Results.
111 judgments found.
Citation
Sort by Citation ascending
Judgment date
Sort by Judgment date ascending
June 2006
Court held electoral "takrima" provisions arbitrary and unconstitutional for infringing equality and free‑election rights.
Constitutional law
— Elections — Validity of anti‑treating ("takrima") provisions — Proportionality test — Articles 13 & 21 of the Constitution
— locus standi — Body corporates as "persons" under Article 30(2) — Right to institute constitutional proceedings
30 June 2006
Court struck down electoral "takrima" provisions as discriminatory, unnecessary and incompatible with constitutional equality; preliminaries dismissed.
Civil procedure — remedy
— costs each party to bear own
— provisions struck down as inconsistent with Articles 13 and 21
Constitutional law — locus standi
Election law — Electoral law — treating/takrima provisions
— discrimination by creating privileged classes
— unnecessary given section 130 exceptions
30 June 2006
Appellant cannot inherit from maternal grandfather; customary law favors patrilineal succession, so appeal dismissed with costs.
Evidence — Hearsay — insufficient to support claim to ancestral property
Probate law — Inheritance law — customary succession — beneficiary status of mother does not automatically confer inheritance rights on her issue
30 June 2006
An applicant cannot inherit from a maternal grandfather solely because his mother might have been a beneficiary under customary law.
Civil procedure — Appeal — frivolous appeals may be summarily rejected — Dismissal and costs
Succession law — Customary succession — Whether a maternal grandson inherits through his mother — Principle that inheritance follows the male lineage (urithi hufuata upande wa ukoo wa kiume)
30 June 2006
Applicant's failure to provide required manufacturer's authorization justified bid rejection; judicial review dismissed and no compensation ordered.
Procurement law — Public procurement act
— court order not automatically substitutable for tender prequalification
— mootness of certiorari after concluded procurement
— requirement of Manufacturer's Authorization
— scope of judicial review vs appeal
30 June 2006
Property registered in appellant's name was held to form part of deceased's estate due to lack of intention to gift.
Evidence — Gifts inter vivos — Occupation and conduct as indicators of ownership
Probate law — appointment of administrator — proper procedure to challenge appointment
Succession law — property of deceased — Whether registration in another's name constitutes a gift
— intention required
— Registration not conclusive
29 June 2006
House bought by deceased but registered in appellant's name formed part of estate; no gift proven.
Succession law
— appointment of administrator — disputes to be resolved by legal channels. Primary Court's appointment of administrator restored
— Probate — Property bought by deceased but registered in another's name — Intention to gift and delivery required
29 June 2006
Property registered in a relative's name is not a gift absent evidence of intention or formal transfer; appeal dismissed with costs.
Probate law — Administration of estates — appointment of (co-)administrators
Succession law — property of deceased — Whether registration alone evidences gift or transfer
29 June 2006
An advocate must lodge a bill for taxation in the High Court; ex parte judgment without service and a suit for instruction fees were quashed.
Civil procedure
— Advocates Remuneration — Advocates Remuneration and Taxation of Costs Rules, 1991
— Ex parte hearing — requirement of service of amended plaint before entering ex parte judgment
— Improper forum — advocate cannot recover High Court instruction fees by ordinary suit in Resident Magistrate's Court
— Professional conduct — prohibition
29 June 2006
Incorporating a notice of preliminary objection into a counter-affidavit is improper; defective paragraphs were struck out and the remainder retained.
Civil procedure — Practice — costs
— court exercised discretion to make no order as to costs
— matter ordered for hearing
Civil procedure — Probate and administration — counter-affidavit
— incorporation of notice of preliminary objection into affidavit is improper
— notice should be filed separately
Civil procedure — striking out — defective portions of an affidavit may be struck out while retaining properly deponable content
29 June 2006
Court partly allows objection: incorporated preliminary objection in counter-affidavit improper; only defective paragraphs struck out.
Civil procedure
— affidavits and preliminary objections — propriety of incorporating a notice of preliminary objection into a counter-affidavit
— Evidence — competence of affidavit material — striking out defective paragraphs versus whole affidavit
— Procedural orders — costs and hearing directions after ruling on preliminary objection
29 June 2006
Failure to certify the annexed arbitration award and to bring relief by petition under the Arbitration Rules rendered both proceedings incompetent.
