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197 judgments found.
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August 2021
Conviction quashed after forensic report was improperly tendered and remaining evidence failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law proof beyond reasonable doubt forensic evidence and expert opinion Evidence admissibility improper tendering of exhibits by prosecutor Forensic procedure requirement to explain scientific criteria and testing methodology Chain of custody importance of documenting seizure, transmission and return of exhibits Corroboration eyewitness account insufficient alone where key forensic evidence is excluded
27 August 2021
Appellate court allowed the appellant's appeal due to unreliable complainant evidence and improper procedural and judicial conduct.
Criminal law — credibility of complainant — Credibility and reliability of complainant's evidence — Need for consistency and corroboration
Criminal procedure — omission to enter conviction before sentence — consequences and remedies (remittal, retrial, appellate curative powers) — Remedies and appellate discretion to cure or quash
Evidence — Judicial notice — Judicial participation in factual inquiry — Impropriety of court personally observing accused's circumcision status
26 August 2021
High Court's increase of compensation to 36 months for constructive dismissal and related repatriation and subsistence awards upheld.
Labour law
— Constructive termination — Quantum of compensation under section 40(1)(c) ELRA — Appellate review of discretionary awards
— repatriation costs and subsistence allowance — Transport and repatriation costs under section 43(1) ELRA — Sufficiency of payment as factual issue
— subsistence/transportation allowance — Entitlement to daily subsistence pending repatriation when full transport not paid — Section 43 ELRA
26 August 2021
Failure to conduct voire dire for child victims and a defective robbery charge vitiated the convictions and sentences.
Criminal law — Robbery
— Conviction and sentence vitiated by procedural defects
— omission renders charge defective
Criminal procedure — Evidence — Voire dire requirement for witnesses under 14
25 August 2021
Wife’s illiterate statement expunged for non‑compliance with s.34B(2)(f); confession and recognition evidence upheld, appeal dismissed.
Criminal law — Cautioned/confessional statements — voluntariness inquiry
Criminal law — Evidence — illiterate maker
Criminal law — identification by recognition/voice
— appellate re-evaluation of alibi under s.388 CPA
— corroboration by prompt complaint and physical evidence
— reliability when witness very familiar
Criminal law — requirement that statement be read to maker — inadmissibility and expungement
25 August 2021
Appellate court upheld rape conviction where victim and parent testimony, corroborated by physical evidence, proved guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Appellate practice — new facts or grounds raised for first time on appeal — Matters not raised before the first appellate court excluded — Appellate Jurisdiction Act s 6(1)
Criminal law
— Evidence — Relatives as witnesses — Competence and credibility — Evidence Act s 127
— Rape of child — tender age and competence to testify — Victim testimony and corroboration by parent and physical evidence
25 August 2021
Unexplained delay and contradictory evidence undermined the victim's credibility; conviction for rape quashed.
Appellate practice — Appellate review of trial court's evaluation of evidence and credibility — First appellate court entitled to re-evaluate evidence and uphold trial court findings when contradictions render claimant's case unproven — Interference where lower courts misappreciated evidence rendering conviction unsafe
Criminal law — sexual offences against a child — Rape — Delay in naming suspect and credibility of victim
Evidence — Medical evidence (PF3) — Limited to contents of PF3 — PF3 not read/explained to accused
24 August 2021
An appellant's conviction based on evidence from an unlawful warrantless search was quashed for failure to prove the case.
Criminal procedure — Search and seizure
24 August 2021
A subordinate court lacked jurisdiction to try combined economic and non‑economic offences due to an improper EOCCA certificate.
Criminal procedure — Nullification of trial proceedings by appellate court
— Nullity of proceedings and revisional jurisdiction
— quashing convictions and declining retrial
Criminal procedure — jurisdictional defect in DPP’s certificate/consent under EOCCA — Omission of statutory provisions in certificate/consent rendering proceedings null and void — Proper conferral of subordinate court jurisdiction to try combined economic and non‑economic offences (s12(3) v s12(4) EOCCA)
Wildlife offences — Identification and valuation of wildlife trophies — Admissibility and competence of trophy evaluation and inventory forms — Requirement that evaluation be by competent wildlife officer
24 August 2021
Convictions quashed for duplex charge combining conspiracy, stealing and armed robbery, rendering trial unfair and no retrial ordered.
