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Citation
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Judgment date
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| October 2025 |
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Whether attempted rape was proved beyond reasonable doubt and whether the High Court validly substituted the charge and enhanced sentence.
Criminal law – Attempted rape – Elements: intent, threatening for sexual purposes, and frustration/intervention – Visual identification at night: requirement to prove source and intensity of light – Appellate powers under s.29 MCA: limits on substituting charges and enhancing sentence; right to be heard before sentence enhancement.
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15 October 2025 |
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Last-seen evidence and an oral confession corroborated by postmortem upheld murder conviction and sentence.
Criminal law – Circumstantial evidence – Doctrine of last person to be seen with deceased; Confession – oral confession to relative admissible and capable of corroboration by medical evidence; Minor contradictions in witness accounts not necessarily fatal; Sketch map not always essential; Proof beyond reasonable doubt – malice aforethought inferred from strangulation and conduct after killing.
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15 October 2025 |
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Conviction overturned because nighttime visual identification was unreliable and identity was not proved beyond reasonable doubt.
* Criminal law – Identification evidence – Visual identification at night – conditions for safe reliance on single-witness identification; requirement to describe source/intensity of light and distance. * Evidence – Medical evidence proves penetration but not identity; necessity to link medical findings to accused. * Criminal procedure – Failure to call material witness (victim’s husband) allows adverse inference.
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15 October 2025 |
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Absence of DPP consent under EOCCA renders the trial a nullity; retrial refused due to serious prosecution defects.
* EOCCA – Requirement of DPP consent under section 26(1) – Absence of consent renders trial proceedings a nullity. * Criminal procedure – Effect of procedural irregularities (absence of search warrant, lack of independent witness, broken chain of custody) – Retrial may be refused where prosecution case is fatally flawed. * Appeal – Quashing of conviction and sentence and order for immediate release where proceedings are nullified and retrial is inappropriate. |
13 October 2025 |
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Failure of a child witness to promise to tell the truth renders her evidence inadmissible, undermining the rape conviction.
Evidence Act (Act No. 4 of 2016) – child witness – statutory requirement that child promise to tell the truth (formerly s.127(2), now s.135(2)) – non‑compliance renders evidence inadmissible and to be expunged; corroboration in sexual offences – medical opinion and hearsay insufficiency to prove identity and guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
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13 October 2025 |
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Joint representation of co-accused denied right to cross-examine, vitiating the trial; convictions and sentences quashed.
* Criminal procedure – Fair trial – Joint representation of co-accused – Right to cross-examine co-accused whose evidence/incriminatory defence conflicts.
* Criminal law – Trial irregularity – When denial of opportunity to cross-examine vitiates proceedings.
* Appellate jurisdiction – Revisional powers under section 6(2) AJA – Quashing convictions and setting aside sentences.
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13 October 2025 |
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Illegal search, torture-tainted confessions and misapplied recent-possession doctrine led to quashing of conviction.
Criminal procedure — Search and seizure — warrant requirement and independent witness; Confessions — torture, voluntariness and inadmissibility; Evidence — chain of custody and doctrine of recent possession — requirements for positive identification and recent theft; Criminal procedure — admission of post-mortem report and right to have medical witness produced under section 310(3) CPA; Evidence sufficiency — conviction cannot rest on suspicion.
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13 October 2025 |
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Time‑barred notice of intention to appeal renders High Court appeal a nullity; subsequent appeal struck out.
Criminal procedure – notice of intention to appeal – time limit under section 382(1)(a) CPA – failure to file within statutory period without extension renders appeal to High Court incompetent and a nullity – consequences for subsequent appeals – revisional powers under section 6(2) Appellate Jurisdiction Act to nullify proceedings and strike out appeal.
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13 October 2025 |
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Failure to file a timely notice of intention to appeal rendered the High Court appeal incompetent and its proceedings a nullity.
Criminal procedure – Notice of intention to appeal – Requirement to lodge notice within ten days under section 361(1)(a) (now 382(1)(a)) – Failure to comply renders appeal time‑barred and incompetent; High Court proceedings based on invalid notice are a nullity – Appellate Court may invoke revisional powers (s.6(2) AJA) to quash such proceedings and strike out appeal.
