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44 judgments found.
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September 1990
29 September 1990
Application to restore a withdrawn appeal dismissed after court finds applicant’s affidavit false and withdrawal made with consent.
Civil procedure — Restoration of appeal — Withdrawal of appeal — Credibility of conflicting affidavits — Whether court should exercise inherent powers to restore withdrawn appeal
28 September 1990
Court upheld an appeal withdrawal as valid where counsel’s credible affidavit showed the applicant’s knowledge and consent, dismissing the challenge.
Civil procedure — withdrawal of appeal by counsel — validity and effect of withdrawal — evidentiary weight of competing affidavits — consent of client required and presumed where credible affidavit shows presence and assent
28 September 1990
An appellate court should not lightly overturn a primary court’s factual findings; wrongful seizure of livestock warranted restoration of the primary judgment.
Civil procedure — Appeal
— Costs awarded to successful appellant
— first appeal court’s power to re-assess evidence — caution required when upsetting primary court findings made after seeing and hearing witnesses
— quashing of appellate decision and restoration of trial judgment
Civil procedure — Property — ownership of livestock — gifts at marriage and accretion by breeding — wrongful seizure entitles restitution
28 September 1990
Where identification is inadequate, recent possession may not support robbery but can sustain conviction for receiving stolen property.
Criminal law
— Circumstantial evidence — possession of victim's property, failure to answer alarm, flight on arrest as corroborative indicators
— robbery and receiving stolen property — identification and recent possession
Criminal procedure — Identification evidence — Possession of common property insufficient proof of theft without distinctive linkage
28 September 1990
Court taxed a disputed bill of costs, reducing an excessive item, striking ordinary-payable items, and fixing a reduced taxed amount.
Civil procedure
— Advocates Remuneration — Assessment of instruction fees
— Bill of Costs — Striking off items ordinarily payable — Taxation adjustments
— Taxation of costs — Disbursements — Receipts and travel allowances
27 September 1990
Whether two accused jointly committed murder with malice aforethought and are liable to the mandatory death sentence.
Criminal law
— Offences against the person — Murder — Joint attack and malice aforethought — Reliance on eyewitness testimony and post‑mortem findings
— Sentence — Mandatory death sentence for murder under Penal Code — Application following conviction for murder
26 September 1990
Conviction and sentence for stealing by conversion upheld, but forfeiture of money set aside for want of proof of ownership.
Criminal law
— forfeiture of property — appellant entitled to benefit of doubt where ownership uncertain
— retrial (de novo) — only ordered where original trial illegal or defective
— Sentence — not excessive
— theft by conversion — conviction supported by evidence
25 September 1990
Trial court erred by accepting an equivocal guilty plea and imposing an inadequate sentence for grievous harm.
Criminal law — Offences against the person — Grievous harm
Criminal procedure — Plea‑taking
— Unequivocal plea required
— accused’s assertion of accident may necessitate trial on evidence
Criminal procedure — Sentencing and bail
— Serious assault
— sentencing limits and statutory bail restrictions
24 September 1990
Bail refused because the Economic and Organised Crimes Act bars bail for offences involving high‑value property absent statutory security.
Criminal law — Bail under EOCCA — jurisdiction of High Court to grant bail when committal court application is impeded by value threshold — Economic and Organised Crimes Control Act s35 (as amended)
Criminal procedure — Jurisdiction of subordinate courts — District Court lacked jurisdiction where DPP conferred jurisdiction on Resident Magistrate's Court — Economic and Organised Crimes Control Act s35 (as amended)
24 September 1990
No binding sale of forklift with spares was formed; applicant limited to refund of down‑payment.
Contract
— Formation — Whether the applicant’s application to purchase afresh constituted acceptance of the respondent’s terms for forklift and spares
— Restitution — Restitution (refund of down‑payment) where no enforceable contract is proved
— Sale of machinery — Effect of subsequent negotiations and correspondence on initial tender agreement
22 September 1990
Application for review struck out as time‑barred and incompetent; no error apparent on the face of the record.
Civil procedure — limitation period (30 days) — time‑bar renders application incompetent
Civil procedure — Review
— appeal is the proper remedy for erroneous decisions
— available only for errors apparent on the face of the record
— counsel's absence and competence of application
— review not an inherent power
21 September 1990
Applicant’s application granted: respondent’s appeal deemed withdrawn for failure to institute appeal within prescribed time and no explanation.
Civil procedure — Appeal procedure
21 September 1990
Primary Court finding that prior village notice precluded compensation for crops was restored on appeal.
Appellate practice — Appellate review of factual findings — Standard of review — Whether appellate court may reverse trial court factual findings only if those findings are unreasonable
Land law — compensation for crops — cultivation by occupant or predecessor — Notice to vacate — Effect on entitlement to compensation
21 September 1990
Gift and sale conveyed title to the respondent; adverse possession failed; appellant entitled to harvest or compensation.