Arbitration — Arbitration rules 1957
— Rule 8: requirement to annex award or copy certified by petitioner or advocate — Failure to certify annexed award renders petition incompetent
— Rule 5: applications — Applications under the Arbitration Ordinance must be brought by petition, not chamber summons
Civil procedure — unsigned/registrar-signed purported decree invalid — Registrar’s signature and court seal — Requirement for valid chamber summons
29 June 2006
Applicant’s non-compliance with mandatory Arbitration Rules (certification and petition procedure) rendered petition and stay application incompetent.
Arbitration — procedural compliance
Civil procedure — Formalities
— clerk’s duty
— Registrar's signature and court seal on chamber summons
Civil procedure — Preliminary objections
29 June 2006
Petition and stay application against an arbitration award were struck out for failure to comply with mandatory Arbitration Rules requirements.
Arbitration — Arbitration procedure — Certification of award annexed to petition — Arbitration Rules, 1957 Rule 8
Civil procedure
— Form of application — Requirement that arbitration applications be by petition — Arbitration Rules, 1957 Rule 5
— Form of process — Requirement for Registrar's signature and court seal on chamber summons
29 June 2006
29 June 2006
A pending appeal on a lower court’s jurisdiction does not bar the High Court from deciding the substantive land ownership and revocation issues.
Civil procedure — Res-subjudice — pending appeal on jurisdiction does not bar a superior court from hearing substantive issues when the lower court's jurisdiction is the only question pending
Land law — Jurisdiction — distinction between jurisdictional challenges and substantive ownership disputes
29 June 2006
High Court overruled res subjudice objection where only a jurisdictional point was pending on appeal, allowing substantive land claims to proceed.
Civil procedure — preliminary objection — res subjudice doctrine — distinction between pending jurisdictional challenge and pending substantive dispute — Land law
29 June 2006
Court struck out portions of a counter‑affidavit for improper incorporation of a preliminary objection and later dismissed the suit for repeated non‑appearance.
Civil procedure
— Affidavits — improper incorporation of a notice of preliminary objection into a counter‑affidavit — partial striking out
— dismissal for non‑appearance — application of Order 27 r.2 and O.9 r.3 of the Civil Procedure Code
29 June 2006
Appellate court upheld trespass liability and damages for destruction of respondent’s rented rooms; appeal dismissed with costs.
Tort — Damages assessment
— adequacy and reasonableness of award despite lack of explicit trial-court reasoning
— defence of execution of prior decree considered and rejected
29 June 2006
DPP’s nolle prosequi resulted in the accused being discharged and released, without precluding future prosecution.
Criminal procedure
— nolle prosequi — Prosecutorial discretion — Court acceptance of DPP’s discontinuance and discharge of accused
— release from custody — Discharge not a bar to future proceedings on same facts
29 June 2006
Circumstantial and dying-declaration evidence supported manslaughter convictions; three accused acquitted.
Criminal law — Murder reduced to manslaughter where death results from fight/heat of passion — Use and weight of dying declaration and circumstantial evidence — Admissibility of cautioned statement (trial within trial) — Alibi notice
29 June 2006
Accused convicted of manslaughter; court granted a three‑year conditional discharge under s.320(1)(b) to protect children’s interests.
Criminal law — Manslaughter
— conviction on plea of guilty
— evidential weight of post‑mortem report and caution statement
— relevance of offender’s mitigation and victim’s children's welfare in sentencing
29 June 2006
Accused’s killing held accidental; court granted conditional discharge under section 32 with three-year imprisonment on breach.
Criminal law — Homicide: murder versus accidental killing — Accidental killing (manslaughter) — Conditional discharge under section 32 Criminal Procedure Act, 1985
29 June 2006
Court found equal spousal contributions and ordered sale and equal division of matrimonial property.
Family law — appellate fact-finding — additional evidence and correction of erroneous share
Family law — Matrimonial property — division
— Contribution by spouses
— informal business income and supervisory acts count as contribution
Family law — remedy — sale of matrimonial house and equal division of proceeds
29 June 2006
Guilty plea to unintentional killing upheld as manslaughter; court imposed nine years balancing mitigation and aggravation.
