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Citation
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Judgment date
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| November 2023 |
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Interpreter defects vitiated the key eyewitness evidence; retracted confessions lacked corroboration, so convictions were quashed.
Criminal law – Murder conviction – Assessors’ selection and role – procedural irregularity curable under s.388 CPA; Interpreter – court’s duty to procure/ascertain qualifications and explain role – serious defect vitiating evidence; Confessions and extra-judicial statements – certification and timing issues; Retracted confessions require independent corroboration; Insufficient evidence — conviction quashed, no retrial ordered.
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30 November 2023 |
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Conviction quashed: improper admission of exhibits and failure to link appellant via recent possession.
Criminal law – circumstantial evidence – admissibility of exhibits – failure to read exhibits in court and omission from committal list – expungement; expert evidence required to prove human remains and identification; doctrine of recent possession – ownership and identification requirements.
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22 November 2023 |
| October 2023 |
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Expungement of a PF3 does not defeat conviction where unchallenged oral medical and victim evidence establish statutory rape.
Criminal law – Statutory rape – Proof of age of a child – Corroboration by medical officer’s oral evidence after expungement of PF3 – Consent immaterial where complainant under eighteen – Standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt.
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6 October 2023 |
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Procedural assessor errors curable; improperly tendered extra‑judicial statement expunged; evidence upheld conviction and sentence.
Criminal law – assessors’ participation and timing of selection (s.283 CPA) – procedural irregularity curable if no prejudice (s.388 CPA); Evidence Act – extra‑judicial statement improperly tendered by custodian and expunged (s.34B(2)(a)); corroboration of cautioned statement and sufficiency of evidence to prove murder beyond reasonable doubt.
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6 October 2023 |
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Child witness improperly affirmed and night visual identification was unreliable; conviction for armed robbery quashed.
* Criminal law – armed robbery – conviction quashed for failure to prove identity beyond reasonable doubt. * Evidence Act s.127 – child witness/affirmation – mandatory inquiry into understanding of oath; failure renders evidence valueless. * Visual identification – evidence from witnesses at night requires proof of lighting, intensity, distance and duration; courts must not speculate. * Duty to consider defence – where defence raises facts (e.g. bad blood) it should be put in cross‑examination; appellate court may evaluate unconsidered defence evidence.
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6 October 2023 |
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Court upheld convictions where victims' recognition, lighting and evidence established armed robbery beyond reasonable doubt.
* Criminal procedure — Change of magistrate — section 214(1)(a) CPA — non-compliance curable under section 388 where no prejudice shown.
* Evidence — Identification by recognition — familiarity, lighting, proximity and duration support reliability.
* Evidence — Failure to call police/village chairman — not fatal absent demonstrable prejudice; weight of evidence governs.
* Criminal law — Armed robbery — elements: dangerous/offensive weapon used to threaten and theft; both elements proved.
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6 October 2023 |
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Administrator may sell estate property without heirs' consent if acting in good faith; bona fide sale survives revocation.
* Probate & Administration – administrator’s powers – section 99 – administrator is legal representative vested with estate property and may dispose of property acting in good faith.
* Heirs’ consent – no general legal requirement for administrator to obtain consent of all heirs before sale absent pleaded facts/circumstances or evidence making consent inevitable.
* Bona fide purchaser – purchases from administrator before revocation protected; payments to administrator bona fide discharge payer.
* Revocation – revocation of letters of administration does not automatically vitiate prior bona fide transactions; fraud must be proved to set aside sale.
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6 October 2023 |
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Conviction set aside where accused, appearing before judgment, was not properly allowed to explain absence or advance a defence.
* Criminal procedure — Trial in absentia — Sections 226(2) and 226(4) Criminal Procedure Act — duty to address accused on appearance before judgment — right to be heard and to advance probable defence — judicial exercise of discretion; appellate review and revision under section 4(2) Appellate Jurisdiction Act; order to rehear before a different magistrate.
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6 October 2023 |
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The appellant’s conviction quashed for unread documentary exhibits, deficient trophy identification, and inadequate chain of custody.
