|
Citation
|
Judgment date
|
| March 1992 |
|
|
Appellate court upheld damages for adultery where direct witness evidence and lack of contradiction established the claim.
Family law – adultery – sufficiency of evidence – whether presence of the woman in the appellant's house, statements about pregnancy/marriage and witness testimony constitute proof of adultery. Appellate review – weight of factual findings – effect of failure to contradict evidence at trial.
|
31 March 1992 |
|
|
31 March 1992 |
|
Payment of fees within time validates a land offer despite lack of immediate notification; claimant failed to prove payment or loss of materials.
Land law — allocation of residential plots — validity of competing offers — payment of prescribed fees within time constitutes acceptance even without immediate notification to Land Office. Evidentiary burden — proving payment and possession — documentary records and consistent testimony essential. Tort/fraud — allegation that occupier misappropriated building materials requires higher standard of proof.
|
31 March 1992 |
|
|
27 March 1992 |
|
|
27 March 1992 |
|
Court granted stay of execution pending applicant’s intended application to set aside an ex parte decree, despite limitation objections.
Civil procedure – stay of execution pending application to set aside ex parte decree – Order 21 rule 24 and section 95 CPC – limitation issues – when limitation runs for setting aside ex parte judgment – attachments and partial execution – discretion to prevent prejudice.
|
27 March 1992 |
|
Appeal: convictions quashed for two accused due to inadequate identification; conviction of first sustained by circumstantial and medical evidence.
Criminal law – identification evidence; circumstantial evidence and PF3/medical evidence as proof of identity; recent/innocent possession doctrine; adequacy of voice identification; appellate review of sufficiency of evidence.
|
27 March 1992 |
|
Long, continuous occupation entitled the applicant to prescriptive title; lower courts’ decisions were set aside and appeal allowed.
Land law – Prescription – Acquisition of title by long and continuous occupation – Evidence of uninterrupted possession and use. Civil procedure – Appeal – Appellate review of factual findings where evidence supports prescriptive title. Equity – Long occupation may make denial of prescriptive rights inequitable.
|
26 March 1992 |
Criminal Practice and Procedure - Charges - Dismissal - Before lapse of 60 days illegal and void - Court may refuse adjournment - 5. 225 (4) Criminal Procedure Act, 1985. |
26 March 1992 |
|
Reported
A minister may be sued personally for torts committed in official duties; Government consent to sue the State does not bar individual suits.
Defamation; ministerial liability in tort; Government Proceedings Act s 6; vicarious liability does not extinguish personal liability; public officials have no statutory civil immunity unless expressly provided.
|
26 March 1992 |
|
Reported
Although the magistrate’s dismissal was premature and void, the court dismissed and discharged the accused due to prosecutorial delay and constitutional concerns.
Criminal Procedure – section 225(4) CPA – adjournments – subsection (a) discretionary even where certificate filed; subsections (b) and (c) obligatory when proper certificates filed on time – prosecutorial delay – inherent powers – dismissal and discharge to protect fair trial rights (Article 13(6)(b)).
|
26 March 1992 |
|
Conviction for cattle theft quashed where complainant failed to properly identify the animal and recent possession was not established.
Criminal law – Theft of cattle – Identification of stolen animal (distinctive mark or familiarity required) – Description by colour alone insufficient – Doctrine of recent possession inapplicable where identity not proved – Conviction unsafe.
|
25 March 1992 |
|
Appellate court set aside invalid administration orders over registered land; accused convicted of murder as self‑defence failed.
Civil procedure — Administration proceedings — Primary court jurisdiction — Registered land — Proviso to s.18(1) Magistrates' Courts Act — primary court lacked jurisdiction; district court order based on that decision invalid. Civil procedure — Revision/Execution — District court may not validate primary court decisions exceeding jurisdiction; parties may institute fresh proceedings. Criminal law — Murder — Evidence of multiple stab wounds and post‑mortem report — self‑defence not established; conviction and mandatory death sentence.
|
25 March 1992 |
|
Night-time visual identification without corroboration was unsafe; convictions and illegal sentences were quashed.
Criminal law – Visual identification – Night-time identification amid confusion and firearms – Identification evidence must be "absolutely watertight" before sustaining conviction without corroboration. Criminal procedure – Sentencing jurisdiction – Trial court’s power to pass severe sentences; referral/sentencing procedure under the Criminal Procedure Act. Evidence – Need for corroborative material (possession of stolen property) when identification is tenuous.
|
25 March 1992 |
|
Unequivocal plea required; plea admitting facts of a different, more serious offence renders conviction unsafe and is quashed.
Criminal law – Plea of guilty – Unequivocal plea – Variance between charge and particulars – Plea to lesser/incorrect offence renders plea equivocal and conviction unsafe – Quashing conviction and setting aside sentence; discretion to order retrial where appellant has served time.
|
25 March 1992 |
|
Court taxed plaintiff’s bill of costs, moderating a large instruction fee to 350,000 and allowing a total of 351,422.75.