Criminal law — Manslaughter — conviction on own plea of guilty — admissibility of post-mortem and extra‑judicial statement — sentencing: balancing mitigating (youth, first offender, guilty plea) and aggravating (excessive force, familial relationship, failure to assist) factors
28 June 2006
An application to set aside a dismissal for want of prosecution was dismissed as untimely and fanciful, with costs.
Civil procedure — application to set aside dismissal for want of prosecution
27 June 2006
Probationary employees have a right to be heard before non‑confirmation; unlawful non‑confirmation may attract damages but not automatic reinstatement.
Civil procedure — Costs — partial costs awarded to partially successful plaintiff
Civil procedure — remedy
— damages may be awarded
— unlawful termination does not automatically entitle to reinstatement
Employment law — probationary appointment — duty to be heard — natural justice applies to probationary employees
Labour law — Termination for non‑confirmation — substantive reasons do not excuse failure to afford hearing
27 June 2006
A probationary employee has a right to a hearing before non-confirmation; wrongful termination may merit damages, not automatic reinstatement.
Employment law — breach renders decision void
— damages may be awarded
— Reinstatement not automatic
Employment law — Probationary employees — Right to be heard before non-confirmation/termination — Natural justice applies
27 June 2006
Concurrent factual findings by two lower courts were upheld; the applicant's claim for tree compensation was dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure — Appeals — concurrent findings of fact — appellate court will not disturb concurrent findings of two lower courts unless there is misapprehension of evidence, miscarriage of justice, or violation of law or procedure
Civil procedure — Remedies
— claim for compensation dismissed
— costs awarded to respondent
Evidence — Burden and standard of proof
— claimant failed to prove unlawful cutting
— respondent's sale defence supported by witness testimony and found more credible
27 June 2006
The appellant’s challenge to identification and conviction for armed robbery failed where the complainant positively identified him under adequate lighting.
Criminal law
— alibi — uncorroborated alibi insufficient to raise reasonable doubt where identification is credible
— Armed robbery — identification evidence — positive recognition of a known person at night under adequate lighting supports conviction
Evidence — recovered property found near third party’s house does not necessarily exculpate accused
26 June 2006
Court upheld armed robbery convictions based on reliable acquaintanceship identification and dismissed the appeals.
Criminal law — Armed robbery — identification evidence — Waziri Amani guidelines
Criminal procedure — Witness credibility — Alleged fear does not automatically vitiate identification
Evidence — Identification — complainant’s prior acquaintance may suffice to prove identity and sustain conviction — Observations made with lights on support reliability
26 June 2006
Notice of appeal filed after ten days is incompetent; substitution of charge without taking pleas renders trial a nullity.
Criminal procedure — Appeal timeliness — notice
Criminal procedure — Revisionary powers
— fresh charge permitted with credit for time served
— quash proceedings and set aside sentence
Criminal procedure — substitution of charge sheet — vitiates trial
26 June 2006
Application to set aside dismissal and ex parte judgment dismissed; advocate negligence and delay insufficient, filings amounted to abuse of process.
Civil procedure — Restoration/setting aside of dismissal and ex parte judgment — Non-appearance and delay — Whether advocate’s negligence is sufficient cause — Abuse of court process by repeated applications
24 June 2006
Applicant failed to show sufficient cause to restore proceedings; counsel’s absence and repeated applications amounted to abuse, dismissal with costs.
Civil procedure — Abuse of process
— prior dismissals for want of prosecution binding on subsequent restoration attempts
— repeated applications to reopen concluded matters
Civil procedure — advocate negligence — non-appearance of counsel not ordinarily sufficient to set aside ex parte judgment
Civil procedure — restoration of proceedings dismissed for non-appearance — whether sufficient cause shown
24 June 2006
Negligence by the applicant’s advocate and delay do not justify setting aside the respondent’s ex parte judgment.
Civil procedure
— Abuse of process — Repetitive applications seeking the same relief amount to abuse and warrant dismissal
— Counsel negligence — Whether negligence or non‑attendance of an advocate constitutes sufficient cause to undo an ex parte decision
— Restoration/stay of proceedings — Whether delay and non‑appearance justify setting aside an ex parte judgment
24 June 2006
23 June 2006
23 June 2006
The applicant failed to overturn concurrent factual findings absent proof of misapprehension, miscarriage of justice, or procedural error.