* Criminal law – evidence – documentary exhibits admitted but not read to accused – mandatory reading and remedy of expungement.
* Criminal law – identification of wildlife trophies – need for expert description and Trophy Valuation Certificate under Wildlife Conservation Regulations.
* Criminal law – chain of custody – prosecution duty to account for seizure, custody, transfer and storage of physical exhibits.
* Criminal procedure – sufficiency of remaining evidence after expungement to prove case beyond reasonable doubt.
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6 October 2023 |
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An applicant should not be penalized for an advocate’s misconduct; such misconduct can justify extension of time.
Civil procedure – extension of time to restore appeal; service of summons – absence of service on appellant; advocate’s negligence or cessation from practice may constitute sufficient cause for extension of time in appropriate circumstances.
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5 October 2023 |
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Conviction quashed: circumstantial case weakened by charge variances, unproven last-seen inference and an improperly admitted cautioned statement.
* Criminal law – circumstantial evidence – requirement to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt – inconsistencies in charge must be cured by amendment. * Criminal procedure – cautioned statements – must be properly tendered and read out after admission; failure to do so warrants expunging the statement. * Evidence – doctrine of last person seen with the deceased – not to be invoked where the accused gives a plausible uncontradicted explanation and crucial prosecution witnesses are absent. * Conduct after offence – absence or travel alone amounts only to suspicion and is insufficient to ground conviction.
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5 October 2023 |
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Procedural transfer to a magistrate with extended jurisdiction was invalid; proceedings nullified, conviction quashed and sentence set aside.
Criminal procedure — Transfer of appeals — Improper statutory basis for transfer to magistrate with extended jurisdiction renders proceedings a nullity; Drugs Control — jurisdiction threshold under s.15A(2)(c) (50 kg) — subordinate court competent; Evidence — chain of custody defects may be fatal; Remedial discretion — retrial refused where retrial would prejudice accused.
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5 October 2023 |
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Revision of dismissal of objection proceedings is incompetent under Order XXI Rule 62; aggrieved party must file a civil suit.
Civil procedure – Order XXI Rule 62 CPC – Finality of decisions in objection proceedings; remedy is instituting a civil suit – Revision and appeal barred. Government Proceedings – Misjoinder of Solicitor General where Attorney General is party – error but not fatal. Right to be heard – opportunity via objection proceedings and subsequent suit.
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5 October 2023 |
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Convictions for rape and unnatural offence against a six‑year‑old upheld; sentences amended to life imprisonment.
* Criminal law – Rape and unnatural offence – elements: age, penetration, identity of offender – corroboration by parent and medical officer.
* Evidence – Child witnesses – compliance with section 127(2) Evidence Act; recording child's promise to tell the truth and effect of imperfect recording.
* Criminal procedure – failure to cross‑examine: acceptance of unchallenged evidence.
* Sentencing – statutory mandate for life imprisonment for rape of a girl under ten and unnatural offence against a child under eighteen.
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4 October 2023 |
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Review dismissed: allegation that the Court failed to address victim's age did not show an obvious error on the record.
* Appellate procedure – Review jurisdiction – Rule 66(1) Court of Appeal Rules 2009 – limited and exceptional remedy; manifest error on the face of the record must be obvious and patent.
* Evidence – Review is not a forum to re-assess evidence or sit as an appellate court on the Court’s own decision.
* Criminal procedure – Allegation that Court failed to deal with victim’s age does not automatically amount to a manifest error warranting review.
* Humanitarian plea – Ill-health of prisoner does not, without statutory basis, justify review relief or release.
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4 October 2023 |
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Sampling errors and failure to read admitted exhibits rendered the drug-trafficking evidence insufficient.
Drugs Control Act – proof of narcotic substance and statutory weight; Sampling procedure – regulation 18 requirements (one sample in duplicate from each package; homogenisation and lot sampling) – irregular sampling invalidates CGC findings; Admissibility – documents admitted must be read out in court; Failure to read exhibits = miscarriage of justice and expungement; Oral testimony must account for contents of expunged documents or their evidential weight is lost.
