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73 judgments found.
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December 2014
Preliminary objections to a libel plaint were dismissed: pleadings found to state material facts, properly signed and verified.
Civil procedure — preliminary objection — Pleadings
31 December 2014
Preliminary objections to form and content of a libel plaint (signature, verification, evidence vs facts) were overruled.
Civil procedure — preliminary objection
31 December 2014
Court overruled objections, holding the plaint properly pleads material facts and meets formal requirements.
Civil procedure — preliminary objection — Pleadings — Distinction between material facts and evidence under Order VII r.3 — Adequacy of verification clause
31 December 2014
Temporary injunction granted to prevent eviction and demolition pending resolution of the related land suit.
Civil procedure — Temporary injunction
30 December 2014
Five accused acquitted of two murders due to uncorroborated repudiated confession and insufficient circumstantial proof.
Criminal law
— Common intention — Unlawful purpose requirement
— murder conviction based on circumstantial evidence
Evidence — Expert medical evidence
— Medical practitioner limited to observable findings
— speculative opinions expunged
30 December 2014
Court grants temporary injunction restraining respondents from publishing alleged defamatory articles, rejecting fair comment and public interest defences.
Civil procedure
— balance of convenience — prevention of further reputational harm justifies temporary injunctive relief
— Interim injunction — restraining publication of alleged defamatory material pending trial
Defamation — fair comment and qualified privilege — limits where publication lacks genuine public interest
29 December 2014
Applicant granted temporary injunction against respondents’ publications; court found no fair comment or public interest defence.
Defamation
— fair comment and qualified privilege — availability as defences at interlocutory stage
— Interim injunctions to restrain publication — balance between freedom of expression and protection of reputation
— Public interest — scope and relevance in justifying potentially defamatory reportage
29 December 2014
Applicants awarded damages and return of documents for respondents' breach of share-purchase agreement.
Share-purchase agreement — breach of contract — failure to pay consideration and effect share transfer — assessment of general damages — order for return of cheques and company documents — interest and costs — ex parte/non-appearance of foreign respondents.
29 December 2014
Court overruled premature objection on bailability and struck out defective counter‑affidavit with leave to amend.
Civil procedure — Affidavit defects — Inclusion of prayers and omission of commissioner details render affidavit defective — Striking out with leave to file fresh counter‑affidavit
Criminal law — Bail pending trial — presumption of innocence and bailability of charged offences — Whether bailability under s.148(5)(a)(ii) and (iii) requires factual inquiry on commercial purpose and valuation certificate
29 December 2014
25 December 2014
The applicant's suit challenging the Registrar's land‑register rectification was struck out for failure to appeal under s.102.
Land law — Land registration act s.102 — appeal against decision, order or act of the Registrar of Titles — jurisdictional requirement to appeal to High Court within three months
Land law — preliminary objection — point of law arising on pleadings
— rectification of land register
— remedy by appeal not civil suit
24 December 2014
Review dismissed: High Court lacks jurisdiction over trade disputes and the claim was time-barred.
Civil procedure
— Labour/trade disputes — High Court’s lack of original jurisdiction where Court of Appeal has held trade disputes are outside High Court original jurisdiction
— limitation — recovery of sums
— Review
24 December 2014
Plaintiff confirmed owner under valid sale; vendors performed; alleged third‑party interference unproven; injunction granted.
Land law — Property law
— award of declarations and prohibitory injunction
— costs awarded to performing vendors
— dismissal for lack of cause of action
— evidential burden on claimant to prove trespass or interference
— proof of transfer and possession
— validity and effect of a land sale agreement
22 December 2014
Application for interim injunction to stay execution dismissed for inordinate delay, deficient affidavit and absence of pending proceedings.
Civil procedure — Interim injunctions
— application held time‑barred and an abuse of process due to inordinate delay and defective affidavit
— execution may not be stayed by such delayed application
— interim relief
22 December 2014
A caveat lodged by letter at Companies Registry has no legal force; court struck out removal application affecting absent company.
Civil procedure — Non-joinder of parties — Necessary parties in company shareholding disputes
Companies law — Corporate registration
— Justification for withholding registration where related shareholder disputes are pending in court
— Whether a caveat lodged by letter has legal force under the Companies Act
19 December 2014
Application to set aside default judgment dismissed: ignorance of law and pursuing arbitration without appearance insufficient reasons.
Civil procedure — Setting aside default judgment
19 December 2014
19 December 2014
A committal court must determine objections to its jurisdiction and charge competence; defective jurat date rendered affidavit unreliable.
