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81 judgments found.
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June 1987
Second appeal dismissed where appellant's unsubstantiated allegations contradicted record showing betrothal and admitted dowry receipt.
Appellate practice — Appellate review — second appeal
— frivolous appeals liable to dismissal
— New, unsubstantiated allegations cannot overturn trial record
Family law — dowry refund
— Claim for repayment where intended marriage did not materialize
— evidence and admission of receipt
30 June 1987
Written service terms govern expatriate benefits; expatriate allowance is not 'salary' for gratuity, housing or leave calculations.
Contract law — Employment contract — expatriate service contract
— burden of proof for salary arrears and air tickets
— duration and effect of written terms
— gratuity payable at 25% of basic salary after contract completion
Contract law — implication of contractual terms — overtime not implied where contract silent and company practice excludes overtime
30 June 1987
Permission to cultivate does not confer ownership; appellant failed to prove title and appeal was dismissed.
Land law — ownership — evidence required to prove title where cultivation permitted by owner — appellate review of factual findings
30 June 1987
Appeal dismissed; trial court's credibility findings and recent-possession evidence sustain theft convictions and sentence confirmation.
Criminal law — Theft
— assessment of witness credibility
— confirmation of sentence
— Identification evidence
— recent possession as evidence of theft
29 June 1987
Under Kinyakyusa custom, clan land passes to male descendants of the first house; appeal dismissed for respondent, with costs.
Civil procedure — Principle of keeping clan land intact — objection to partition. Deference to assessors’ and clan elder’s evidence and to concurrent lower court findings
Customary law — Customary land law — clan land — Kinyakyusa customary succession — inheritance to male children of the first house
Probate law — Succession dispute — surviving brother versus son of first house
29 June 1987
Conviction quashed where evidence materially varied from particulars of the charge and prosecution failed to prove the alleged theft.
Criminal law — Theft by public servant — Variance between particulars of charge and evidence — Prosecution bound by particulars absent amendment
Criminal procedure — Variance between charge particulars and evidence — Material variance between pleaded particulars and evidence — Conviction unsustainable
Evidence — Documentary returns and inspection reports — Need for specific counts when distinct allegations arise
29 June 1987
Appeal allowed: convictions quashed where guilty pleas were recanted pre‑sentence and regulations applied ultra vires.
Criminal law
— sentencing — Regulation provides fine or imprisonment, imprisonment not obligatory
— Withdrawal of guilty plea before sentence — Recantation permits change to not guilty and full trial
29 June 1987
Criminal prosecution for forcible detainer inappropriate where title is disputed; conviction quashed, civil action required.
Civil procedure — Land disputes — Disputed title: remedy by civil action, not criminal prosecution
Criminal law — forcible detainer — Essential element: absence of colour of right
Evidence — Sufficiency of prosecution evidence — Conviction unsupported where the Republic does not support the prosecution and accused asserts colour of right
29 June 1987
Conviction quashed where evidence failed to link appellant to stolen goods and alleged confession was involuntary.
Criminal law — Receiving stolen property
— corroboration required for confessions of co-accused under section 33 Evidence Act
— hearsay and admissions by co-accused inadmissible against another accused
— insufficiency of identification and provenance evidence
Criminal law — Robbery with violence
29 June 1987
Although the appellant is heir-owner under custom, the court upheld restraint preventing interference with the respondent’s peaceful occupation.
Customary law
— Appellate review — affirmation of trial court findings where interference with peaceful occupation proved
— Customary law (bahaya) — inheritance — principal heir and ownership of nyaruju versus non-inheriting female relatives' right to occupation
— Possession and peaceful enjoyment — injunctions restraining owner from interfering where occupants allowed by clan
27 June 1987
27 June 1987
Reported
No cause of action existed before right of occupancy began; occupiers remain licencees until formally evicted.
Tort — Torts
— mitigation of loss and nominal damages/mesne profits
— occupier as licencee
— right of occupancy commencement
— trespass to land
26 June 1987
Tort — Trespass — Trespass over land held under a right of occupancy — Whether trespass committed before grant of right of occupancy by one who held the land under a deemed right of occupancy or as licencee is actionable
26 June 1987
Reported
Family law
— adultery — Parties living together — Presumption of marriage
— Damages — For adultery — Whether proof of marriage between parties necessary
— Presumption ofmarriage — Whether can be rebutted If it is proved that the parties had never gone through a ceremony of marriage
26 June 1987
Failure to prove customary adoption meant the appellant could not claim inheritance or statutory protection from disinheritance.
Probate law — Wills
— Bahaya law does not recognize adoption of girls as heirs
— burden of proof on claimant to establish adoption and property sale
— concurrent findings of lower courts upheld
— customary adoption
— disinheritance
— statutory requirement to afford a disinherited heir opportunity to defend (GN 436/63
26 June 1987
Appellate court quashed servant-theft conviction due to unreliable and inconsistent prosecution evidence, ordering immediate release.