Criminal law
— Armed robbery — Essential ingredients — Theft as an essential ingredient of armed robbery (s.287A Penal Code) and implications for charging and conviction
— Defective charge — Whether conspiracy can be charged where the substantive offence has been committed and whether stealing should be charged alongside armed robbery
Criminal procedure — Amendment of charge — Duty to seek amendment under section 234(1) Criminal Procedure Act where evidence discloses a different or defective charge
23 August 2021
Confessions obtained after torture are inadmissible; conviction upheld on other evidence but death sentence replaced by Presidential Pleasure detention.
Criminal law
— Juvenile sentencing — Age determination and exemption from death penalty — Penal Code s.26(2)
— Provocation — Whether provocation reduced murder to manslaughter — Section 202, Penal Code
— confession alleged to be obtained by torture — Admissibility — Section 29, Evidence Act
23 August 2021
Conviction for murder quashed due to defective charge, improperly admitted cautioned statements, and unreliable vigilante confessions.
Criminal law — Defective charge — variance between particulars and evidence
Criminal procedure — admissibility of cautioned statements — statutory four‑hour limit
Evidence — voluntariness of confessions — Corroboration of confession
23 August 2021
Failure to explain assessors' roles and to invite objections rendered the High Court trial a nullity; retrial ordered.
Appellate practice — Revisionary powers — Court of Appeal may nullify, quash and set aside void proceedings under s.4(2) AJA
Trial procedure — Assessors — Misdirection on standard of proof and failure to explain assessors' duties and vital points
20 August 2021
An unequivocal guilty plea bars appeal against conviction, but an excessive sentence may be reduced given first-offender mitigation.
Appellate practice — Appeal procedure — New grounds raised in second appeal — Court will not entertain grounds not raised before first appellate court
Criminal law — sentencing — exercise of judicial discretion
— interference where discretion miscarried or sentence manifestly excessive
— need to consider first offender status and statutory option of fine or default custody
Criminal procedure — plea of guilty — When a reply and subsequent admissions constitute an unequivocal plea
20 August 2021
Subordinate court lacked jurisdiction where EOCCA s12(3) certificate was used for both economic and non-economic offences.
Appellate practice — Appellate jurisdiction — Revision — when retrial should be refused to avoid prejudice (Fatehali Manji principle)
Criminal procedure
— Jurisdiction of subordinate courts to try economic offences — Economic offences
— nullity of proceedings — trial — judgments and sentences liable to be quashed
Evidence — Documentary exhibits — failure warrants expungement
19 August 2021
Failure to properly sum up evidence to assessors vitiated the trial; conviction quashed and expedited retrial ordered.
Criminal procedure — trial with assessors
— duty of judge to sum up evidence to assessors and direct them on points of law
— exercise of revisionary jurisdiction under section 4(2) AJA
18 August 2021
A charge naming non-arraigned co-accused rendered the information void; conviction quashed and appellant released.
Criminal procedure
— Particulars of information/charge — Particulars must give reasonable information of the offence — s.132 Criminal Procedure Act
— Retrial — When not ordered where the charge sheet is incurably defective and the accused did not receive a fair trial
— amendment of information — Court and prosecution duty to amend defective information — s.276(2) Criminal Procedure Act
18 August 2021
Failure to recall witnesses after charge substitution and irregularly admitted confession vitiated the conviction; retrial refused.
Criminal procedure — substitution of charge
— Discretion to order retrial where original trial defective and retrial would enable prosecution to fill evidential gaps
— duty to recall previously heard witnesses under s.234(2)(b) CPA
— Hearsay evidence and need for corroboration
— Improper admission of cautioned/confession statement read before being cleared for admission
17 August 2021
Convictions quashed where confessions and parade identifications were improperly admitted and evidence failed to prove robbery beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — Confessions — cautioned and extra-judicial statements inadmissible absent proper voluntariness inquiry and reading to accused
Criminal law — conspiracy — Improper to charge conspiracy where substantive offences have been committed
Criminal law — identification
— Conviction unsafe where prosecution fails to prove beyond reasonable doubt
— visual identification and identification parade unreliable without prior description and proper parade composition
17 August 2021
A petition handed to the prison officer in time satisfies section 363 CPA; HC erred in dismissing the appeal as time‑barred.