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4 October 2023 |
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An omnibus application combining extension of time and leave to appeal is incompetent and struck out with costs.
Omnibus application; competence of pleadings; extension of time to file application for leave; leave to appeal; single Justice jurisdiction; overriding objective principle; incompetent/non-starting matter; strike out with costs.
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4 October 2023 |
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Appellate court’s cursory, unreasoned judgment was quashed and remittted for proper hearing and determination.
Appellate jurisdiction — requirement that lower appellate court fully hear and determine grounds — necessity of intelligible, reasoned judgments — nullification and remittal where judgment is conclusory; admissibility of cautioned and extra-judicial statements raised but not properly resolved.
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4 October 2023 |
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Appeal dismissed: identification, penetration and age proved; new factual grounds barred; reassignment order absence not fatal.
* Criminal law – Statutory rape – Proof of penetration and age – sufficiency of victim's testimony and admissions.
* Criminal procedure – Identification evidence – visual recognition at night where victim and accused are household members.
* Appellate jurisdiction – New factual grounds not raised before first appellate court barred from Court of Appeal.
* Judicial administration – Absence of reassignment order to successor judge in appeals not fatal or prejudicial.
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4 October 2023 |
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Identification and recorded statements were unsafe or improperly admitted; convictions quashed for failure to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
* Criminal law — Visual identification — necessity of prior description, explanation of lighting and elimination of mistaken identity. * Criminal Procedure Act — s.50(1)(a) and s.51 — four‑hour basic period for interviewing and consequences of recording statements out of time. * Evidence Act — s.34B — admissibility of written/extra‑judicial statements and requirement to prove circumstances and voluntariness.
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4 October 2023 |
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Court expunged improperly admitted confessions, found deficient summing up to assessors, and ordered appellants' release due to insufficient evidence.
* Criminal procedure – case to answer – wording of ruling vis-à-vis section 293(2) CPA – not necessarily a pre-determined conviction
* Criminal procedure – summing up to assessors – necessity to explain vital points of law (retracted/repudiated confessions and corroboration)
* Evidence – extra-judicial confessions – admissibility – prosecutor cannot tender exhibits in place of witness; requirement for trial-within-trial on voluntariness
* Retrial – principle from Fatehali Manjji – retrial inappropriate where conviction set aside for insufficiency of evidence
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4 October 2023 |
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Cautioned statement recorded beyond four hours expunged, but child’s testimony proved rape and abduction; appeal dismissed.
* Criminal law – Sexual offences – Rape of a person under 18 and abduction of a girl under 16 – proof of age, penetration and identity. * Evidence – Cautioned statement – recording beyond statutory four‑hour limit (s.50(1)(a) CPA) renders statement inadmissible and to be expunged. * Evidence – Child witness competency – promise to tell the truth and affirmation under s.127(2) Evidence Act. * Appellate procedure – Court will not entertain factual complaints not first raised and determined in the High Court.
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4 October 2023 |
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Visual identification, proven theft and use of an iron bar satisfied elements of armed robbery; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – Armed robbery – Ingredients: stealing, possession/use of offensive weapon and use/threat of violence; Visual identification – reliability factors (prior acquaintance, lighting, proximity, duration, immediate naming); Delay in arrest – explanation and connection to charged offence.
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3 October 2023 |
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Applicant's unexplained 15-day delay justified refusal of extension of time; reference dismissed with costs.
* Civil procedure – extension of time – applicant must account for each day of delay; technical delay distinct from unexplained periods.
* Appellate practice – reference to full court – scope limited to issues decided by single Justice; wide discretion reviewable for misapplication of law.
* No statutory period required to begin reckoning delay; sufficiency turns on explanation for each day.
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3 October 2023 |
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Appellants' convictions quashed: dying declaration unreliable and cautioned statements recorded outside statutory time limits.
Criminal law – dying declaration – admissibility and reliability of identification by name; Criminal procedure – cautioned/confessional statements – compliance with section 50(1) CPA and recording time limits; Evidence – failure to call material witnesses and adverse inference; Identification – necessity of proof of conditions (light, visibility) to avoid mistaken identity.