Criminal procedure
— Affidavits — oath versus affirmation
— committal proceedings — jurisdiction of subordinate court to determine its own jurisdiction and competence of charge
— High Court supervisory powers — remit to subordinate court under s.44 MCA and s.373 CPA
19 December 2014
18 December 2014
Review unsuitable where it requires re-evaluating submissions; court corrected striking out to dismissal and ordered each party to bear own costs.
Civil procedure
— Procedure — correction of court order — substitution of striking out with dismissal where application was heard and found without merit
— Review
18 December 2014
Application to set aside dismissal denied for inadequate explanation, failure to file skeletons, and informal notice to clerks.
Civil procedure
— Affidavits — filing of supplementary affidavit requires leave of the Court — Expunging late affidavit
— service/notice — Informal notification to court clerks insufficient as formal notice
— setting aside dismissal for want of prosecution — Sufficiency of reasons for non-appearance
18 December 2014
Court granted temporary injunction preventing respondent developing disputed land pending appeal due to risk of irreparable harm.
Civil procedure
— balance of convenience — Whether damages are an adequate remedy — Risk of rendering appeal nugatory
— Temporary injunction — preservation of property pending adjudication — Order XXVII r.1(a) and s.95 Civil Procedure Code
18 December 2014
Temporary injunction granted pending appeal to prevent roofing and cultivation likely to cause irreparable harm and deny access.
Civil procedure — Temporary injunction
18 December 2014
Plaintiff failed to prove breach of a supply/installation contract; suit dismissed with costs.
Contract law — supply and installation — breach for non-performance after receiving advances — Onus and balance of probabilities
Evidence — Proof of performance — Requirement for clear documentary proof of deliveries and full payment (invoices, delivery notes, bank evidence)
18 December 2014
Allocation by a political party branch is invalid; respondent’s inheritance evidence established ownership.
Land law — Village land allocation
— Allocation purportedly by political party (CCM) branch is invalid
— boundary disputes do not establish title
— proof of ownership by inheritance
— proper authority is village council/meeting
17 December 2014
Appellant failed to prove lawful transfer of the disputed plot to deceased’s sisters; Tribunal’s finding of estate ownership upheld.
Land law — inheritance and devolution of estate
— evidential weight of occupation in inheritance disputes
— probative value of primary court letters and inventory in land disputes
— reliability of probate documents and transfer directives
16 December 2014
Ward Tribunal's procedural non‑compliance rendered its proceedings and orders nullity; appeal allowed and proceedings set aside.
Civil procedure — Ward Tribunal composition — statutory coram requirements — Land Disputes Courts Act ss.11, 14
Evidence — Evidence/record-keeping — missing trial proceedings — Illegible or unauthenticated proceedings and absence of dates undermine judgment validity
Land law — Sale of village land — requirement and effect of Village Council approval — Village Land Act
16 December 2014
Appeal allowed: ward tribunal proceedings declared void for failure to comply with statutory composition and procedural requirements.
Land law — Sale of village land — requirement and effect of Village Council approval — Effect on right of redemption
Land law — Ward Tribunal procedure
— Ward Tribunals Act s 14
— quorum recording and requirement to record complaints
16 December 2014
Appellants' robbery conviction upheld on corroborated eyewitness and police evidence; sentence reduced to ten years.
Criminal law — Robbery with violence
— admissibility of exhibits/cautioned statements where no objection
— burden on prosecution
— flagrante delicto
— identification and corroboration
— possession of stolen property
— sentence substituted to conform with statutory requirements
16 December 2014
An adoption application citing incorrect provisions is incompetent and struck out; guardian ad litem must be formally appointed.
Civil procedure
— competency of application
— Statutory interpretation
Family law — Adoption
15 December 2014
Whether night-time visual identification was sufficiently established to exclude mistaken identity in an armed robbery conviction.
Criminal law — Armed robbery — night-time visual identification — requirements to eliminate mistaken identity (Waziri Amani principle)
Criminal procedure — Identification evidence — Delay in arrest/charging undermining identification credibility
15 December 2014
Conviction for unlawful possession of government trophy quashed for failure to prove species amid evidential contradictions.
Wildlife offences — Wildlife offence
— contradictions in witness descriptions
— DPP consent
— unlawful possession of government trophy
15 December 2014
Conviction for possession of a government trophy quashed due to material inconsistencies about the meat’s identity despite valid DPP consent.
Criminal law
— Evidence — contradictions among prosecution witnesses and need for expert identification
— Jurisdiction — DPP consent
— Sentence — conviction quashed and sentence set aside
— unlawful possession of government trophy — identity of seized meat and insufficiency of proof
15 December 2014
Court upheld single eyewitness identification to convict the accused of murder despite delayed arrests.