Criminal procedure
— extension of time to appeal under s.361 CPA — Section 361(2) Criminal Procedure Act — Delay attributable to prison authorities
— prisoners’ appeals — Section 363 Criminal Procedure Act — Duty of prison officer to forward petition
17 August 2021
Conviction for sexual assault on a child upheld despite procedural irregularities; PF3 and certain proceedings expunged.
Criminal law — sexual offences against a child — competency and admissibility of child’s unsworn evidence under s.127 Evidence Act — s127(2) Evidence Act
Criminal procedure — Trial irregularity — Visit to scene of crime — Proceedings expunged but no prejudice
Evidence — Documentary evidence (PF.3) — Improper admission where not read to accused — Right to fair trial
17 August 2021
Conviction quashed due to unexplained magistrate succession and improper admission of a cautioned statement, leading to appellant's release.
Criminal procedure
— Evidence — cautioned statement improperly tendered by prosecutor — not admissible
— Exhibits — requirement that exhibits be tendered by witnesses
— Revision — quashing conviction and setting aside sentence versus ordering retrial (Fatehali Manji principle)
— Succession of magistrates
— variance between charge and evidence — risks acquittal
17 August 2021
Subordinate court lacked jurisdiction to try mixed economic and non‑economic offences without DPP certificate under EOCCA s12(4).
Criminal law — Jurisdiction of subordinate courts under EOCCA — Validity of certificate required to confer jurisdiction — s.26(1), s.12(3)/(4) EOCCA
Evidence — Documentary exhibits — mandatory requirement to read out admitted documents in court
Wildlife offences — Valuation of trophies — admissible valuation certificate — WCA ss86(4),114(3)
12 August 2021
Delay in recording the appellant's cautioned statement was justified; oral confession corroborated and conviction upheld.
Criminal law — Assessors' role
— clarification versus cross-examination
— Proof of murder on corroborated circumstantial evidence
Criminal law — Cautioned statement
— admissibility where recorded beyond four hours
— Competency of investigating police officer to record statement
Criminal law — Oral confession to civilians — admissibility and corroboration
12 August 2021
August 2020
Preliminary objections requiring factual inquiry are improper; petitions need no prayers; time runs from notification of certified copies.
Criminal procedure
— Appeal by Director of Public Prosecutions — time limit and exclusion for obtaining proceedings — s 379(1)(b) CPA
— Petition of appeal — Form/content — No statutory requirement for prayers under s 380(2) CPA
— preliminary objection — point of law — Matters requiring factual inquiry cannot be decided on preliminary objection (Mukisa principle)
28 August 2020
A DPP certificate under s.12(4) EOCCA is required for combined economic and non‑economic charges; absence renders the trial a nullity.
Appellate practice — Retrial — inappropriate where prosecution can cure original trial defects, making retrial contrary to interests of justice
Civil procedure — Proceedings nullity — convictions and sentences quashed where jurisdictional certificate defective
Criminal procedure — Jurisdiction — DPP's certificate — subordinate court lacks jurisdiction if certificate issued under wrong subsection
28 August 2020
Trial court erred in closing prosecution case under s225 CPA; appellate court quashed order and ordered retrial.
Appellate practice — Court of Appeal revisional powers s.4(2) AJA — Quashing judgment and remitting record under s.4(2) Appellate Jurisdiction Act — Appellate Jurisdiction Act s 4(2)
Criminal procedure
— Closure of prosecution case — court lacks power to close prosecution but closure not fatal if no prejudice — Criminal Procedure Act s225
— right to cross-examination — denial renders testimony inadmissible
28 August 2020
Omission to enter conviction curable; one appellant acquitted for unreliable identification, the other convicted for being caught fleeing.