Criminal law — Theft by servant — Sufficiency of evidence and witness credibility — Accomplice
— possible prosecution of employees for occasioning loss to specified authority
— Quashing conviction for failure to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt
25 June 1987
Appellant's conviction for theft by servant quashed due to contradictions and reasonable doubt in prosecution witnesses' evidence.
Criminal law Theft by servant Burden of proof Reasonable doubt arising from contradictory prosecution testimony Accomplice evidence Credibility of witnesses Quashing conviction and ordering release Referral to investigate occasioning loss to a specified authority (Economic and Organized Crimes Control).
25 June 1987
25 June 1987
Reported
Criminal law — Criminal practice and procedure
— Appellate Jurisdiction — Charge -Neglect of official duty — Whether there was a specific law imposing a specific duty on the person charged — Sec. 121 of the Penal Code
— Lawjul orders — Whether the order made by the District Commissioner is valid in the eyes of the law
— Repealed laws — No similar laws in existence — Whether applicable
24 June 1987
Confessions (corroborated by an independent witness and a cautioned statement) supported a murder conviction; belief in witchcraft is no defence.
Criminal law
— Defence — Belief in witchcraft — Not a legal defence to murder
— Murder — Extra‑judicial confession — Admissibility and weight of extra‑judicial and cautioned statements
— corroboration — Interested witness/hearsay — Testimony of witnesses who had been suspects
24 June 1987
Appeal upheld lower court's finding of no arrears for lack of proof of agreed rent; Housing Tribunal ordered to assess standard rent.
Administrative law — Administrative procedure
Civil procedure — Remedies — claim for damages arising from eviction — burden of proof and court actions versus landlord negligence
Land law — Rent law
— claim for arrears and vacant possession
— tenant improvements — agreed deduction from rent and repayment by set-off
23 June 1987
Spousal non-monetary contributions can create a proprietary interest in matrimonial houses, despite loans or unproven third-party ownership.
Family law
— Division of matrimonial property — entitlement to share in property acquired during marriage
— Evidence — burden to prove third-party ownership
— Property law — loan-funded construction does not negate spouse’s contributory interest where non-monetary contributions established
23 June 1987
Cohabitation alone does not constitute marriage; adultery damages require proof of a valid marriage.
Family law — Marriage law
— adultery damages
— cohabitation alone insufficient
— customary marriage
22 June 1987
Appeal dismissed: customary-law compensation for interrupted training due to daughter's pregnancy is maintainable and award not excessive.
Customary law — compensation for making someone's daughter pregnant
— age of daughter and parental custody
— excessiveness of award
— recoverability of training expenses lost due to pregnancy
20 June 1987
Appellate court will not overturn trial court credibility findings absent clear error or disqualification.
Land dispute; credibility of witnesses; appellate deference to trial court findings; locus in quo inspection; standard for disturbing factual findings on appeal.
19 June 1987
Employer held vicariously liable for employee’s negligent driving causing vehicle damage and loss of use.
Road traffic law — Motor-vehicle accident
— assessment of damages (repair costs, towing/inspection, assessor’s fees, loss of use)
— criminal conviction admissible as supporting negligence finding
— ex parte proof where defendant absent
— negligence
— vicarious liability of employer for employee’s negligent driving
19 June 1987
Tribunal lacked jurisdiction where disputes were not timely referred to a Conciliation Board; Court of Appeal precedent is binding.
Labour law — Jurisdiction of Permanent Labour Tribunal — Court of Appeal precedent binding on Tribunal — per incuriam doctrine not made out
18 June 1987
Tribunal lacks jurisdiction where dismissal dispute was not referred to a Conciliation Board within fourteen days.
Labour law
— binding effect of Court of Appeal precedent (Pallangyo) — per incuriam doctrine
— Jurisdiction of Permanent Labour Tribunal
— limitation of actions
18 June 1987
Labour law
— jurisdiction — Permanent Labour Tribunal — Whether the Tribunal has jurisdiction over a trade dispute which has not been referred to the Conciliation Board as provided for by Section 40A of the Security of Employment Act
— Limitation of time — Whether the Permanent Labour Tribunal has Jurisdiction to hear dispute which has not been brought to it within the time specified
— Per incuriam decision — Tribunal refuses to entertain a dispute by citing a decision which was made per incuriam — whether Tribunal bound by the per incuriam decision
18 June 1987
A mistaken belief about the court’s start time is not sufficient cause to restore an appeal dismissed for want of prosecution.
Civil procedure — Appeal dismissed for want of prosecution — Application to restore appeal — Mistaken belief about court commencement time not sufficient cause — Credibility of affidavit and memorandum challenged
18 June 1987
Whether the applicant could be appointed administrator and the effect of an alleged Primary Court‑witnessed will on respondents’ occupation of estate property.
Probate law — Succession and estates — appointment of administrator — validity and evidential weight of an alleged written will witnessed in Primary Court — jurisdiction of Primary and District Courts to make possession and compensation orders affecting estate property
18 June 1987
An elderly testator's will is valid if it complies with statutory formalities; incapacity or forgery must be proven, not presumed.
