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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 1986 |
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Convictions based solely on delivery notes and uncertain audit evidence quashed for lack of proof of theft or fraudulent accounting.
Criminal law – Stealing by agent (s.273(b)) and fraudulent false accounting (s.317(b)) – sufficiency of evidence – missing accounting records – whether delivery notes alone can establish theft or fraud – proof of actual shortage and intent to defraud required.
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31 December 1986 |
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Owner entitled to release of seized vehicle for safe‑keeping, subject to production when required in court.
Criminal Procedure Act s.51(1) — Release of seized property to non‑charged owner for safe‑keeping; Condition of production when required in court; Police objection permissible only where release would prejudice investigation or trial.
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31 December 1986 |
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The appellant's conviction for stealing by a public servant was upheld; the seven-year sentence was reduced to five years.
Criminal law – Theft by public servant – Evidence – Custody of keys and participation in stock-taking as incriminating circumstances – Earlier incomplete inventories do not create reasonable doubt when final inventory in accused's presence shows shortage. Sentencing – Mitigating factors (first offender, youth, family) – Excessive sentence – appellate variation to statutory minimum.
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31 December 1986 |
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Appeal dismissed: land held as security for a loan requiring redemption by repayment; locus visit unnecessary and costs wrongly ordered against respondent.
Land dispute – whether payment created mortgage/conditional sale or temporary licence – redemption by repayment – necessity of locus in quo where boundaries undisputed – costs for locus visit and allocation of costs.
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30 December 1986 |
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Appeal against conviction for theft by a post officer dismissed; defence conspiracy allegation found unsubstantiated.
Criminal law – Theft by servant (ss.271 and 265 Penal Code) – Credibility of prosecution witnesses – Defence allegation of conspiracy by supervisors – Appeal against conviction and statutory minimum sentence – Evidence must raise reasonable doubt to overturn conviction.
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23 December 1986 |
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Appeal against conviction and sentence for theft by servant dismissed; circumstantial evidence and credibility findings upheld.
Criminal law – Theft by servant – Conviction on circumstantial evidence – Sufficiency of circumstantial proof to exclude reasonable hypothesis of innocence; Alibi – credibility and corroboration; Witness credibility – prior inconsistent police statement and familial bias; Sentencing – minimum sentence confirmation for large-scale theft.
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22 December 1986 |
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19 December 1986 |
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Circumstantial evidence, possession of keys and flight upheld conviction for theft by a public servant; sentence affirmed.
Criminal law – Theft by public servant (Penal Code) – Circumstantial evidence – possession of keys and absence of forced entry – inference of guilt. Criminal law – Flight on sighting police as evidence of guilty mind. Sentencing – statutory minimum sentence upheld.
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19 December 1986 |
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Circumstantial evidence upheld theft conviction; sentence substituted with statutory five-year minimum for scheduled offence.
Criminal law – Theft – Circumstantial evidence – When circumstantial evidence excludes reasonable alternatives and proves guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Criminal law – Servant’s negligence – Loss by negligence is not theft, but denial of negligence is relevant to culpability. Sentencing – Minimum Sentences Act – Scheduled offences involving property of a specified authority and value above threshold attract statutory minimum sentence.
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19 December 1986 |
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Convictions for insulting modesty and indecent assault by a teacher upheld; sentences noted as lenient but left undisturbed.
Criminal law – Sexual offences – Insulting modesty and indecent assault by a teacher upon a pupil – Credibility of complainant and corroboration. Criminal procedure – Charge-sheet date discrepancy – Temporal inconsistencies not fatal where evidence supports the offences charged. Sentencing – Aggravating factor of teacher–pupil relationship – lenient sentences noted but not altered where already served.
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18 December 1986 |
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Entry of a nolle prosequi by the prosecution results in discharge of the accused under section 91 of the Criminal Procedure Act.
Criminal procedure – nolle prosequi – effect of prosecution discontinuance – discharge of accused under section 91 of the Criminal Procedure Act.
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18 December 1986 |
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Conviction quashed where trial court convicted on unpleaded facts without amending the charge.
Criminal procedure — alteration of charge (s.234 CPA) — conviction cannot rest on a factual basis different from particulars without amendment and plea — failure to amend vitiates conviction; sentence and licence cancellation set aside; retrial discretionary.
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14 December 1986 |
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Insufficient proof of malice; acquitted of murder, convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to seven years.
Criminal law – Murder vs manslaughter – requirement of malice aforethought and when conviction may be reduced to a lesser offence. Criminal law – Self-defence and fight – assessment of competing versions where single eyewitness evidence is relied upon. Evidence – credibility and sufficiency of eyewitness testimony; weight of medical evidence; failure to produce alleged weapons.
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13 December 1986 |
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Reported
Conviction under a repealed statute curable, but failure to prove substance was a Part I poison warranted quashing.
Criminal law — Repealed statute — conviction curable where offence re‑enacted identically in successor Act; Poisons law — identity and composition of seized substance must be proved; s.60(1) Pharmaceutical and Poisons Act — certificate of Government Analyst is final; opinion of ordinary doctor not conclusive; possession evidence insufficient absent proof substance is Part I poison.
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12 December 1986 |
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Conviction quashed where the substance’s status as a Part I poison and required government‑analyst certification were not proved.
Criminal law – possession of Part I poison – identity of the substance (chloroquine injection versus chloroguinate) – necessity of proving statutory classification.* Criminal procedure – charging under a repealed statute – curability where offence re‑enacted identically in new statute.* Evidence – certificate of Government Analyst under Pharmacy and Poisons Act s.60(1) is final; ordinary doctor’s report is not conclusive.
