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Citation
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Judgment date
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| February 1987 |
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Appellate court quashed theft convictions as unsafe due to insufficient linkage and uncorroborated suspect testimony.
Criminal law – conviction safety – reliance on employer/transport nexus and telephone call as evidence of theft insufficient
Evidence – accomplice/suspect witnesses – need for caution and independent corroboration; uncorroborated suspect testimony can create reasonable doubt. Trial evaluation – appellate intervention where convictions are grossly unsafe
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28 February 1987 |
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Appeal dismissed: conviction for knowingly giving false information to police under s122(b) upheld, sentence affirmed.
Criminal law – Offence of giving false information to a public officer (s122(b) Penal Code) – Elements: false statement, knowledge of falsity, and intention to induce police action
Evidence – Credibility and sufficiency – Implausible explanations and absence of corroboration justify conviction for knowingly giving false information
Appeal – Conviction and sentence upheld where prosecution proves deliberate falsehood beyond reasonable doubt
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27 February 1987 |
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27 February 1987 |
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Whether the prosecution proved the accused guilty of murder by credible eyewitness and corroborative evidence.
Criminal law – Murder under section 196 Penal Code; evidential burden – proof beyond reasonable doubt; credibility and reliability of eyewitness testimony; identification and circumstantial evidence in homicide cases; evaluation of prosecutorial evidence and procedural fairness.
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27 February 1987 |
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Circumstantial evidence and a dying declaration proved unlawful killing; provocation reduced liability to manslaughter, sentenced to seven years.
Criminal law – circumstantial evidence; admissibility and weight of dying declaration; forensic evidence excluding accidental fall; provocation reducing culpability to manslaughter; sentencing — mitigation and aggravating brutality.
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27 February 1987 |
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Appellate court allowed DPP appeal, found eyewitness identification credible, set aside acquittal and convicted respondents.
Criminal law – Identification evidence – reliability of eyewitness identification; failure to hold identification parade; admissibility and sufficiency of exhibits; effect of complainants' illiteracy on credibility; appellate interference with trial acquittal.
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27 February 1987 |
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Convictions and concurrent sentences for burglary and theft upheld based on identification and recent-possession/guilty-consciousness evidence.
Criminal law – Burglary and theft – Identification evidence – Distinctive marks on recovered items sufficient for identification. Criminal law – Recent possession doctrine – Possession approximately one month after theft coupled with guilty consciousness may sustain inference of guilt
Sentencing – Previous similar conviction properly considered where not disputed – concurrent sentences affirmed
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26 February 1987 |
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Applicant's appeal against conviction and five‑year minimum sentence for theft by public servant dismissed; circumstantial evidence upheld.
Criminal law – Theft by public servant – Whether receipt and storage of property by a storekeeper established guilt – Circumstantial and witness evidence sufficiency
Evidence – Credibility assessment of multiple colleagues' testimony versus accused's denial; absence of ledger and absence of reported theft
Sentencing – Application of Minimum Sentences Act; five‑year minimum sentence for offence valued at Shs 50,000
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26 February 1987 |
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26 February 1987 |
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Intoxication found to negate malice aforethought, reducing murder charge to manslaughter; seven‑year sentence imposed.
Criminal law – Murder v. manslaughter – malice aforethought – intoxication as negating intent – self‑defence rejected – assessors’ opinion persuasive but not binding on judge.
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26 February 1987 |
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Insufficient and unreliable identification plus lack of linkage to the killing led to acquittal.
Criminal law — Identification evidence — Night-time identification by match light — Reliability and adequacy to ground conviction; Evidence — Seizure and chain of custody — Inconsistent police testimony undermining probative value; Identification parade — limited value where witness already knows accused; Burden of proof — necessity of linking accused to killing.
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26 February 1987 |
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25 February 1987 |
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Children born during a lawful marriage belong to the legal husband; appeal dismissed and custody affirmed.
Family law — Legitimacy and custody — Interpretation of rule 175 G.N.279/63 — Children born in wedlock belong to the legal husband regardless of biological paternity — Customary law supports broad interpretation.
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25 February 1987 |
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Appeal allowed where prosecution failed to prove appellant’s responsibility for large misappropriation; conviction and five‑year sentence set aside.
Criminal law – Evidence and proof beyond reasonable doubt – Liability for loss of purchased agricultural produce – Responsibility for purchase, storage and transport – insufficiency of audit and witness evidence to prove accused’s responsibility; irregular small expenditure insufficient to sustain conviction for larger misappropriation.
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25 February 1987 |
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Appellant’s conviction based on hearsay and contradictory police testimony was unsafe and therefore quashed.
Criminal law – theft of goods in transit – conviction based on hearsay evidence – credibility and contradictions among police witnesses – insufficiency of evidence renders conviction unsafe – appellate quashes conviction and sets aside sentence.
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24 February 1987 |
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Circumstantial evidence and an accused’s silence can sustain a murder conviction where no reasonable alternative explanation exists.