Appellate practice — concurrent findings of fact — Reluctance of second appellate court to disturb concurrent factual findings — Appellate court will not disturb findings absent misapprehension of evidence, miscarriage of justice, or procedural/legal error
Civil procedure — Locus standi — Claimant must demonstrate proper standing where parents' status or authority is unclear
Family law — evidential requirement for compensation and parental liability — Requirement of proof of agreement/payment for elopement compensation — Necessity of clear documentary or credible evidence
23 June 2006
Cautioned statements plus recovery of weapons and money corroborated evidence and upheld armed robbery convictions.
Criminal law
— Armed robbery — admissibility of cautioned statement
— Recovery of stolen property — Items recovered from accused’s residence shortly after offence corroborate prosecution case
23 June 2006
Caution statements and recovery of firearms and money established appellants' guilt for armed robbery; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law — Armed robbery — conviction based on recovery of stolen property
Evidence
— Cautioned statement — Admissibility and presumption of voluntariness where not objected to at admission
— recovery of stolen property — Direct evidence of seizure by police and corroboration sufficient to link accused to offence
23 June 2006
High Court stayed proceedings pending Court of Appeal revisional challenge to leave to institute.
Civil procedure — Stay of proceedings — Pending determination of a revision application in the Court of Appeal — Competency and judicial economy
22 June 2006
Court stayed certiorari proceedings pending determination of a revisional application challenging ex parte leave.
Judicial review — Certiorari — Effect of pending revisional application on competence of review proceedings
Civil procedure — Stay of proceedings — Pending determination of a revision application in the Court of Appeal
Administrative law — Leave to apply for certiorari — Challenge to ex parte grant of leave and consequences for subsequent proceedings
22 June 2006
A trespass conviction is upheld where prior civil judgments established ownership and the accused's presence was uncontradicted.
Criminal law
— Criminal trespass — evidence — uncontradicted eyewitness testimony
— Land ownership — conclusiveness of prior civil judgments
20 June 2006
The applicant's conviction for attempted rape was upheld after being caught in the act; appeal dismissed.
Appellate practice — Appeal procedure — appeal against conviction not competent where there is ample evidence — No basis to disturb findings of fact or 30-year sentence
Criminal law — sexual offences — attempted rape — Actus reus of attempt: immediate step towards crime
Evidence — Identification — caught in flagrante delicto removes identification doubt — Intervention by third party as corroboration sufficient to support conviction
20 June 2006
Proceedings improperly instituted as a "petition" instead of a plaint warranted dismissal; appeal dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure
— Appeals — appellant cannot urge grounds not in memorandum of appeal
— Pleadings
— Procedure — improper form of proceedings — distinctions between plaint, chamber summons (application) and statutory petition
20 June 2006
A proceeding not instituted by a plaint as required by law may be struck out and appeal dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure
— Appeals — memorandum of appeal limits grounds and submissions
— Pleadings
— remedy — striking out/dismissal for failure to comply with mandated procedure
20 June 2006
Leave to appeal granted on legal issues of limitation (time-bar) and whether a ruling substitutes for a judgment.
Appellate practice — Appellate procedure — Leave to appeal
— whether a post-hearing decision should be a judgment rather than a ruling
— whether a ruling and a judgment have the same effect
— whether limitation (time-bar) is a question of law
20 June 2006
Application for extension of time to appeal dismissed for failure to show reasonable cause; review cannot substitute for appeal.
Civil procedure — Extension of time to appeal
Civil procedure — Review v revision v appeal
— distinct remedies
— not a vehicle to substitute an appeal. Negligence or ignorance of counsel on appellate procedure generally does not constitute sufficient cause for extension of time
— review limited to errors apparent on record or newly discovered evidence
20 June 2006
Application for extension of time to appeal failed for lack of reasonable cause and confusion between review and revision.
Civil procedure — Extension of time to appeal — Sufficient cause
Civil procedure — leave to appeal out of time — Remedy for time‑barred appeals is an application for leave to appeal out of time, not review
Civil procedure — Review — distinction between review (same court) and revision (higher court)
— Review not an inherent power
— revision is supervisory power of higher court
20 June 2006
Contradictions and credibility defects in the prosecution's case rendered the rape convictions unsafe, warranting acquittal and release.
Criminal law — sufficiency of evidence
— contradictions among prosecution witnesses
— identification and credibility
— medical evidence of recent intercourse not conclusive of rape
20 June 2006