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10 October 2025 |
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A time‑barred notice of appeal to the High Court defeats jurisdiction, rendering ensuing proceedings and appeals null and incompetent.
Criminal procedure — Time limit for notice of intention to appeal from District Court to High Court — Section 382(1)(a) CPA — Late notice defeats High Court jurisdiction — Appeal heard under invalid notice is nullity — Appellate revisional powers (s.6(2) Appellate Jurisdiction Act) to quash incompetent proceedings.
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9 October 2025 |
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Sole eyewitness visual identification was not watertight; conviction quashed and sentence set aside.
Criminal law – Visual identification – Sole eyewitness evidence must be watertight; tests include duration and distance of observation, source/intensity of light, prior description/naming, and identification parade; failure renders conviction unsafe. Also raised: legality of recording extra-judicial statement under section 58(1) Magistrates' Courts Act.
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7 October 2025 |
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Omission to cite the charging provision in DPP's consent and certificate deprived the subordinate court of jurisdiction; conviction quashed and appellant released.
* Criminal procedure – Jurisdiction – DPP’s consent and certificate conferring jurisdiction must state the specific statutory provision(s) in the charge; omission of charging provision (WCA s.86(1)&(2)(b)) renders subordinate court proceedings void. * Criminal procedure – Economic/corruption offences – requirement for DPP’s consent/certificate when trying in subordinate court under EOCCA. * Criminal evidence – search and seizure and cautioned statement irregularities impacting retrial appropriateness.
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7 October 2025 |
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Improperly admitted statements were expunged, yet confession leading to discovery and witness evidence upheld the murder conviction.
Criminal procedure – admissibility of cautioned statements – s.51(1) and s.58(3) CPA; extra‑judicial statements – requirement for trial within a trial to determine voluntariness; confession leading to discovery – corroborative value; sufficiency of remaining evidence to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
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7 October 2025 |
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Defective prosecutorial consent and transfer certificate citing wrong statutes vitiated trial and appeal; conviction quashed and appellant released.
Economic offences – jurisdiction – prosecutorial consent and certificate conferring jurisdiction must correctly cite statutory provisions; defective consent/certificate vitiates proceedings; variance in prosecution evidence may disfavour retrial; appellate revisional powers to quash conviction and order release.
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6 October 2025 |
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Proceedings were nullified where prosecutorial consent and transfer certificate cited wrong statutory provisions, warranting release without retrial.
* Criminal law – economic offences under Wildlife Conservation Act and Economic and Organized Crimes Control Act – requirement that certificate conferring jurisdiction and prosecutorial consent correctly cite statutory provisions. * Jurisdiction – defective certificate/consent vitiates trial; proceedings are nullity. * Retrial – not in interest of justice where prosecution evidence contains material discrepancies and witness credibility concerns. * Revisionary powers – Appellate Court may quash convictions and set aside sentences where jurisdictional defects exist.
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6 October 2025 |
| September 2025 |
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Circumstantial evidence and unchallenged confessions, despite expunged exhibits, sustained the appellant’s murder conviction.
Criminal law – Murder – Circumstantial evidence – Requirements for circumstantial proof to point irresistibly to accused’s guilt; Documentary exhibits must be read out when admitted – Failure to do so requires expungement; Confessions – Failure to object at trial bars raising coercion claim on appeal; Minor inconsistencies in evidence not fatal if they do not go to the root of the case.
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15 September 2025 |
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Recognition by child witnesses and medical corroboration upheld conviction; belated cautioned statement expunged.
* Criminal law – Unnatural offence (carnal knowledge against the order of nature) – proof of penetration and age of child – victim’s testimony and medical corroboration. * Criminal procedure – Identification – recognition of a familiar person; identification parade not mandatory. * Evidence – Cautioned statement – compliance with section 51 CPA; statements recorded outside prescribed time inadmissible. * Evidence – Chain of custody of PF3 – admission without objection and sufficiency of medical testimony.
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15 September 2025 |
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Failure to take a plea to an amended charge is a fatal irregularity — trial nullified and convictions quashed.
Criminal procedure — Amendment of charge — Mandatory duty to call accused to plead to substituted/altered charge (s.234(2)(a)/s.251(2)(a) CPA) — Failure renders trial a nullity — Irregularity not curable under s.388(1) CPA; Revisional powers — quashing convictions and setting aside sentences; Retrial — feasibility where appellant has served substantial sentence.