Criminal law — Murder — Circumstantial evidence sufficiency; adverse inference from accused’s silence (s.3(2) Criminal Procedure Act); malice aforethought inferred from head injuries and conduct.
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23 February 1987 |
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Appeal dismissed where appellant failed to prove ownership or transfer of the disputed mango tree; credibility findings upheld.
Civil procedure – recovery of property – ownership of a tree – burden of proof and nature of evidence required to establish sale or transfer
Evidence – witness credibility – appellate deference to trial court findings when supported by record. Property disputes – gifts and transfers – proving a valid transfer of immovable/attached property (tree)
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20 February 1987 |
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Seized property must be proved to belong to the judgment debtor; appeal dismissed and costs awarded.
Enforcement of judgment—attachment of third-party property—burden of proof on claimant to show seized goods belong to judgment debtor; appellate scope—party inclusion where no appeal taken.
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19 February 1987 |
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High Court quashed magistrate’s cancellation of bail for lack of proper procedure and confirmed bail remains in force.
Criminal procedure – Appealability and review of bail orders – Section 161 CPA permits High Court review/appeal of magistrates’ bail-related orders
Bail – Variation or cancellation – prosecutor should bring sworn application and parties must be heard; private complaints insufficient. Right to counsel – must be exercised reasonably; absence of counsel may not automatically warrant adjournment if invoked to delay trial
Evidence – sighting in court precincts does not conclusively negate medical evidence of sickness. Criminal pleading – charges must cite correct statutory/regulatory authority (Petroleum Rationing/Conservation Regulations 1982 G.N.17)
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18 February 1987 |
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18 February 1987 |
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The appellant cannot recover land lawfully gifted by the deceased and long possessed by others; appeal dismissed with costs.
Property law – lifetime gifts – effectiveness of inter vivos dispositions to defeat intestacy claims; continued possession and permanent crops – protection against dispossession; standing of defendant in land recovery suit.
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18 February 1987 |
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Accomplice testimony corroborated and physical recovery of stolen machine parts justified upholding conviction and three‑year sentence.
Criminal law – Receiving stolen property – Accomplice evidence – Corroboration by independent witnesses and recovered exhibits; alleged substitution of exhibit numbers does not automatically vitiate conviction; flight on impending search as evidence of guilty knowledge; minimum sentence where value not proved.
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18 February 1987 |
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Convictions for forgery, theft and destruction of evidence upheld; illegal six-year sentence reduced to five years.
Criminal law – forgery – alteration of bank pay-in-slip duplicates/triplicates – admission of handwriting and corroborative bank evidence supporting forgery conviction Criminal law – stealing by servant – employer’s accounting records and failure to account for cash support conviction Criminal law – destruction of evidence – circumstantial proof and procurement through an agent Sentencing – subordinate court limits – illegal excessive sentence substituted with lawful maximum
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17 February 1987 |
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Appellant failed to prove entitlement to land; appeal dismissed for insufficient evidence.
Land law – recovery of land – encroachment allegations – burden and sufficiency of evidence – appellate review of concurrent findings of lower courts.
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17 February 1987 |
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17 February 1987 |
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Appeal allowed where trial court dismissed suit without hearing despite disputed issue over electricity disconnection.
Civil procedure – summary dismissal – disputed factual allegation as to who disconnected electricity – pleadings raising triable issue – duty to afford hearing and opportunity to prove case – remand for trial.
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17 February 1987 |
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16 February 1987 |
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Words alone did not constitute legal provocation; malice established and accused convicted of murder and sentenced to death.
Criminal law – Murder – malice aforethought – proof by nature of wound and circumstances – legal provocation: words alone ordinarily insufficient to reduce murder to manslaughter; assessors' community‑based views material.
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16 February 1987 |
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Insulting words alone did not amount to legal provocation; accused convicted of murder and sentenced to death.
Criminal law – Murder – Malice aforethought – Provocation (ss. 201–202 Penal Code) – Spoken insults alone ordinarily insufficient to reduce murder to manslaughter – Causation: fatal head injury attributable to assailant’s deliberate blow – Mandatory death sentence.
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16 February 1987 |
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A tenant at will planting permanent crops in breach does not acquire ownership; trial court credibility findings upheld.
Land law — licence/tenancy at will — planting permanent crops — whether planting confers ownership — appellate review of trial court credibility findings.
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13 February 1987 |
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Appellate court will not disturb concurrent credibility findings ordering the applicant to allot the respondent his inherited farmland.
Inheritance/family land – distribution of deceased father's shambas – entitlement of absent heir returning from abroad. Appellate review – deference to concurrent factual and credibility findings of trial and first appellate courts
Remedy – reallocation of land and taking excess shares from others
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13 February 1987 |
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One appellant’s conviction quashed for insufficient evidence; convictions and sentences of two appellants upheld.
Criminal law – Assault causing actual bodily harm – Identification and witness contradictions – Sufficiency of evidence per accused – Sentencing discretion – Option of fine – Compensation order.
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13 February 1987 |
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Respondent’s consent to hearing permits restoration of appeal to the District Court; each party bears own costs.