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12 December 1986 |
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12 December 1986 |
Criminal Practice and Procedure - Charges - Charge under repealed legislation - irregularity - Whether curable. Criminal Law - Pharmaceutical and Poisons Act 1978 - Accused convicted of being in possession of Part I Poison - Accused in possession of chloroquine injection - Chloroquine injection not on Poison List - Whether a report by a medical doctor to the effect that chloroquine injection was Part I poison wasfinal. |
12 December 1986 |
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Voluntary extra-judicial confession admissible; malice not proved, conviction reduced to manslaughter and five-year sentence imposed.
Criminal law – admissibility of extra-judicial statement – voluntariness and proper recording; Criminal law – distinction between murder and manslaughter – requirement to prove malice aforethought; Evidence – witness credibility and identification; Role of assessors' opinion versus judge where confession exists.
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12 December 1986 |
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Appellate court set aside an unsafe cattle‑theft conviction and held that unreliable visual identification without corroboration requires acquittal.
Criminal law – Evidence – Sufficiency and credibility of evidence in cattle‑theft prosecutions – role of recovered property and village head (balozi) testimony. Criminal procedure – Standard for reporting strayed property – whether reporting to the balozi can negate criminal liability for receiving stray cattle. Evidence – Visual identification – warnings about the unreliability of identification from fleeting glimpses or in semi‑darkness; need for corroboration before convicting.
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12 December 1986 |
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Appellate court restored Primary Court’s finding of land ownership and held village-boundary disputes cannot defeat proven ownership.
Land law – ownership of land – appellate review of lower court’s failure to decide ownership – distinction between private ownership and village-boundary disputes – referral to public administration.
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11 December 1986 |
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Appellate court quashed criminal conviction for denial of defence witnesses; dismissed civil claim as time‑barred.
Criminal law – right to call defence witnesses – trial court’s duty to take steps to secure attendance (summons/arrest) – refusal to adjourn and closing defence can amount to miscarriage of justice; Evidence – relative witness – interest and need for corroboration assessed on record; Civil procedure – limitation of actions – twelve‑year period under Limitation Act – time‑bar for recovery of property; Civil procedure – pleadings – requirement for written statement of defence (Order 8 Rule 1, Civil Procedure Code).
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11 December 1986 |
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High Court restored a customary elders’ bridewealth award, holding appellate reduction was unjustified and instalments preferable to reduction.
Customary law – bridewealth – elders’ determination – courts should respect customary quantification of bridewealth and not substitute their own views. Civil procedure – appellate interference – appellate court should not unjustifiably interfere with trial court findings based on customary determinations. Remedy – payment difficulties may be addressed by instalments, not by reducing customary awards.
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10 December 1986 |
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Conviction for obtaining money by false pretences affirmed where tickets were falsely represented as immediately available; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – obtaining money by false pretences – representation as to existing fact versus future promise – tickets represented as immediately available constituted false pretence. Evidence – participation in concert – presence at scene and handling of money as proof of involvement. Sentence – two years' imprisonment not excessive.
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10 December 1986 |
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Bail granted for alleged unlawful exportation with strict bond, travel‑document surrender, reporting and immovable‑property sureties.
Criminal procedure – Bail – Application for bail in an economic offence (unlawful exportation) – Court may impose stringent conditions where offence is serious and there is real risk of non‑appearance; surrender of travel documents, monetary bond and sureties with immovable property ordered. Temporary suspension of reporting condition while accused is hospitalized. Examination and approval of sureties by the court.
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10 December 1986 |
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Accused's self‑defence ended once the deceased fled; subsequent brick‑throwing was unlawful, leading to conviction and seven‑year sentence.
Criminal law – Manslaughter; eyewitness credibility; self‑defence — right ceases when threat has ended; subsequent acts may become unlawful aggression; sentencing — mitigation and remand custody.
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5 December 1986 |
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4 December 1986 |
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Retracted extra-judicial confessions corroborated by witnesses and post-mortem evidence sustain murder convictions; provocation rejected.
Criminal law – murder – extra-judicial confessions recorded before a Justice of the Peace – admissibility and effect of retracted confessions – need for corroboration of retracted confessions – provocation as a partial defence – common intention and joint liability for murder; post-mortem corroboration of violent beating.
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4 December 1986 |
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Dowry refund on divorce requires judicial discretion considering fault, marriage duration and children; unchallenged trial findings bind appeal.
Customary/divorce law – Dowry/brideprice refund – Judicial discretion under Law No. 279/63 ss.28 & 54 – Factors: degree of fault, duration of marriage, number of children – Binding effect of unchallenged primary court finding.
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2 December 1986 |
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Lost trial records may lead to quashing convictions rather than ordering retrial if retrial would be unjust to the appellant.
Criminal law – Appeal – lost or missing trial record – remedy when appellate court cannot hear appeal – retrial usually ordered but may be refused if not in interest of justice – quashing convictions and setting aside sentences where appellant has effectively served most of the sentence.
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2 December 1986 |
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Night-time identification was unreliable; prosecution failed to prove identity beyond reasonable doubt, so conviction was quashed.
Criminal law – Identification evidence – Requirement to prove identity beyond reasonable doubt; night-time/low-light identification may be unreliable. Criminal procedure – Appeal – Effect of State not supporting conviction; appellate court must assess evidence and law. Evidence – Proof of the offence vs proof of identity – conviction cannot stand where identity remains doubtful.
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1 December 1986 |
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1 December 1986 |
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Applicant's robbery conviction and seven-year sentence upheld; caught red-handed and eyewitnesses held credible.
Criminal law – robbery with violence – identification and possession of stolen property – caught red-handed – evaluation of credibility by trial court – appellate restraint on challenging findings of fact – mandatory sentencing for robbery with violence.
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1 December 1986 |