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60 judgments found.
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April 1992
30 April 1992
An unequivocal guilty plea supports conviction; forfeiture order valid despite procedural irregularity, appeal dismissed.
Criminal law
— Forfeiture — procedural requirement to afford accused opportunity to show cause — irregularity not necessarily fatal
— importing goods without licence — conviction on plea of guilty — validity of conviction based on unequivocal plea
— sentencing — fine or imprisonment in default — exercise of judicial discretion
Evidence — Evidentiary issue — discrepancy between declared value and sale proceeds does not automatically invalidate forfeiture
30 April 1992
Appeals filed in the wrong registry should be returned for re-filing in the proper District Court rather than dismissed.
Appellate practice — Appeal filing — Appeal filed in High Court instead of District Court — Magistrates' Courts Act s.25(3)
Civil procedure — Procedural irregularity — improperly framed memorandum of appeal — Not a material defect warranting dismissal
30 April 1992
Night‑time visual identification found unsafe; both accused acquitted for lack of reliable identification evidence.
Criminal law — Murder: identification and credibility of eyewitnesses — Ocular identification and credibility (contradictions on place and visibility undermining prosecution case) — Visual identification (Waziri Amani v R)
Criminal procedure — No case to answer — prima facie test at close of prosecution’s case
30 April 1992
Administrator's failure to appear justified ex parte proceedings; estate division upheld though intestacy favors wife and children.
Civil procedure
— Appeal — appellate interference — refusal to disturb trial court distribution where beneficiary did not object or cross-appeal
— ex-parte proceedings — validity where an administrator is validly served but repeatedly fails to appear
Succession law — Intestacy
— entitlement of surviving wife and children as primary heirs
— exclusion of other relatives when both survive
29 April 1992
Court refused extension to appeal where the proposed appeal raised only factual credibility issues and no point of law.
Civil procedure — Extension of time to appeal — second appeal decided on credibility and factual findings — no point of law for certification — court will not grant extensions where proposed appeal raises only factual issues
29 April 1992
Recent possession of stolen goods plus opportunity and credibility findings justified convictions for house‑breaking and theft; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law
— Evidence Act (s.56) — admissibility and prejudice of previous convictions/bad character
— Housebreaking/burglary — entry by opening door suffices as breaking
— identification of property and accused — credibility and circumstantial evidence supporting conviction
— Theft — recent possession of stolen property as evidential inference
29 April 1992
Reported
Absence or unsworn interpreter denied the respondent a fair trial, warranting quashing of proceedings and a retrial.
Criminal procedure
— fair trial — interpreter and language — trial conducted in a language accused did not understand
— interpreter not sworn as required by section 26(2) — procedural irregularities incurable — proceedings declared nullity and retrial ordered
29 April 1992
Appeal dismissed: trial proceedings were a nullity due to language and interpreter defects, retrial ordered.
Criminal procedure — Trial language and right to understand proceedings — Proceedings conducted in a language not understood by accused and without proper interpreter render trial a nullity — Quashing of trial and ordering of retrial appropriate remedy
29 April 1992
Criminal law — Criminal practice and procedure — Trial — Services of an interpreter are Necessary where the accused does not know the language of the court
29 April 1992
29 April 1992
Conviction for receiving stolen property affirmed, but excessive three-year custodial sentence quashed and substituted with a fine.
Criminal law — Receiving stolen property — sufficiency of evidence and identification — corroboration not essential where recovery in accused’s possession shortly after theft — nature of property (heavy carpentry clamps) — minimum sentence provisions inapplicable where property not shown to belong to government/specific authority — excessive custodial sentence quashed and substituted by fine
28 April 1992
Evidence
— corroboration — Evidence of co-accused — To be treated as that of an accomplice
— Identification — Description of suspect — Significance
28 April 1992
Conviction unsafe due to weak identification and uncorroborated co-accused evidence; appeal allowed and conviction quashed.