Civil procedure – Restoration of appeal – Respondent’s non-opposition/consent to hearing in District Court – Appeal restored and ordered to be heard – Costs: each party to bear own costs.
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12 February 1987 |
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The accused acquitted of murder for lack of proven causation but convicted of assault causing actual bodily harm.
Criminal law – murder – requirement to prove beyond reasonable doubt that accused's assault caused death – inconclusive post‑mortem weakens causation
Evidence – witness credibility and inconsistencies – partial acceptance of eyewitness accounts but medical evidence decisive on causation
Verdict – acquittal on murder charge where causation not established; conviction for lesser offence of assault causing actual bodily harm (s.241 Penal Code)
Sentence – mitigation and time in custody considered; 18 months imprisonment imposed
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12 February 1987 |
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12 February 1987 |
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Conviction for abusive language upheld; unlawful eight‑month custodial alternative reduced to a lawful three‑month term.
Penal law – Offensive/abusive language – use likely to occasion breach of the peace – credibility of eyewitnesses; Summary procedure – statutory sentencing limits for summary offences – unlawful custodial alternative reduced to statutory maximum
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11 February 1987 |
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Appellant's convictions for forgery, uttering and theft upheld; sentences ordered to run concurrently, aggregate five years.
Criminal law – Forgery and uttering – Admissibility and weight of handwriting expert and identification evidence; Theft by public servant – sufficiency of circumstantial evidence and accused's flight; Sentencing – concurrent versus consecutive sentences for offences arising from same transaction.
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9 February 1987 |
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Appeal allowed; conviction and sentence for store breaking/stealing set aside for insufficient evidence and failure to prove receipt with knowledge.
Criminal law – store breaking and stealing – adequacy of prosecution evidence to prove breaking and theft; Criminal law – alternative charge of receiving stolen property – proof of identification and of knowledge or reason to know; Sentencing – application of Minimum Sentence Act 1972 and relevance of age.
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6 February 1987 |
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Identification on the facts upheld robbery convictions; unexplained recent possession affirmed cattle-theft conviction and sentence.
Criminal law – Identification evidence – lighting, prior acquaintance, immediate observation on being awakened and subsequent discovery of accused – sufficiency to sustain conviction for robbery with violence. Criminal law – Theft – recent possession doctrine – unexplained possession of stolen cattle one day after theft establishes guilt
Sentence – appellate review – sentence not excessive where within or marginally above prescribed minimum
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6 February 1987 |
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Identification evidence under adequate lighting and prior acquaintance sustained convictions for robbery; appeals dismissed.
Criminal law – Robbery with violence – Sufficiency of identification evidence – Prior acquaintance, lighting and being awake at the time of entry support reliable identification; corroborative conduct (hiding) strengthens prosecution case.
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6 February 1987 |
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Criminal Practice and Procedure – Bail – Threatening to kill another person – Whether a bailable offence – Section 148(5)(e) Criminal Procedure Act, 1985, interpreted
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4 February 1987 |
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The applicant’s control of a room supported inferring she knew the property found there was stolen.
Criminal law – Receiving stolen property (s.311(1)) – Circumstantial evidence – Occupancy/control of premises – Inference of knowledge from surrounding circumstances and conduct – Appellate deference to trial court credibility findings.
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4 February 1987 |
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Appellate court awards custody to the father, sets aside maintenance and compensation orders for lack of justification.
Family law – Matrimonial proceedings – Child custody – Primary consideration is the best interests of the child; custody reversed where removal would harm the child. Family law – Maintenance – Monthly maintenance for child follows custody; maintenance awarded during separation requires proof of material disadvantage or constructive desertion. Family law – Property/compensation – Awards for contribution to matrimonial assets require clear identification of assets and evidential basis
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3 February 1987 |
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Occupying premises after a tenant leaves without the landlord’s consent is trespass and not protected by rent-restriction law.
Landlord and tenant — succession of tenancy — occupier remaining after tenant's departure does not automatically become tenant
Trespass — occupation without landlord's express or implied consent constitutes trespass and excludes statutory tenant protection
Rent Restriction Act — statutory protection does not apply to trespassers
Appeal — appellate review where lower court misapplied Rent Restriction Act and mischaracterised occupancy as lawful tenancy
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3 February 1987 |
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2 February 1987 |
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The court holds that redemption of clan land under Haya customary law is subject to a twelve-year limitation period.
Customary land law – Limitation period for redemption of clan land – Whether three months or twelve years applies – Court applies item 6, Customary Law (Limitation of Proceedings) Rules 1964 (12 years) – Appeal allowed and trial court restored; compensation to be assessed by Primary Court.
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2 February 1987 |
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Reported
A threat to kill qualifies as a "serious threat of violence" under s.148(5)(e), permitting refusal of bail.
Criminal procedure — Bail — s.148(5)(e) Criminal Procedure Act 1985 — "serious threat of violence" — threat to kill constitutes serious threat — may be by words or act
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1 February 1987 |