Land law
— Compensation for unexhausted improvements — Right to harvest or compensation for unexhausted trees on land later determined to belong to another
— Ownership and title — Gift inter vivos — Whether a prior gift and subsequent sale vested full title in the respondent
— adverse possession — continuous and exclusive possession demonstrated by clearing, cultivation, planting of trees and burial — such acts may satisfy the requirements for adverse possession and defeat a title claim
20 September 1990
Appeal dismissed: married woman's claim to land and crops failed for lack of will and customary inheritance rules, plus respondent's allocation evidence.
Probate law — Land/inheritance
— claim to land tilled by deceased mother
— permanent crops and clan/male inheritance
— village allocation as competing title
20 September 1990
Identification, recent possession and scene evidence upheld conviction for murder with common intention to rob.
Criminal law — Murder — Circumstantial evidence and identification — Recent possession and recovery of victim's property establishing guilt
20 September 1990
Lay identification of a signature was admissible; forgery and theft convictions upheld, conviction reclassified and sentence altered, appeal dismissed.
Appellate practice — Criminal appellate procedure — Substitution of conviction and sentence where record shows correct classification and statutory minima require alteration
Criminal law — Forgery/false document
— conviction on making false document upheld
— Use of duplicate receipt to perpetrate theft
Criminal law — Theft — Distinction between stealing by agent and stealing by servant where property belongs to specified authority
Evidence — Identification — Identification of signature by lay witnesses who know accused
— admissible
— handwriting expert not mandatory
20 September 1990
Conviction for stealing by agent quashed where offence mischaracterised and prosecution evidence was insufficient.
Criminal law — Theft/stealing by agent — Distinction between stealing by agent (s273(b)) and stealing by servant (s271) — Substitution of conviction not permitted
Criminal procedure — substitution of conviction — substitution to a more serious/non-cognate offence impermissible
Evidence — Sufficiency of evidence — exclusion of primary evidence and corroboration renders conviction unsafe
19 September 1990
Appeal dismissed: convictions for theft by servant upheld; failure to produce defence witness justified by repeated adjournments.
Criminal law — Theft by servant — Sufficiency of evidence — Circumstantial evidence and access to funds
17 September 1990
Conviction quashed where opportunity alone and inadequate evidence could not prove theft beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — sufficiency of evidence — opportunity alone insufficient to sustain a conviction — appellate review where trial magistrate misdirects himself and conviction rests on conjecture
17 September 1990
Conviction for theft quashed where multiple persons had access and prosecution failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — Documentary proof
— handing-over certificate (Exhibit D1) insufficient to prove possession of specific items
— Reasonable doubt: unexplained duplicate key and unresolved issues undermine conviction
Criminal law — Evidence — access to premises: multiple persons with keys and a store clerk may be alternative perpetrators requiring corroboration
Criminal law — Theft
16 September 1990
Appeal allowed in part: sentencing court must consider mitigating factors; appellant ordered to pay Shs.2,500/= compensation.
Criminal law — sentencing — Excessive sentence — Court’s duty to consider mitigating factors, guilty plea and first offender status
14 September 1990
An applicant who must litigate for prerogative relief is entitled to costs despite the Government’s late concession.
Judicial review — Judicial review/prerogative writs — certiorari/mandamus — entitlement to costs against Government Costs
— English authority not followed absent statute
— whether Crown/Government immune from costs in prerogative writ proceedings
14 September 1990
Plaintiff's claim dismissed for breach of written sale agreement; defendant entitled to payment or rescission and costs.
Contract law — Contract/conditional sale — integration of sale agreement and related credit facility as single transaction
14 September 1990
A grinding mill left on the vendor’s premises remains a chattel; doctrine of fixtures did not convert it into land, appeal dismissed.
Civil procedure — appeal against trial court order converting movable into immovable — appellate reversal
Contract law — Sale of goods — unpaid instalments and possession on vendor’s premises — remedies for purchaser of movable property
Land law — Property law — chattel — whether a grinding mill placed on seller’s premises becomes part of the land — doctrine of fixtures and intention to annex
12 September 1990
Conviction quashed because night-time surprise attack made visual identification unsafe.
Criminal law — Robbery with violence — Visual identification
— appellate intervention appropriate where conviction rests on unsafe identification evidence
— Night-time, surprise attack and poor lighting render identification unreliable
11 September 1990
Appellant's convictions for forgery, uttering and obtaining money by false pretences upheld on circumstantial evidence despite imperfect particulars.
Criminal law
— Forgery — Circumstantial evidence
— Forgery, uttering and obtaining by false pretences — Presentation and negotiation of a forged cheque as proof
Criminal procedure — particulars of offence — Omission of explicit allegation of intention to defraud curable where no prejudice (s.388 CPA)
10 September 1990
10 September 1990
Appeal dismissed; conviction for theft by public servant and five-year minimum sentence upheld.