Criminal law
— Appeal — conviction unsafe where identification and corroboration are lacking
— Evidence of co-accused — requires caution and corroboration
— identification evidence
28 April 1992
Appeal allowed; 12‑month sentence quashed where statutory fine option for a first‑time traffic offender was not considered.
Road traffic law — sentencing — court's discretion to impose fine or lesser sentence — Road Traffic Act s 139 (fine option for first offenders)
28 April 1992
Reported
Conviction quashed: identification inadequate and uncorroborated co-accused evidence made the conviction unsafe.
Criminal law — Evidence of co-accused
— Inadequate judicial reasoning renders conviction unsafe
— treated as accomplice evidence requiring corroboration
Criminal law — identification evidence
28 April 1992
Appellate court quashed convictions where receipt falsity was unproven and defence satisfactorily explained acquisition of goods.
Criminal law
— Evidence — appellate review where trial court evaluated prosecution and defence in isolation rather than the whole record
— possession of property reasonably suspected to be stolen — accused’s burden discharged on balance of probabilities where seller’s uncontradicted evidence explains acquisition
— Remedies — quashing convictions, refund of fine, and payment of sale proceeds to accused
28 April 1992
28 April 1992
Identification in poor light and a disputed name-list failed to dispel reasonable doubt, so conviction was quashed.
Criminal law — Robbery
— evidentiary value of a third-party list containing accused’s name
— reasonable doubt where stolen property not found in accused’s possession
— reliability of visual identification in poor light and under threatening circumstances
28 April 1992
Mandamus unavailable to compel police to return a seized vehicle while related criminal proceedings and statutory remedies exist.
Criminal procedure — seizure of exhibits
— alternative remedy exists
— mandamus inappropriate while criminal proceedings pending
28 April 1992
28 April 1992
Conviction for housebreaking upheld; sentence reduced from eight to five years due to mitigating circumstances.
Civil procedure — Appeal heard in absence of appellant — order to communicate result to appellant and prison authority
Criminal law — housebreaking
— forcible entry and being found inside premises
— identification and credibility of witnesses
— resistance to arrest
Criminal law — sentencing
— appellate reduction of sentence
— mitigation arising from acquittal on related theft charge
— Statutory minimum sentence
27 April 1992
Conviction for attempted rape quashed due to lack of corroboration and inadequate medical examination evidence.
Criminal law — Rape/attempted rape — Medical evidence — Unsafe conviction — appellate intervention to quash conviction
24 April 1992
Insufficient medical and corroborative evidence made the attempted rape conviction unsafe; appellant ordered released.
Criminal law — Rape/attempted rape — Sufficiency of evidence — Role of medical report (PF3)
— Inadequate medical and witness corroboration can render a conviction unsafe
— sentence rendered superfluous
24 April 1992
Accused proved to have killed the deceased but acquitted by reason of insanity and ordered detained for treatment.
Criminal law — murder versus insanity — medical and witness evidence establishing legal insanity — special finding — detention as criminal lunatic pending Minister's order
23 April 1992
Application for extension of time to appeal dismissed for failure to show sufficient reason or arguable issues.
Criminal law — appeal out of time — Excuse for delay and requirement for adequate explanation — Possession of stolen goods and cautioned admission as strong evidence
21 April 1992
Appellate enhancement without mandatory notice/hearing is invalid; conviction overturned for insufficient evidence.
Criminal law
— Appeal — enhancement of sentence by appellate district court — enhancement without such procedure invalid
— sufficiency of evidence — theft not proved beyond reasonable doubt — conviction unsafe
21 April 1992
Appellate court upheld conviction for soliciting/receiving police trap money; procedural consents present and sentence affirmed.
Criminal law — Corruption — jurisdictional preconditions for prosecution — admissibility/weight of trap-money and eyewitness evidence
16 April 1992
Appeal dismissed: consent and transfer on record; evidence proved solicitation and receipt of police trap money.