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15 September 2025 |
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Unexplained lengthy delay and material inconsistencies undermined the prosecution's case; conviction quashed and sentence set aside.
Criminal law – Rape – sufficiency of victim's testimony; unexplained delay in arraignment (1,337 days) and its effect on prosecution; material variance between charge particulars and witness testimony; failure to call material witness (village leader/neighbour) to prove cohabitation; preliminary hearing irregularities; family witnesses' competency.
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15 September 2025 |
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Unexplained delays and missing material witnesses undermined prosecution's proof of rape beyond reasonable doubt.
* Criminal law – Rape – proof beyond reasonable doubt – credibility of child complainant; unexplained delay in naming suspect; delayed reporting. * Criminal procedure – Delay in arraignment – section 33(1) CPA – unexplained delay prejudicial and undermines prosecution case. * Evidence – Failure to call material witnesses (eye-witnesses, investigator) – adverse inference may be drawn. * Medical evidence (PF3) corroborative but not necessarily conclusive where other doubts exist.
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15 September 2025 |
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Absence of a notice of intention to appeal renders the first appellate proceedings incompetent and their judgment a nullity.
* Criminal procedure – notice of intention to appeal – mandatory requirement under s.382(1)(a) CPA – absence renders first appeal incompetent and its proceedings a nullity. * Appellate jurisdiction – revisional powers under s.6(2) AJA – power to nullify and quash proceedings founded on an incompetent appeal. * Right to reprocess appeal – direction to refile in accordance with s.382(2) CPA.
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15 September 2025 |
| July 2025 |
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The appeal challenged terrorism convictions based on allegedly improper confessions; the court found sufficient corroboration for most convictions.
Criminal law - Confessions - Terrorism charges - Corroboration of confession - Validity of evidence - Procedural errors in certification. |
17 July 2025 |
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Appeal dismissed; the conviction was upheld but sentence corrected to apply only to the first count.
Criminal law – Murder – Procedural improprieties alleged in trial – Clarification by assessors – Admission of statement evidence – Varying sentences to align with standard practice.
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14 July 2025 |
| June 2025 |
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Court upheld murder conviction based on circumstantial evidence and dying declarations despite appeal by the accused.
Criminal Procedure - Murder - Dying declarations - Circumstantial evidence - Burden of proof.
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26 June 2025 |
| May 2025 |
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The appeal was dismissed as the court found sufficient evidence against the appellant for unlawful possession of government trophy.
Criminal Law – Possession of government trophy without permit – Sufficiency of evidence – Defense consideration and discrepancies in trial.
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5 May 2025 |
| September 2024 |
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Appeal dismissed on rape conviction; sentence for grave sexual abuse quashed due to defective charge.
Criminal law – sexual offences – rape of a minor – sufficiency of child victim’s testimony – defective charge – corroboration – number of witnesses – admissibility of medical evidence – consideration of defence – appellate review limited to points of law.
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19 September 2024 |
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A conviction for economic offences was nullified due to jurisdictional defects in DPP's consent and certificate, and a retrial was ordered.
Criminal law – Economic offences – Jurisdiction – Requirement for DPP's consent and certificate to specify statutory provisions – Nullity of proceedings for procedural defects – Power to order retrial.
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12 September 2024 |
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Procedural irregularities and late confession recording did not prevent upholding murder conviction where other evidence proved guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Murder – Procedural irregularities in trial – Admission of cautioned statement – Four-hour rule for recording confessions – Evidence – Proof beyond reasonable doubt – Flight and concealment as evidence of guilt.
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2 September 2024 |
| August 2024 |
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Minor contradictions in witness testimony and failure to call all potential witnesses do not undermine a rape conviction based on credible evidence.
Criminal law – rape – sexual offences – credibility of child victim’s evidence – contradictions in witness testimony – necessity of calling all potential witnesses – standard of proof in criminal cases.
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22 August 2024 |
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Court dismissed appeal for unnatural offence, upholding conviction and sentence where prosecution's case was proven beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Sexual offences – Unnatural offence against a child – Proof of age – Admissibility and sufficiency of medical evidence – Evaluation of defence evidence – Standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt – Appellate review of concurrent findings of fact.