Civil procedure — Appeal — Appellate review of trial court's findings of fact and credibility — where documentary and testimonial evidence is compelling, findings will not be disturbed
Criminal law
— sentencing — Application of Minimum Sentence provision where stolen monies exceed statutory threshold and belong to a specified authority
— Theft by public servant — Use of payment vouchers and cheques as evidence of misappropriation
8 September 1990
Appellant failed to prove ownership or entitlement to claimed trees; concurrent factual findings upheld and appeal dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure
— Appeal — Interference with concurrent findings of fact — appellate court will not disturb magistrate/district court credibility findings absent clear error
— Evidence — burden to prove ownership/entitlement to trees and compensation
7 September 1990
Appellate court sets aside district court’s reversal where it relied on material outside the trial record and reinstates primary court’s finding.
Civil procedure — appeal against factual findings
— appellate review limited where primary court’s findings are supported by admissions and admissible evidence
— improper consideration of extraneous statements by an appellate court is ground for setting aside its decision
7 September 1990
Cohabitation without statutory formalities does not amount to a marriage under Section 160, so a court lacks proper ground to grant divorce.
Family law
— Jurisdiction to grant divorce — no jurisdiction where no valid marriage ab initio
— Religious difference — not sufficient to create or dissolve marriage under statutory scheme
6 September 1990
Appellants' robbery defence rejected; co‑accused caution statement and circumstantial evidence upheld, conviction affirmed.
Criminal law — Theft — Circumstantial evidence — Admissibility of co‑accused caution statement under section 33 Evidence Act — Appellate deference to trial court findings
6 September 1990
A spouse's confession before the husband is not conclusive proof of adultery; corroborative, cumulative evidence is required under G.N. No. 279/63.
Customary law — Customary law (gn 279/63) — Interpretation of G.N
Evidence — circumstantial evidence — Circumstantial evidence corroborating confession — Cumulative assessment must exclude other reasonable interpretations
Family law — adultery — proof by testimony and near-admission — Confession before husband not conclusive without corroboration under G.N. No. 279/63 s.119
No. 279/63 ss.119 — 120 — Further evidence to be considered cumulatively, not in isolation
5 September 1990
5 September 1990
High Court upheld grant of bail but varied and tightened defective bail conditions to secure attendance.
Civil procedure — Supervisory jurisdiction — High Court may revise inadequate or vague bail terms despite not overturning grant of bail
Criminal law — Bail conditions — Sureties, immovable property and deposit of title deeds as adequate security
Criminal procedure — Bail — Exercise of discretion by subordinate court — When appellate court may vary bail conditions
5 September 1990
Appeal allowed: convictions based on inconclusive circumstantial evidence and shifted burden were quashed and sentences set aside.
Criminal law — Stealing by servants — Circumstantial evidence — Burden of proof — Improper shifting of burden to accused — Insufficient evidence to sustain conviction — Appellate revision to quash conviction of non‑appealing co‑accused
5 September 1990
Appellant failed to prove entitlement or administrator status over deceased's estate; appeal dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure — Primary Court assessors — participation, role and incorporation of assessors’ views into judgment — May vitiate proceedings but retrial discretionary
Succession law
— Marital status — Prolonged separation and subsequent remarriage as evidence of marriage breakdown affecting claims to estate
— administration of estate — appointment of administrator without proper inquiry — Evidence Act s 110
5 September 1990
Appellant wrongly sued for return of marriage gifts; recipient daughter, not the appellant, should be sued under s.71.
Family law
— Gifts given in contemplation of marriage which fail to take place — Proper application of s.71 Law of Marriage Act — Distinct from s.69 damages for breach of promise
— bridewealth refund ordered to non‑party set aside — aggrieved party may sue recipient separately
4 September 1990
The court found the applicant failed to prove the marriage was irreparably broken and dismissed the appeal with costs.
Appellate practice — Appellate procedure — new grounds of fact not raised at trial cannot be introduced on appeal
Civil procedure — Procedural law — Reconciliation Board
— Board’s role is conciliatory and referential
— findings not binding on the court
Family law — Divorce — irretrievable breakdown of marriage — sufficiency of evidence required to grant divorce under customary marriage
1 September 1990
Where a plaintiff fails to appear without a cogent reason, the suit may be dismissed for want of evidence and costs awarded to the defendant.
Civil procedure
— Costs — Award of costs to defendant following dismissal for want of prosecution — Where plaintiff fails to proceed and offers inadequate reasons for adjournment
— dismissal for non-appearance — validity of dismissal where prior record shows counsel held brief for plaintiff and absence unexplained — Court's discretion to refuse adjournments
1 September 1990
Village council lacked jurisdiction to seize cattle for alleged adultery; seizure unlawful and appeal dismissed.
Civil procedure — appellate interference with concurrent findings of fact — intervention only where clear misdirection or lack of evidence
Customary law — Customary/local council (baraza la jadi) — jurisdiction
1 September 1990
Reported
Whether suspicion of adultery and the deceased’s words could legally provoke sudden passion reducing murder to manslaughter.
Criminal law
— Insanity defence — burden on accused to prove insanity on balance of probabilities
— Murder- Provocation — Whether alleged provocative words were uttered and sufficient to reduce offence
— homicide — burden on prosecution to prove malice aforethought and to negative provocation or self‑defence
1 September 1990