Costs — Taxation of bill of costs — Reasonableness of instruction fees — Court’s discretion to moderate claimed fees having regard to complexity, research undertaken and value in dispute.
|
24 March 1992 |
|
Appellate court upheld village committee land allocation based on sufficient oral evidence; appeal dismissed with costs.
Land law – village allocation committees – validity of allocation – sufficiency of oral evidence to prove committee membership and allocation. Civil procedure – appellate review – deference to trial court’s credibility findings and factual determinations.
|
24 March 1992 |
|
|
24 March 1992 |
|
Appeal allowed on forgery and uncharged‑count convictions; conviction for obtaining money by false pretences upheld but sentence varied.
Criminal law – Forgery – sufficiency of evidence – whether forgery established for counts 1 and 2. Criminal procedure – Conviction on a count not charged – validity of conviction on count 3 when appellant was not charged. Criminal law – Obtaining money by false pretences – evidence required to sustain conviction where a forged cheque is presented and cashed. Sentencing – Requirement to apply statutory/mandatory sentencing provisions where applicable.
|
24 March 1992 |
|
Circumstantial evidence and last-seen proof insufficient to exclude reasonable doubt; accused acquitted despite violent post-mortem findings.
Criminal law – Murder – Circumstantial evidence – last-seen evidence and accused’s subsequent absence – whether such evidence excludes reasonable hypothesis of innocence. Criminal procedure – Alibi – failure to give statutory notice under section 194 C.P.A. and exercise of court’s discretion under section 194(6) to withhold weight from the alibi. Evidence – Post-mortem showing fatal stab wounds as proof of violent death but not alone sufficient to prove perpetrator.
|
24 March 1992 |
|
Convictions upheld: secondary evidence and corroboration sustain theft and false-accounting convictions; sentence not excessive.
Criminal law – theft and false accounting – admissibility of secondary documentary evidence (ss.55(b), 67(ii) Evidence Act) – cautioned statements/confessions and alleged duress – requirement for corroboration – sufficiency of evidence and sentence proportionality.
|
24 March 1992 |
|
Taxation reduces excessive instruction fee, disallows unsupported receipts, and halves certain attendance claims, producing a reduced taxed bill.
Costs – Taxation of bill – Instruction fee – Excessive fee reduced from 60,000 to 25,000 and balance disallowed – Claims unsupported by receipts disallowed – Where attendance not disputed, half of claimed amounts allowed and half disallowed – Final taxation and net allowed amount.
|
24 March 1992 |
|
|
23 March 1992 |
|
Conviction based on inadequately proven identification of recovered stolen property is unsafe and was quashed.
Criminal law – Theft – Identification evidence – Proof of identification and chain of custody of recovered property – Conviction unsafe where procedural safeguards for identification not shown.
|
23 March 1992 |
|
Conviction for burglary and theft quashed where required identification procedures for stolen property/accused were not satisfied.
Criminal law – Burglary and theft – Identification evidence and procedural safeguards for identification of stolen property/accused – Failure to comply renders conviction unsafe – Conviction quashed.
|
23 March 1992 |
|
Fault alone does not determine dowry refund; marriage duration and children must be considered.
Customary/dowry law – refund of bride-price – Quantum of refund not determined solely by fault for marriage breakdown; duration of marriage and issue are material factors; appellate reduction of refund where marriage long and produced children.
|
20 March 1992 |
|
Inherited or acquired property tended during marriage and a wife's domestic contributions may be divisible as matrimonial assets.
Family law — Division of matrimonial property — Whether assets acquired or inherited during marriage can form part of the matrimonial pool — Relevance of joint tending and offspring of livestock — Recognition of a wife's domestic services and child-rearing as contributions to be considered in distribution.
|
20 March 1992 |
|
Order 23 Rule 1 CPC permits a plaintiff to proceed against any or all defendants; the defendant's objection was dismissed.
Civil procedure — Order 23 Rule 1 CPC — Plaintiff's right to proceed against one or more defendants — Defendant's objection lacking merit and dismissed.
|
19 March 1992 |
|
Conviction unsafe where visual identification was doubtful due to a six-month delay before arrest.
Criminal law – Robbery with violence – Visual identification – Delay in arrest undermining certainty of identification – Honest witnesses may be mistaken – Conviction unsafe where identification doubtful (citing Roria v R; Waziri Aman v R).
|
18 March 1992 |
|
Conviction based on doubtful visual identification after six-month delay is unsafe; appeal allowed and appellant released.
Criminal law – Robbery with violence; Visual identification – reliability and danger of mistaken identification; Delay in arrest undermining identification evidence; Conviction unsafe where identification doubtful.
|
18 March 1992 |
|
|
18 March 1992 |
|
Village council allocation to villagers prevails over a non-resident’s clan inheritance claim; appeal dismissed with costs.
Land law – village land allocation – validity of village council allocation to villagers vs clan/ancestral claims; possession and non-use as evidence against possessory rights.
|
17 March 1992 |
|
Appellate court restores Primary Court finding of ownership but upholds reduced damages because 28 trees were not proved.