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22 August 2024 |
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Failure to formally endorse the DPP's consent in terrorism and economic crime proceedings renders the trial a nullity warranting retrial.
Criminal procedure – terrorism and economic crimes – High Court jurisdiction – necessity for DPP’s consent to be formally endorsed and entered in record – nullity of proceedings arising from lack of endorsement – retrial ordered.
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22 August 2024 |
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Failure to consider an alibi on first appeal is not fatal where the appellate court properly evaluates it and finds no merit.
Criminal law – rape – evidence – evaluation of alibi – appellate court powers – standard of proof – credibility of child witnesses.
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20 August 2024 |
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Court dismisses second appeal against rape conviction, affirming that child victim's unsworn evidence was properly admitted.
Criminal law – Rape of a minor – Admissibility of child witness testimony – Section 127(2) Evidence Act – Standard of proof in sexual offences – Number and credibility of witnesses – Scope of second appellate jurisdiction.
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19 August 2024 |
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Trial for economic offences is invalid without DPP consent; nullified trial requires remittal for retrial if justice demands.
Criminal law – Economic and Organized Crime – Requirement of DPP’s consent before commencement of trial – Effect of absence of consent – Nullity of proceedings – Criteria for ordering retrial.
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19 August 2024 |
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Convictions upheld where appellants failed to object to confession evidence at trial and prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – murder – conviction based on freely made confessions – admissibility of cautioned and extra-judicial statements – requirement to object to admissibility during trial – proof beyond reasonable doubt – upholding conviction where objections are raised only at appeal stage.
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16 August 2024 |
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The court upheld a murder conviction based on constructive possession of stolen property and corroborated confession evidence.
Criminal law – Murder – Doctrine of recent possession – Chain of custody – Post-mortem report – Repudiated confession – Corroboration – Failure to call witness – Appeal dismissed.
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15 August 2024 |
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Court confirmed conviction for murder, finding sufficient evidence and no basis for provocation to reduce the offence.
Criminal law – murder – sufficiency of prosecution evidence – number of witnesses – provocation – proof beyond reasonable doubt – section 143 Evidence Act – section 201 and 202 Penal Code – defence of provocation – standard for downgrading murder to manslaughter.
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14 August 2024 |
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The appeal against conviction for murder, challenging witness sufficiency and chain of custody, was dismissed as unmerited.
Criminal law – murder – standard of proof – quality versus quantity of prosecution evidence – reliability of circumstantial evidence – admissibility and sufficiency of chain of custody documentation – appellate review – minor evidentiary discrepancies.
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13 August 2024 |
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Failure to issue a receipt under section 38(3) CPA does not invalidate otherwise admissible evidence when the case is otherwise proved.
Criminal law – Evidence – Admissibility of seized exhibits – Non-compliance with section 38(3) of the CPA – Chain of custody – Sufficiency of prosecution evidence – Contradictions among witnesses – Cautioned confession.
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9 August 2024 |
| September 2023 |
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Revision dismissed as abuse of process; prior DLHT decision binds parties and bars applicant’s claim.
Appeal and revision jurisdiction – section 4(3) AJA and Rule 65 – right to be heard – Article 13(6)(a) – Order I Rule 9 CPC (misjoinder/non‑joinder) – abuse of process/forum shopping – res judicata and finality of judgment – Civil Procedure Code section 9.
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8 September 2023 |
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Extension denied for failing to account for delay and to specify rule 66(1) review grounds.
* Criminal procedure – extension of time – rule 10 Court of Appeal Rules – good cause test (length of delay; reason; arguable case; prejudice).
* Review procedure – rule 66(3) – sixty-day limit to apply for review from date of judgment.
* Evidence – allegations involving third parties (prison officers) require supporting affidavits; unsupported assertions are hearsay.
* Procedural requirement – applicant for extension to file review must indicate which ground(s) under rule 66(1)(a)–(e) the intended review relies on.
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6 September 2023 |
| August 2023 |
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Information given under restraint that leads to discovery is admissible; circumstantial evidence can support murder conviction.