Criminal law — Criminal appeal — Appropriate remedy where no conviction entered — quashing remission order and proceeding on merits where justice so requires
Criminal procedure — omission to enter conviction before sentence — curability
Evidence — Standard of proof
— doubts to be resolved in favour of accused
— proof beyond reasonable doubt
Evidence — Visual identification
Evidence — Voice identification — inherently weak and unreliable unless corroborated
28 August 2020
DPP's EOCCA certificate under s12(3) invalid for mixed economic and non‑economic charges; proceedings nullified and applicant released.
Criminal law — Jurisdiction — DPP’s consent/certificate required for subordinate courts to try economic offences
Criminal procedure — retrial principles (Fatehali Manji) — retrial not ordered where prosecution fails to prove case or interests of justice do not require it
Evidence — Documentary exhibits
— inadequate identification of trophies/weapons
— mandatory requirement to read out admitted documents in court
28 August 2020
Voir dire omission and procedural defects in PF3 expunged, yet convictions upheld on independent evidence and admissions.
Criminal law
— procedure — PF3 improperly tendered where document not cleared for admission, not read out and accused not informed of right to call maker — exhibit expunged
— sentencing — Education Rules (GN No.265/2003) require minimum three years’ imprisonment for impregnating a schoolgirl with no option of fine
— sexual offences — rape and impregnating a schoolgirl — admissibility of child’s evidence without voir dire
— sufficiency of evidence — convictions may stand on independent evidence and accused’s admissions even if victim’s testimony and PF3 excluded
28 August 2020
Omission to conduct mandatory voir dire for a child witness renders her testimony inadmissible and undermines the conviction.
Evidence — Child witness
— mandatory voir dire
— omission renders testimony inadmissible and to be discounted. PF3 tendered via excluded witness cannot sustain conviction. Conviction quashed for insufficiency of evidence
28 August 2020
Reported
Cautioned statement and properly conducted identification parade corroborated victim's evidence; appeal against rape conviction dismissed.
Criminal law — Rape of child — Identification parade and recognition — Admissibility and evidential value where parade preceded dock recognition
Criminal procedure — Cautioned statement — compliance with section 50(1) time limit — Compliance with CPA s.50(1)(a) and s.57(2)
Evidence — Oral confession — Admissibility and reliability of confessions made to civilian/village leaders — Relevance and corroborative value of oral admissions prompting investigation
27 August 2020
Reported
Failure to conduct a voir dire for a child witness renders her evidence inadmissible and makes the applicant's conviction unsafe.
Criminal law — medical evidence — Clinical officer competent to examine sexual offence victim and complete PF3
Criminal law — sexual offences
— medical report proves intercourse but not identity. Conviction unsafe where victim’s evidence is expunged and remaining evidence fails to prove penetration and identity beyond reasonable doubt
— Victim’s testimony is best evidence
Evidence — Child witness
— mandatory voir dire
— omission mandates discounting/expunging testimony
27 August 2020
Flawed voire dire of a juvenile requires corroboration; age may be deduced and consent is immaterial for statutory rape.
Civil procedure — Appeals — New factual complaints not raised in the first appeal ordinarily cannot be entertained on second appeal
Criminal law
— corroboration — Police procedure
— sexual offences — Statutory rape: where victim is of tender years consent is immaterial
Evidence
— Age — Age of victim may be deduced from surrounding evidence (e.g., school standard, charge particulars)
— Juvenile witness — Improper or inelegant voire dire requires corroboration before unsworn evidence can ground a conviction
26 August 2020
A properly voire-dired child's sworn testimony can suffice to convict the applicant for statutory rape without corroboration.
Criminal law — sexual offences — Statutory rape
— admissibility and procedural reception of PF3
— delay
— Evidence of child of tender years
— expungement where read before formal admission
— oral evidence of examining doctor may prove contents
— voir dire
— when child’s sworn testimony can suffice without corroboration
26 August 2020
Oral confession leading to discovery and corroborating circumstantial evidence upheld a murder conviction.