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3 October 2023 |
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The appellant's rape conviction was upheld; charge defect curable and the PF3 was expunged for not being read aloud.
* Criminal law – Rape – proof of age, penetration and identity – victim’s evidence corroborated by family and medical testimony.
* Criminal procedure – Defective charge – omission of specific provision for traditional healer curable under section 388 CPA.
* Evidence – PF3/medical report admitted but not read aloud – procedural irregularity; document expunged.
* Appeals – New ground raised first in second appeal (non‑summoning of arresting officer/VEO) not entertained.
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3 October 2023 |
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Conviction quashed for unfair trial, illegally admitted confessions, and insufficient remaining evidence.
Criminal procedure – Assessors – accused must be given opportunity to object to assessors; failure vitiates trial. Evidence – confessions – cautioned statements must be recorded within four hours of restraint (s.50 CPA) or after lawful extension; extra-judicial statements require trial-within-a-trial to prove voluntariness (s.27-28 Evidence Act). Sufficiency of evidence – expunged confessions may leave prosecution case inadequate to sustain conviction.
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3 October 2023 |
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Applicant failed to account for 15-month delay and to particularise review grounds; extension of time dismissed.
Criminal procedure – extension of time to file review – requirement to account for each day of delay; ignorance of law/right not sufficient; necessity to plead and particularise grounds of review under rule 66(1) and point out manifest errors on the face of the record.
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3 October 2023 |
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Conviction for rape quashed after victim’s testimony, cautioned statement and medical report were expunged as improperly admitted.
Criminal law – Rape – admissibility and sufficiency of evidence – statutory promise of child witness (s.127(2) Evidence Act) – cautioned statement voluntariness and trial-court inquiry – medical report to be read out after admission – appellate interference where defence evidence not considered and remaining evidence insufficient to prove charge.
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3 October 2023 |
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Circumstantial evidence and weak/conflicting confession insufficient to prove murder beyond reasonable doubt; conviction quashed.
* Criminal law – murder – reliance on visual identification, confessions and circumstantial evidence – requirement that circumstantial evidence exclude all reasonable hypotheses of innocence. * Evidence – visual identification in adverse conditions and potential witness bias; cautions on weight to be placed on confessional statements and need for corroboration. * Criminal procedure – duty of prosecution to call crucial witnesses; adverse inferences where important witnesses are not produced.
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3 October 2023 |
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A guilty plea entered to a fatally defective wildlife charge was equivocal; conviction and sentence quashed and release ordered.
* Criminal procedure — distinction between plea of guilty (s.228 CPA) and preliminary hearing (s.192 CPA); improper procedure does not automatically vitiate conviction. * Wildlife Conservation Act — section 17 applies to Game Reserves; offences in Game Controlled Areas fall under section 20(1)(b). * EOCA — offences must be listed in the First Schedule to be treated as economic; misclassification vitiates EOCA consents. * Plea of guilty — can be challenged where charge discloses no offence, plea is equivocal, or entered through mistake/misapprehension. * Remedy — conviction and sentence may be quashed and release ordered where charge is incurably defective, retrial unnecessary.
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3 October 2023 |
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Extension of time requires accounting for delay; only obvious jurisdictional illegality warrants extension.
Extension of time applications – Lyamuya guidelines – applicant must account for all delay; delay must not be inordinate; diligence required; illegality as sufficient reason – limited to clear, jurisdictional or facially apparent errors (Principal Secretary v Valambhia); decisional or procedural errors do not qualify as illegality.
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3 October 2023 |
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Conviction for incest upheld; sentence reduced due to failure to prove victim’s age; adverse-inference procedure misapplied but harmless.
* Criminal law – Offence of incest by males (Penal Code s.158) – proof of penetration and prohibited relationship may be established by victim's credible expressions and corroboration.
* Evidence – Proof of age in sexual offences – requirement of birth certificate, reliable medical assessment or direct testimony to establish age for sentencing.