Criminal law – oral confession – admissibility and voluntariness; evidence leading to discovery – section 31 Evidence Act; circumstantial evidence in homicide – proof without establishing cause of death; cautioned statement recorded outside statutory time – inadmissible; credibility of witnesses and appellate reappraisal.
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24 August 2023 |
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A court may not raise and decide a new issue suo motu without hearing parties; such decision is a nullity.
* Constitutional law – right to a fair hearing – Article 13(6)(a) – courts must afford parties opportunity to be heard before taking adverse action. * Criminal appeal – High Court raising new issue suo motu while composing judgment – procedural impropriety. * Natural justice – denial of audi alteram partem renders decision a nullity. * Remedy – quash judgment, set aside consequent orders and remit for fresh judgment after hearing parties.
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24 August 2023 |
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Review alleging a manifest error fails; dismissal upheld and costs awarded as applicant lost substantive title claim.
* Civil procedure — Review under Rule 66(1)(a) — "manifest error on the face of the record" requires an obvious, self-evident mistake not needing elaborate argument. * Land law — competing certificates of title — Court may make consequential declarations nullifying conflicting titles while still dismissing a party's substantive claim. * Costs — discretionary; generally follow the event; withholding costs between related litigants is exceptional.
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24 August 2023 |
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Sentence reduced where trial court misapplied sentencing guidelines and unfairly blamed the appellant for delayed guilty plea.
* Criminal law – Sentencing – Manslaughter committed with a dangerous weapon – classification within high-level category and applicable minimum sentence under Sentencing Manual.
* Sentencing – Appellate intervention – when discretionary sentencing vitiated by error, misapplied guidelines, or overlooking material factors.
* Sentencing – Proper weight to be given to pre-conviction custody, contrition, and effect of charge substitution on plea timing.
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24 August 2023 |
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Trial court exceeded pecuniary jurisdiction on a commercial claim over TZS 30,000,000; proceedings quashed.
Commercial law — definition of commercial case; Magistrates' Court Act s.40(3)(b) — pecuniary jurisdiction limit TZS 30,000,000; proceedings and judgments rendered by a court lacking jurisdiction are nullities; appeal allowed and lower courts' decisions quashed; no order as to costs.
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24 August 2023 |
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Non‑compliance with s186(3) CPA did not prejudice the applicant; cautioned statement valid; conviction and sentence upheld.
Criminal law – Sexual offences – Trial in camera (s186(3) CPA) – purpose to protect victim; non-compliance does not per se vitiate trial absent prejudice; Cautioned statements – statutory recording requirements (s57(2) CPA) – questions and answers to be recorded; Second appeal – new factual grounds not previously argued on first appeal are not entertainable; Evidence – victim’s testimony as best evidence in sexual offences and value of medical corroboration.
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24 August 2023 |
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The appellant’s provocation, accomplice and non-summoning arguments failed; murder conviction and death sentence upheld.
* Criminal law — Murder — Provocation under ss.201-202 Penal Code — requirement of sudden provocative act; long-standing dispute insufficient. * Evidence — Accomplice — definition and requirement for corroboration; mere assistance under threat does not make a witness an accomplice. * Evidence — Failure to summon witness — no adverse inference where prosecution explains omission and remaining evidence is credible and sufficient.
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21 August 2023 |
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A registered title held by the applicant prevails absent a written disposition proved by the respondent.
* Evidence Act (s.110) – burden of proof – the party alleging a disposition must prove it on the balance of probabilities.
* Land Act (s.64(1)) – disposition of a right of occupancy must be in writing; oral evidence cannot substitute absent a statutory exception.
* Registered title – certificate of title is prima facie/strong proof of ownership and cannot be displaced by unproved oral disposition.
* Matrimonial property division – judgments allocating property cannot validate a prior ineffective disposition lacking required formalities.
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21 August 2023 |
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Appellant’s unchallenged admission and victim’s evidence established statutory rape; appeal dismissed.
* Criminal law – Rape (statutory) – sexual intercourse with a girl under 18 – consent immaterial; * Evidentiary value of accused's oral confession; * Criminal Procedure Act s.210(3) – reading evidence to accused and curability of omission; * Variance in names and medical report – curable under s.388 where no prejudice; * Second appeal – points not determined by first appellate court are precluded.
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21 August 2023 |