Criminal law
— Cautioned statement — admissibility where tendered without objection
— Circumstantial evidence — Requirement that circumstantial facts irresistibly point to accused’s guilt
— Confessions — Voluntariness and corroboration where confession made before village vigilantes
25 August 2020
Court upheld rape conviction: penetration proved without PF3 and delay in arraignment found harmless; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law — proof of rape — requirement of clear proof of penetration — Evidential weight of PF3 and witness testimony
Criminal procedure — Delay in arraignment — Delay not fatal where not raised at trial and no prejudice shown — Criminal Procedure Act s 32
25 August 2020
The applicant's appeal dismissed; child’s unsworn testimony and medical evidence upheld the rape conviction.
Criminal law — Rape — evidence of child of tender years
— Corroboration not mandatory
— Improperly tendered cautioned statement to be expunged
— Medical evidence (PF3/PW7) corroborative though PF3 expunged
— Oral admissions/confessions admissible
Criminal law — Second appeal jurisdiction — new grounds not entertained
24 August 2020
A DPP certificate under s.12(3) is insufficient for mixed economic and non-economic charges, vitiating the trial and appeal.
Civil procedure — Criminal jurisdiction — Economic offences
— DPP's certificate
— lack of jurisdiction renders trial and appeal nullities
— revisional powers
Civil procedure — retrial discretionary
— Fatehali Manji considerations
— improper handling of valuation/inventory exhibits
24 August 2020
Conviction based solely on single nighttime visual identification without adequate lighting detail is unsafe.
Criminal law — visual identification evidence
— appellate review limited to matters raised in lower courts
— Identification made
— single-witness identification
24 August 2020
Appeal dismissed; oral sale evidence and WEO/DC reconciliation records upheld; Shinyanga High Court jurisdiction sustained.
Civil procedure — Territorial jurisdiction of High Court registries — Proper registry for suits concerning immovable property
Land law
— Limitation and adverse possession — Whether adverse possession mentioned in obiter affects title determination
— proof of ownership by oral evidence — Admissibility and probative value of Ward Executive Officer and District Commissioner records in proving long possession and dispute resolution
21 August 2020
Non‑compliance with s.231(1)(b) CPA vitiated the trial; court quashed proceedings and ordered the appellants' release.
Appellate practice — Court of Appeal revisional powers s.4(2) AJA — Use of s.4(2) AJA to nullify proceedings where mandatory trial safeguards were breached
Criminal procedure — accused's right to call witnesses — Failure to inform accused of right to call defence witnesses under s.231(1)(b) CPA vitiates proceedings
Trial procedure — Retrial — Long custodial period as factor in denying retrial and ordering release
20 August 2020
Invalid DPP certificate (s.12(3) v. s.12(4)) rendered trial and first appeal nullity; convictions quashed, no retrial, appellants released.
Criminal procedure
— jurisdictional certificate — invalid certificate vitiates subordinate court proceedings
— Retrial — discretionary and not ordered where it would be futile or prejudicial
20 August 2020
Non-compliance with s.231(1) CPA vitiates trial; convictions quashed and appellant released where prejudice shown.
Appellate practice — nullity of proceedings — Court may nullify proceedings and set aside sentence under s4(2) Appellate Jurisdiction Act — Appellate Jurisdiction Act s.4(2)
Criminal procedure
— Criminal Procedure Act s.192(3) — Omission may be curable under s.388 CPA
— right to be informed of right of defence under s.231(1)(a) CPA — Failure to inform accused of right to give evidence and call witnesses — Proceedings nullified
17 August 2020
A conviction based on a charge citing a non-existent statutory provision is incurably defective and void.
Criminal law — Charge — citation of non-existent statutory provision — ss 132 and 135(a)(ii) CPA
Criminal procedure — Defective charge — citing non-existent statutory provision — s 388(1) CPA, s 4(2) AJA
14 August 2020
Alleged illegality in an impugned decision can justify extension of time to appeal despite unproven illness.
Civil procedure — extension of time
— Insufficient evidence of illness as a ground for extension — Requirement for medical proof
— illegality as ground for extension — Rule 10, Court of Appeal Rules
13 August 2020
Convictions quashed for lack of proof of night-time burglary and improperly tendered evidence.
Criminal law — Burglary — requirement that breaking be committed at night
Criminal procedure
— Exhibits — requirement that exhibits be tendered by witnesses
— Preliminary hearing — Mandatory reading and explanation of memorandum of undisputed matters (s.192(3) CPA)
13 August 2020