* Criminal procedure – s.231 CPA – accused’s election to remain silent: trial court must invite prosecution to comment before drawing an adverse inference; failure may be curable if no prejudice.
* Sentencing – where age is not proved, accused benefits from doubt; mandatory higher sentence for victims under 18 cannot be imposed without proof.
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3 October 2023 |
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Extension of time granted where apparent illegality (sua sponte non-joinder denying hearing) justified relief despite some unexplained delay.
Civil procedure — Extension of time — Technical delay must be explained day-by-day; Illegality apparent on the face of the record (sua sponte non-joinder and denial of hearing) justifies extension despite unexplained delay.
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3 October 2023 |
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Statutory rape conviction quashed because victim's age was not proved and the defence was not properly considered.
* Criminal law – statutory rape – proof of age is an essential ingredient and must be established by evidence from the victim, parent/relative, medical practitioner, or documentary proof; particulars or charge-sheet citation are not evidence. * Evidence – particulars/charge sheet – citation of age is not proof. * Criminal procedure – evaluation of defence – failure to consider defence evidence vitiates the trial. * PF3/medical report – improperly admitted or expunged medical documents cannot cure failure to prove age.
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2 October 2023 |
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Applicant failed to show good cause for extension of time; delay inordinate and review grounds not properly established.
* Extension of time – Rule 10 Court of Appeal Rules – requirement to show 'good cause' – application of Lyamuya principles. * Review – Rule 66(1) – review only on manifest error on face of record, deprivation of hearing, nullity, lack of jurisdiction, or fraud/perjury. * Procedural delay – inordinate delay and failure to account for entire period; ignorance of law and reliance on relatives not good cause. * Prison legal assistance – availability and duty to seek assistance from prison officers.
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2 October 2023 |
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Appeal struck out where leave was unlawfully granted by a magistrate lacking jurisdiction; overriding objective cannot cure jurisdictional defects.
Civil procedure — Jurisdiction — Resident Magistrate with extended jurisdiction lacks power to grant leave to appeal from High Court decisions; Overriding objective (s.3A AJA) cannot cure jurisdictional defects; Court’s revisional powers (s.4(2) AJA) — incompetence and striking out of appeal.
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2 October 2023 |
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Applicant failed to show good cause for extension of time to appeal; application dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure — Extension of time — Rule 10, Tanzania Court of Appeal Rules — Good cause and Lyamuya factors — Duty to account for each day of delay — Record of appeal requirements; futility of extension where documents are not part of record.
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2 October 2023 |
| September 2023 |
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Failure to evaluate the defence and unexplained delay in charging rendered the prosecution's rape conviction unsafe.
* Criminal law – Rape – Court must evaluate prosecution and defence evidence holistically; failure to consider defence is material misdirection. * Criminal procedure – Unexplained delay between alleged offence and arraignment may undermine prosecution case. * Appellate review – Court of Appeal may step into the shoes of first appellate court where trial and first appellate courts failed to evaluate evidence and made demonstrable misdirection.
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29 September 2023 |
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Pre-arranged prosecution interpreter vitiated fair trial; child witness evidence expunged and murder convictions quashed.
Criminal procedure – interpreter – court’s duty under s.211 CPA to provide and vet interpreters; interpreter to be sworn; prosecution-arranged interpreter may vitiate fair hearing; interpreted evidence expunged; insufficiency of remaining identification evidence – conviction quashed.
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29 September 2023 |
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A clear, unqualified guilty plea admitting all material facts sustains conviction and renders absent exhibits immaterial.
* Criminal law – Plea of guilty – When plea is unequivocal: arraignment, comprehension, admission of all ingredients. * Evidence – No legal requirement to tender PF3 or documents where accused admits facts. * Sentencing – Victim's age proved by admission; life imprisonment under s.154(2) Penal Code.
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27 September 2023 |
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Conviction quashed where seizure procedures, chain of custody, species identification and cautioned statement were fatally defective.
Criminal law – unlawful possession of government trophies – admissibility and weight of certificate of seizure; chain of custody of exhibits; requirement for expert identification of animal trophies; statutory interviewing period under section 50 CPA and admissibility of cautioned statements; conviction quashed for failure to prove case beyond reasonable doubt.