Criminal law — Corruption/offence of soliciting and receiving bribe — trap operations and corroboration
Criminal procedure — prosecutorial consent and certificate — omission invalidates consent and vitiates subordinate court jurisdiction
Evidence — credibility of police and related witnesses — related witnesses may be credible if reliable and corroborated
16 April 1992
16 April 1992
Convictions for theft and conspiracy upheld for some accused but quashed for others for lack of proven individual participation.
Criminal law — Theft by servant — Joint liability and common intention: where a common plan is proved, each participant may be convicted without proof they individually handled the stolen money — Identification and circumstantial evidence — Sentencing — Excessive sentences and lawful limits
16 April 1992
Appeal success hinges on proving individual participation in conspiracy and stealing; omnibus findings risk unsafe convictions.
Criminal law
— Conspiracy to commit felony — Proof required: inference of common design from conduct and presence at scene
— Stealing by servant — Circumstantial and direct witness evidence (keys, watchman’s observations, identification of stolen goods) — Identification and apprehension at scene support conviction
Criminal procedure — Omnibus conviction and sentence — Trial court’s omnibus treatment of co‑accused
16 April 1992
Conviction based on uncorroborated accomplice evidence is unsafe; conviction quashed and sentence set aside.
Criminal law
— accomplice evidence — requirement of independent corroboration before convicting on accomplice testimony — Evidence Act s 33(1) — (2)
— Identification and recovery of stolen property — Failure to specify distinguishing marks undermines proof of theft
Criminal procedure — Safety of conviction — conviction unsupported by State and founded on equivocal plea is unsafe and cannot stand
16 April 1992
Audited shortage proved; IOU defence rejected; conviction adjusted to ss. 265 and 271 and five‑year sentence upheld; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law
— Evidence — IOU/voucher system — Absence of IOU vouchers undermines IOU defence
— Theft by person employed in public service — Definition of "person employed in public service" — Applicability to parastatal servant and proper charge under Penal Code
— Theft by public servant — Admissibility of auditor's report — Auditors and Accountants (Registration) Act
16 April 1992
Audit evidence and absence of IOU vouchers supported conviction for theft by a public servant; appeal dismissed and sentence upheld.
Criminal law — Theft by public servant
— Admissibility of auditor's report
— audit evidence
— Burden of proof
— IOU vouchers as defence
— sentence
16 April 1992
Appellant's recent possession of stolen property in his locked room justified conviction; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law — Burglary and stealing — doctrine of recent possession — possession, positive identification, proof the item was stolen and recent recovery
14 April 1992
Court set aside separation order after reconciliation, ordered resumption of cohabitation and payment of maintenance arrears; out‑of‑time appeal dismissed.
Family law — separation order — maintenance — out‑of‑time appeal — variation and setting aside of separation order
14 April 1992
Adoption granted after court dispensed parental consent due to a parent's mental illness and unknown whereabouts.
Family law — Adoption law — Dispensing parental consent — Social Welfare Officer and police reports as evidence — Best interests and suitability of adoptive parents
13 April 1992
Customary law — Inheritance — Rights of children to inheritparent’s property
10 April 1992
Reported
Under declared customary law only a deceased’s children inherit; the applicant, a stranger, lacked any claim and the appeal was dismissed.
Customary law — Customary inheritance — Declared Customary Law G/N 436/63 — entitlement to a deceased father's property limited to his children — non-relatives/strangers have no customary claim
10 April 1992
10 April 1992
10 April 1992
10 April 1992
9 April 1992
9 April 1992
9 April 1992
8 April 1992
Appellate court affirms trial credibility findings and dismisses appeal; respondent proved claim to cattle on balance of probabilities.
Evidence
— appellate review — deference to trial court credibility findings based on witness demeanour
— civil claim to movable property — whether respondent proved claim on balance of probabilities
8 April 1992
8 April 1992
7 April 1992