Probate law
— burden on alleging party to prove incapacity or forgery — Formal compliance with Law of Wills (GN No.456 of 1963, Third Schedule) validates will — Wakf created by valid will enforced
— Wills — Testamentary capacity — Advanced age does not presume incapacity
18 June 1987
Conviction for theft by a public employee quashed where prosecution failed to prove ownership and identification of the stolen item.
Criminal law
— Evidence — Common manufacture goods — Marking alone insufficient to prove ownership
— Theft by person employed in public service — Proof of ownership of alleged stolen property required to convict for theft from public service — Penal Code ss 270 and 265
— Theft — Identification evidence — Inordinate delay in reporting alleged theft
17 June 1987
Appellant failed to prove respondents caused his daughter's pregnancy; appeal dismissed with costs.
Tort — Civil liability — Liability for pregnancy while in another's custody — Proof of causation and responsibility
16 June 1987
Village allocation and uninterrupted 12-year occupation barred the applicant’s land recovery claim.
Land law — Village land allocation — evidentiary weight of village allocation committee’s decision in land disputes
Limitation law — 12‑year limitation (Item 22, Schedule, Law of Limitation Act) — Distinction between permissive possession and adverse possession
16 June 1987
16 June 1987
Reported
Novation under s.62 substituted the defendant into the contract, creating enforceable liability for undelivered cement.
Contract law — novation — Substitution of new contract for original
16 June 1987
16 June 1987
Acquittal where identification evidence was unreliable and prosecution failed to prove cattle theft beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — Cattle theft — Identification and ownership evidence — Reliability of identifying marks and witness credibility
Criminal procedure — No-case-to-answer / prima facie standard at close of prosecution case — Failure to establish prima facie case warrants acquittal
Evidence — inconsistencies between prosecution witnesses — Effect on proving identity and ownership
16 June 1987
Appeal dismissed: plaintiff failed to prove boundary encroachment; court site inspection cannot substitute for required evidence.
Boundary dispute; burden of proof in civil claims; judicial site inspection; sufficiency of evidence; appellate review of trial findings.
15 June 1987
A purported will without the testator’s signature and required witnesses is void; the nearer heir inherits the land and appeal is dismissed.
Probate law — Wills — Formal validity
— A purported will lacking the testator’s signature or thumbprint and signatures of required witnesses is void
— intestate succession vests land in the nearer heir
13 June 1987
First appellant's conviction upheld by identification and self-statement; second appellant's conviction quashed for reliance on co-accused's confession.
Criminal law — Theft of motor vehicle — Identification evidence — Accused's own statement corroborating eyewitness identification — Conviction lawful
13 June 1987
Appeal dismissed for failure to prove alleged sale of clan land; single brief witness evidence insufficient.
Land law — Property law — proof of sale of land — insufficiency of evidence
— appellate review of trial court findings
— single, brief witness testimony inadequate to establish sale
12 June 1987
Public officer acquitted where prosecution failed to prove unlawful acquisition, improper advantage, or causation of loss.
Criminal law — Corruption and organised crime
— causation and proof of loss to specified authority
— duplicity in charging alternative modes of culpability
— Proof of unexplained pecuniary resources
— proof of wilful act, negligence or failure to take reasonable care
— valuation evidence and timing of rates
12 June 1987
Acquittal where prosecution’s trap evidence and witness testimony contained material contradictions and procedural defects.
Criminal law — Corrupt transaction (bribery) — sufficiency of evidence and credibility of trap witnesses
Criminal law — procedural propriety of arrest and search
— discrepancies in witness testimony undermining conviction
— female suspect detained by male officers
12 June 1987
Appellant's claim for damages from road obstruction dismissed for lack of basic evidentiary proof.
Civil procedure — Civil appeal — sufficiency of evidence — damages for alleged obstruction of road — Primary Court's judgment unsupported by evidence
11 June 1987
An old cattle track was held to be the boundary; lower courts misdirected themselves and appeal was allowed with costs.
Appellate practice — Appellate review — misdirection and erroneous factual inferences warrant quashing lower court decisions
Civil procedure — Weight of allocators’ testimony and parties’ admissions
Evidence — inferences from late marking (ridges/trees) and whether such acts equate to encroachment
11 June 1987
Court relied on voluntary, corroborated extra-judicial confessions to find the accused guilty of killing the deceased.
Criminal law — Murder — Extra-judicial/confessional statements to villagers, police and Justice of the Peace — Voluntariness and admissibility — Corroboration of confession — In-court retraction — Sufficiency of evidence to prove murder
11 June 1987
Appeal dismissed where trial court’s site inspection found no blocked path and no arguable ground for interference.
Land disputes — Land dispute — alleged obstruction of a path (eilembo) by planting crops — site inspection by trial court
— appeal dismissed for lack of merit
— appellate review of factual finding
11 June 1987
A second appellate court will not overturn trial court credibility findings from a locus visit absent misdirection or palpable error.
Civil procedure
— Appeals — scope of appellate review — second appellate court should not overturn trial court credibility findings based on locus visit and concurrent assessors absent misdirection or palpable error
— Land dispute — boundary buffer order and compensation for cut trees
11 June 1987