Criminal law
— Defence of alibi — late alibi may be disregarded — Sufficiency to raise reasonable doubt
— Sentence — death by hanging — Murder under section 196 Penal Code
— identification evidence — Single eyewitness identification — Reliance on prior familiarity, lighting and proximity
15 December 2014
Three accused convicted of murder on identification, caution statement, ballistics and recent possession; fourth acquitted.
Criminal law — alibi — sufficiency to raise reasonable doubt
Criminal law — caution statement recorded after delay — admissibility and corroboration
Criminal law — doctrine of recent possession
— ballistic evidence linking firearm to scene
— stolen
Criminal law — Murder — Visual identification and identification parade — admissibility and reliability
15 December 2014
Amendments to written statements of defence require court leave; amended plaint disclosed jurisdiction and was valid.
Civil procedure — amendment of pleadings
Civil procedure — Pleading requirements
— foreign-currency claims acceptable
— Order VII r.1(f) & (i)
Civil procedure — Procedural conduct — Raising POs piecemeal may constitute abuse of process and unjustified delay
12 December 2014
Amendments to written defences require court leave; the plaint adequately disclosed jurisdiction and foreign-currency claims are permissible.
Civil procedure
— Abuse of process — piecemeal preliminary objections and right to speedy trial
— amendment of pleadings
— Foreign currency claims — permissible without pre-conversion
— Pleading requirements — Order VII r.1(f) and (i) — jurisdiction and value of claim
12 December 2014
Conviction quashed: victim's age and penetration unproven and written statement improperly admitted.
Criminal law — Appeal — conviction unsafe where essential elements unproved or evidence inadmissible
Criminal law — Evidence
— admissibility of written statements under s.34B Evidence Act (cumulative conditions)
— competency/voir dire of child witnesses and need for adequate record
Criminal law — Rape — requirement of proof of penetration however slight
Criminal law — Statutory rape
12 December 2014
12 December 2014
12 December 2014
High Court retained jurisdiction over an employer‑initiated malicious prosecution claim and dismissed late preliminary objections with costs.
Civil procedure
— jurisdiction — High Court jurisdiction to hear tortious malicious prosecution arising from employer‑initiated criminal proceedings
— Preliminary objections — Late raising after first pre‑trial conference amounts to estoppel and may attract costs
Employment law — Labour forum — Distinction between labour disputes and tortious claims (malicious prosecution) — Claim not exclusively for CMA or Labour Court
12 December 2014
Circumstantial evidence and unnotified alibi: court convicted the accused of murder and imposed death sentence.
Criminal law — Murder
— admissibility and weight of eyewitness ID
— alibi notice
— circumstantial evidence
— identification parade
— recovered weapon as circumstantial link
— requirement that circumstances be inconsistent with innocence
12 December 2014
Circumstantial evidence and identification parade sufficed to convict the accused of murder; alibi rejected for non‑compliance.
Civil procedure — Trial procedure — Assessors’ opinion — trial judge entitled to disagree and convict on sound evidence
Criminal law — Murder — circumstantial evidence — last seen with deceased, weapon found at grave, disappearance after death — sufficiency to prove guilt and malice aforethought
Criminal procedure — Alibi — discretion to accord no weight
Evidence — Identification parade — weight and reliability of witness identification
12 December 2014
Application for judicial review struck out due to an incurably defective affidavit; related interim injunction vacated.
Judicial review — competence of application
— abuse of process
— affidavit defects
— amendment/curing of affidavits
— inconsistency of deponent identity
— incurable defect
— effect on interim injunction
12 December 2014
Court granted review, found error in title information, set aside auction confirmation and ordered purchaser reimbursement.
Civil procedure — Review
— costs and taxation directions
— execution preserved for decree-holder
— grounds: new evidence, error apparent on face of record, sufficient reasons
— Official Search/misinformation
— ownership of security (sub-title) vs main title
— reimbursement to purchaser
— setting aside confirmed auction sale
— validity of Deputy Registrar order
12 December 2014
11 December 2014
10 December 2014
Appellant failed to prove deemed right of occupancy; tribunal's judgment upheld and decree corrected under s.96 CPC.
Civil procedure
— Correction of clerical or arithmetical mistakes — Clerical mistakes or omissions correctable under s.96 Civil Procedure Code (Cap.33 R.E.2002)
— recusal/disqualification — Appearance of bias
Land law — deemed right of occupancy — Requirement of proof of customary tenure and native status
10 December 2014
Prior lawful sale by the respondent's administrator prevailed; applicant may recover purchase money from the wrongful seller.
Land law — Land/title dispute — double sale by administrator
— eviction
— prior lawful sale binds subsequent purchasers
— street name change does not affect identity of property
— wrongful sale entitles purchaser to recovery from seller
10 December 2014
10 December 2014