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78 judgments found.
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December 1984
Conviction for theft by servant was unsafe due to misdirection on burden of proof and unreliable, inconsistent evidence.
Criminal law — Theft by servant — Misdirection as to burden of proof renders conviction unsafe
20 December 1984
6 December 1984
Reported
Land law — acquisition of land
— Procedure to be followed
— Whether Act applies to the land belonging to peasants
Land law — Right of occupancy — Whether land held under customary tenure falls under the definition of right of occupancy — Whether authorities can grant a formal right of occupancy in respect of Land held under customary tenure, i.e,. deemed right of occupancy
3 December 1984
November 1984
Unsigned payment vouchers show irregularity but do not alone prove theft; conviction upheld only where misappropriation proved.
Criminal law — payment vouchers and signatures
— appellate review of convictions
— credibility of prosecution witness and treatment of unsigned vouchers
— procedural irregularity versus proof of misappropriation
Criminal law — Theft by servant — Sufficiency of evidence
14 November 1984
Daylight identification by independent witnesses upheld; appellant's conviction for demanding property with menace affirmed.
Criminal law — demanding property with menaces — Identification evidence — Daylight and prior acquaintance
Criminal procedure — Appeal — Appellant's failure to cross-examine prosecution witnesses on key facts weakens defence — Failure to raise alleged bias or motive at trial weakens assertion of fabrication
14 November 1984
7 November 1984
October 1984
Reported
Criminal law — Forcible entry on land — Ingredients of the offence
28 October 1984
Conviction for forcible entry quashed for lack of violence and because the dispute was civil in nature.
Criminal law — Civil
— Conviction quashed where essential ingredients unproven
— land/ownership disputes should be resolved by civil litigation, not criminal prosecution
Criminal law — Forcible entry
26 October 1984
Forfeiture plus imprisonment can be unduly harsh; sentencing must record reasons and consider guilty pleas and first‑offender status.
Criminal law — sentencing — Forfeiture as punitive element — Interaction of forfeiture and custodial sentences
— Mitigation by plea of guilty and first-offender status
— unsupported assertions of prevalence insufficient
19 October 1984
Second appeal dismissed: evidence supported criminal trespass conviction despite alleged burden-of-proof misdirection.
Criminal law — Criminal trespass — removal of boundary beacon and cultivation of adjudicated land — appellate review where first appellate court failed to weigh evidence
2 October 1984
Reported
Tort
— Costs -Appeal — Defect in preparation of record — Documents omitted — Party successful — Whether entitled to all costs
— Negligence — Vicarious liability — Unauthorised employee drives employer’s vehicle -Scope of employment — Whether employer vicariously liable
1 October 1984
September 1984
Convictions based solely on testimony of interested witnesses require corroboration; absence of corroboration quashes convictions.
Criminal law — Evidence
— Conviction unsafe where interested witnesses are uncorroborated
— Distinction between accomplice and informant/spy
— Witnesses with an interest or who are suspects
15 September 1984
Illegal warrantless search transformed charge into criminal trespass; grievous harm not proved, confinement unjustified.
Criminal procedure — Search and seizure
— detention unjustified absent necessity or lawful authority Defence of superior orders
— distinction between entry with intent to commit felony
— grievous harm versus actual/ordinary bodily harm Wrongful confinement
— not available where orders are manifestly unlawful and accused trained about legal requirements
— requirement of search warrant under s.119 CPC
— unlawful searches by militia without police accompaniment Penal law
15 September 1984
Appeal against theft conviction dismissed where eyewitness identification, confession to civilians and conduct supported guilt.
Criminal law — identification evidence
— admission/confession to civilians
— conduct (attempted escape) as corroborative circumstance
— credibility findings of trial magistrate upheld on appeal
— eyewitnesses seeing accused push and carry property
Criminal law — Theft
11 September 1984
August 1984
Familiar-witness identification in torchlight was reliable; alibis failed to raise reasonable doubt, so convictions were upheld.
Civil procedure — Appeal — standard of appellate review of factual findings and identification evidence
Criminal law — Cattle theft — identification evidence — familiar witnesses — recognition at close distance in torchlight
Criminal procedure — Alibi — whether alibi raises reasonable doubt — trial court’s credibility findings upheld on review
24 August 1984
21 August 1984
Reported
Civil practice and procedure — Appeals
14 August 1984
10 August 1984
9 August 1984
The appellant's claim of provocation failed; the killing was murder with malice aforethought and the appeal dismissed.
Criminal law — Murder — malice aforethought
Criminal law — provocation and self‑defence
— adequacy of oral threat as legal provocation
— corroboration of eyewitness testimony
— medical evidence of multiple head wounds supporting deliberate killing
9 August 1984
Appeal against murder conviction dismissed as meritless given overwhelming trial evidence.
Criminal law
— Criminal appeal — No arguable ground to impugn trial judgment — Appeal dismissed as devoid of merit
— Murder — Deliberate killing by cutting throat — Sufficiency of evidence to support conviction
8 August 1984
Appellant's admissions and clear evidence of patricide upheld; no defence available, appeal dismissed.
Criminal law — Murder (patricide) — Extra‑judicial and oral admissions — Sufficiency of evidence — Appeal dismissed
8 August 1984
8 August 1984
8 August 1984
7 August 1984
Failure to consider a claim of right raised on the record amounted to misdirection, so the robbery conviction was quashed and release ordered.
Criminal law — Robbery with violence — appellate review where lower courts fail to consider a defence on the record — misdirection in law warrants quashing conviction and ordering release
7 August 1984
Appellate court upheld attempted murder conviction, rejecting accidental-shooting defence and affirming sentence.
