jurisdiction and prosecution proved unlawful entry, possession, hunting and trophies.
Civil procedure
— Procedure — omission of certificate of seizure and sketch map — not necessarily fatal where circumstances and witnesses justify exhibits
— Statutory construction — incorrect citation of Wildlife Conservation Act provision — curable irregularity where offence and penalty are clear
Criminal law — Economic offences
Evidence — sufficiency of prosecution case — credibility of arresting officers and wildlife valuer — concurrent findings of fact
25 February 2020
Assessor’s participation in quashed proceedings vitiated trial; moonlight identification and retracted statement insufficient to sustain conviction.
Criminal law
— judge cannot cure by disregarding parts of proceedings — identification evidence — retracted cautioned statement
— Murder — retrial — participation of an assessor who sat in previously quashed proceedings vitiates retrial
25 February 2020