Property/trees — proof of ownership/possession — credibility findings of trial court preferred on appeal; Evidence — number of trees cut must be proved; Damages — award reduced where loss not fully proved; Appellate review — limited interference with trial court’s factual findings.
|
17 March 1992 |
|
Application to set aside dismissal dismissed because supporting affidavit was improperly attested in breach of Cap.12 s.7.
Civil procedure – affidavits – improper attestation – section 7, Notaries Public and Commissioner for Oaths Act (Cap.12) – defectively attested affidavit renders supporting application unsustainable.
|
17 March 1992 |
|
|
17 March 1992 |
|
|
16 March 1992 |
|
Application for leave to appeal out of time dismissed due to inadequate explanation for delay and inconsistent prosecutorial statements.
Criminal procedure — application for leave to appeal out of time; requirement to give satisfactory explanation for delay — credibility of prosecutorial statements — inconsistency between DPP’s earlier written view of insufficient evidence and later submissions of strong prospects of success — affidavit credibility and dismissal of application.
|
16 March 1992 |
|
Unsatisfactory identification and uncorroborated co-accused confession cannot sustain conviction; unlawful sentence set aside.
Criminal law – Identification evidence – Sufficiency to convict – Ambiguous conduct open to innocent explanation. Evidence – Confession of co-accused – Cannot convict another in absence of corroboration (s.33(2) Evidence Act 1967). Sentencing – Competence of trial court to impose sentence – Section 170 Criminal Procedure Act – unlawful sentence set aside.
|
13 March 1992 |
|
A guilty plea upheld conviction and forfeiture under the Import Control Ordinance despite a procedural irregularity; appeal dismissed.
Import Control Ordinance — importation without licence — conviction on plea of guilty — sentence — forfeiture of goods under section 20(2) — procedural irregularity: failure to call accused to show cause not fatal where discretion properly exercised.
|
13 March 1992 |
|
Appellate court declines to disturb trial court credibility findings; respondent’s long possession upheld and appeal dismissed with costs.
Appeal — appellate review of credibility findings — deference to trial court — findings not to be disturbed unless manifestly perverse; Possession — long continuous possession (30+ years) upheld as basis for respondent’s exclusive possession.
|
12 March 1992 |
|
Conviction for robbery upheld on identification and recent possession; sentence reduced to seven years for sentencing error.
Criminal law – Robbery with violence – Identification evidence – victim’s direct identification at scene sufficient; Criminal law – Recent possession – arrest with stolen vehicle supports conviction; Sentencing – Applicable earlier Minimum Sentences Act 1972 – appellate reduction of unlawful sentence.
|
11 March 1992 |
|
Circumstantial evidence excluding reasonable innocence upheld conviction; appeal and sentence dismissed.
Criminal law – Circumstantial evidence – Sufficiency and standards; burden on prosecution to exclude reasonable hypothesis of innocence. Evidence – Evaluation of combined circumstances (chain/rope analogy). Sentencing – Appellate review of sentence for excessiveness.
|
11 March 1992 |
|
Court allowed late supplementary affidavit but ordered defendant to reimburse plaintiff’s travel, accommodation and hearing costs.
Civil procedure – chamber application for security and interlocutory relief; application for adjournment and leave to file supplementary affidavit; inordinate delay and failure to give timely notice; costs and indemnity for expenses caused by needless travel; timetable imposed and Registrar to assess amount.
|
11 March 1992 |
|
Reported
Omnibus sentences are unlawful; separate sentences must be imposed and concurrency ordered, preserving the three-year effective term.
Criminal law – Sentencing – omnibus/aggregate sentence unlawful – each count requires its own sentence – court to order concurrency or consecutiveness; appellate correction of defective sentencing procedure.
|
11 March 1992 |
Criminal law - Obtaining by false pretence. Criminal Practice and Procedure - Sentencing - Omnibus sentence - Offences committed in close association with each other - Whether consecutive or concurrent sentence - Rectification of sentencing procedure by an appellate court. |
11 March 1992 |
|
|
11 March 1992 |
|
Unexplained recent possession of stolen goods sustained convictions; five-year burglary sentence upheld on appeal.
Criminal law – Burglary and stealing – Doctrine of recent possession – Unexplained possession of stolen goods shortly after theft raises presumption of guilt; temporal proximity and nature of items relevant to strength of presumption – Identification of recovered items at police station – Sentence not excessive.
|
11 March 1992 |
|
Primary court's finding that respondent's cattle damaged appellant's crops was restored; appeal allowed and costs awarded.
Civil liability for damage by animals – suitability and sufficiency of oral testimony identifying ownership – appellate interference with primary findings of fact – failure to adduce rebutting evidence (herder) justifies restoration of trial court verdict.
|
10 March 1992 |
|
Appellant’s conviction quashed where uncorroborated child evidence was admitted without the required voir dire.
Criminal law – Sexual offences – Sodomy – Child complainant – Requirement for corroboration of evidence in sexual offences; Evidence Act s.127 – Voir dire and competency/truthfulness of child witnesses; Medical evidence – inconclusive findings; Conviction unsafe where statutory procedure and corroboration absent.
|
6 March 1992 |
|
|
6 March 1992 |