Criminal law — Attempted murder — Whether prosecution established intent to kill — Defence of accidental discharge during struggle — Appellate review of trial judge's factual findings and sentencing discretion
7 August 1984
Credibility of sole eyewitness upheld; neither provocation nor drunkenness proved, murder conviction affirmed.
Criminal law — Murder — Defence of Provocation — Intoxication as a defence to murder
7 August 1984
Applicant's grievous-harm conviction upheld; exclusion of wife's testimony was erroneous but harmless; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law
— Grievous bodily harm — stabbing at post-wedding altercation — identification and credibility of witnesses
— sentencing — review of harshness — appellate reluctance to alter sentence where term already served
Evidence — Alibi — exclusion of defence witness (wife) — appellate assessment of harmless error
5 August 1984
Trespass conviction quashed due to disputed land ownership; theft conviction overturned for unsafe identification.
Civil procedure — Procedure — Where title disputed, direct parties to civil remedy
Criminal law — Trespass
— Improper to join s.299(a) and (b) together
— unresolved boundary/ownership issues should be determined civilly before criminal prosecution
Evidence — Identification
2 August 1984
Appellate court affirms convictions and sentences, finding sufficient evidence and appropriate sentencing given prior convictions.
Civil procedure — Appeal — appellate scrutiny limited where trial magistrate’s findings are supported by evidence
Criminal law
— convictions for common assault, malicious damage to property and creating a disturbance — sufficiency of evidence and credibility of witnesses
— sentencing — relevance of prior convictions in assessing appropriateness of sentence
2 August 1984
Appellate court upheld theft conviction, finding eyewitness identification reliable and rejecting claim of coerced admission.
Criminal law
— alleged coerced admission not shown to vitiate conviction — Appeal dismissed
— Theft — Identification evidence — Prior acquaintance and daylight observation support reliability of identification
1 August 1984
July 1984
31 July 1984
Appellant failed to overturn concurrent factual and credibility findings; appeal dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure — Civil appeal — concurrent findings of fact — High Court's reluctance to interfere absent new evidence or demonstrable error in lower courts' factual or credibility assessments
Customary law — herding/offspring-sharing arrangements — proof required to establish ownership or entitlement to offspring or compensation
31 July 1984
Identification-parade irregularities (bleached uniform and adverse conditions) rendered the identification evidence unsafe, prompting acquittal.
Criminal law — Murder — identification evidence — Fair conduct of identification parades — Unfair parade may render identification unsafe
31 July 1984
27 July 1984
25 July 1984
Appeal against convictions for stealing a motor dismissed; recent possession and circumstantial evidence upheld as sufficient.
Criminal law
— Circumstantial evidence — implausible exculpatory account and conduct of watchman supported conviction
— Theft of motor vehicle — recent possession doctrine applied
Evidence — trial magistrate credibility findings accorded deference on appeal
25 July 1984
Single-witness testimony and an admission upheld conviction; sentence increased to three years under the Minimum Sentences Act.
Criminal law — theft from hotel well
— application of Minimum Sentences Act for theft from government-owned hotel
— sentence substituted to three years
— single-witness evidence and corroboration by admission
— translation/language issues in evidence
24 July 1984
Conviction based largely on interested witnesses and an uncorroborated police account was undermined by lack of independent corroboration.
Criminal law — Theft
— police evidence of confession/refund susceptible to doubt when no independent witness corroborates
— reliance on testimony of interested witnesses
12 July 1984
A dying declaration needs independent corroboration; circumstantial conduct alone did not prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — Murder — Dying declaration
— Assessors’ opinion may be departed from where judge finds evidence insufficient to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt
— Circumstantial evidence (washing blood‑stained clothes) may be suspicious but needs to be implausible to corroborate
— Requires cautious approach and independent corroboration before conviction
5 July 1984
4 July 1984
Dispute over land ownership must be resolved in civil proceedings; acquittal for crop destruction restored and revisional order set aside.
Criminal law — destruction of crops — where dispute concerns land ownership, title should be determined in civil proceedings rather than by criminal prosecution
Criminal procedure
— irregularity in calling witness before accused is called to defend — may not vitiate acquittal if substance of accused’s defence would be unchanged
— Revision — appellate court should not substitute findings of ownership in criminal revision when civil remedy is appropriate
1 July 1984
June 1984
Appellant's cattle theft conviction and legal-minimum sentence affirmed; identification and ownership upheld.
Criminal law — Cattle theft — Evidence of identification and ownership
— Credibility of complainant and corroborating witness
— retention and conduct as indicia of theft
— sentence affirmed as legal minimum
19 June 1984
Convictions in a felony trial concluded in the accused’s absence are nullities; conviction quashed and release ordered.
Criminal procedure — trial in absence
11 June 1984
May 1984
Conviction under section 284A is invalid if prosecution proceeded without the DPP's required consent.
Civil procedure — Trial procedure
— acquittal required where the charge as laid is not proved
— convicting one accused while acquitting co-accused was erroneous where statutory preconditions for alternative conviction were absent
Criminal procedure — alternative verdicts/substitution — cannot be used to circumvent statutory consent requirements
30 May 1984
24 May 1984
23 May 1984
18 May 1984
Conviction quashed where deficient handwriting expert report and weak corroborative evidence left reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — Evidence — handwriting expert reports — admissibility and weight where report does not comply with prescribed form (7th Schedule Cr.P.C.) Burden of proof — improper reliance on deficient expert evidence may vitiate conviction
16 May 1984