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27 September 2023 |
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An appellant granted extension for illegality may argue other grounds on appeal; limitation to illegality alone is unsupported.
Appeal—extension of time for illegality—whether appellant is limited to arguing only the illegality—no statutory or judicial basis for such limitation; fair hearing; scope of appeals under Appellate Jurisdiction Act and Land Disputes Courts Act; effect of counsel's concession or concentration on a single ground.
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27 September 2023 |
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Arraignment on an amended charge was sufficient; lapse of time did not justify quashing proceedings or ordering retrial.
Criminal procedure — Arraignment — Charge amended, read and pleas recorded — Effect of lapse of time before trial; duty to read/remind charge arises only on fresh charge, material amendment, withdrawal or variance, or where retrial compliance required; High Court erred in quashing proceedings and ordering retrial where arraignment was proper; remittal for fresh determination of appeal.
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26 September 2023 |
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Review application dismissed: review is limited to patent errors on the face of the record and cannot substitute for an appeal.
* Civil procedure — Review under Rule 66 — limited scope; requires an error apparent on the face of the record.
* Civil procedure — Review is not an appeal in disguise; differences of opinion do not justify review.
* Procedural fairness — Right to be heard — complaint must be made by the person denied hearing; a party who was heard cannot complain on behalf of non-parties.
* Evidence and new issues — Review will not entertain fresh matters not pleaded or argued at trial or on first appeal.
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25 September 2023 |
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A High Court's suo motu dismissal of an application without hearing the applicant violates the right to be heard and is a nullity.
* Natural justice – Right to be heard (audi alteram partem) – Judicial duty to invite parties to address any issue raised suo motu – Failure to do so renders decision void ab initio.
* Civil/criminal procedure – Revision versus appeal – Court cannot determine sua sponte procedural tenability without hearing parties.
* Remedy – Quashing of impugned decision and remittal for fresh determination from stage reached.
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25 September 2023 |
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Applicant failed to show good cause for 438‑day delay; extension to file second‑bite certificate refused.
• Civil procedure — extension of time — rule 10 Court of Appeal Rules — requirement to show good cause;• Second‑bite applications — rule 45A(c) — strict 14‑day timeframe;• Delay — inordinate and unexplained delay, need for substantiating evidence;• Judicial discretion — exercised according to rules of reason and justice.
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19 September 2023 |
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The applicant employer was liable for the employee’s death for failing to provide reasonable safety; damages were recalculated and reduced.
* Employer’s duty of care – liability for death while performing employment duties without reasonable safety measures (cash-in-transit). * Negligence – failure to provide armed escort and use of ordinary vehicle for transporting large sums. * Volenti non fit injuria – defence inapplicable where no informed consent or causal connection. * Fatal Accidents Act – administrator may sue on behalf of dependants; Workers’ Compensation payments do not bar common-law claim but are deductible. * Assessment of damages – necessity of evidence of deceased’s earnings; court may call additional evidence and recalculate quantum.
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19 September 2023 |
| March 2023 |
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A compensation claim filed after the 12‑month limitation without a pleaded exemption is time‑barred and jurisdictionally incompetent.
* Limitation of actions – compensation claims – item 1, First Schedule, Law of Limitation Act – 12‑month limitation for compensation. * Civil procedure – Order VII Rule 6 CPC – mandatory requirement to plead grounds for exemption when suit is time‑barred. * Negotiations – do not suspend/toll limitation period. * Jurisdiction – courts lack jurisdiction to entertain actions instituted after limitation without pleaded exemption; consequences: nullity, quashment of judgment and decree.
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22 March 2023 |
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High Court misapplied matrimonial law in a probate matter; appeal quashed judgment and remitted for rehearing.
Probate and Administration — appointment of administrator — discretion under section 33 PAEA — court must consider greater and immediate interests in estate — inappropriate to adjudicate matrimonial disputes or rely on Law of Marriage Act issues in a probate cause — misdirection and nullity; remit for rehearing.
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22 March 2023 |