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Citation
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Judgment date
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| March 2026 |
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An earlier purchaser in possession prevails where a later registered title was procured by misrepresentation and irregularities.
Land law – equitable interest by purchaser in possession – double sale – misrepresentation/fraud – irregular registration – exception to indefeasibility of title (s.33(1) Land Registration Act).
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11 March 2026 |
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Failure by the trial court to evaluate defence evidence created reasonable doubt, rendering the rape conviction unsafe and quashed.
Criminal law – Rape – Appellate re-evaluation of evidence – Duty to consider and evaluate defence evidence – Failure to consider defence fatal – Child complainant’s evidence may suffice without corroboration – Exclusion of documentary exhibits acceptable if court did not rely on them.
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11 March 2026 |
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Dismissal for complainant's non-appearance does not automatically establish malicious prosecution; plaintiff must prove lack of reasonable cause and malice.
Tort — Malicious prosecution — Elements required: institution of proceedings; termination in favour of plaintiff; absence of reasonable and probable cause; malice — Dismissal for complainant's non-appearance is procedural and does not automatically satisfy termination in favour — Burden on plaintiff to prove malice and damage.
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10 March 2026 |
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Pleas entered before a DPP certificate rendered the trial void; convictions quashed and no retrial ordered.
Jurisdiction — Economic and Organized Crime Control Act — DPP certificate required to confer jurisdiction on subordinate court — Plea taken before certificate lodged — Proceedings nullity; Plea of guilty before court without jurisdiction ineffective; Retrial discretionary — not ordered where it would assist prosecution fill gaps.
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10 March 2026 |
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First appellate court’s failure to resolve material grounds led to quashing unsafe stealing and assault convictions.
Criminal law – Appeal procedure – Duty of first appellate court to re-evaluate evidence and resolve material grounds; Standard of proof – stealing—absence of direct or cogent circumstantial evidence; Common assault – medical evidence timing inconsistency; Alibi – prosecution must displace defence beyond reasonable doubt; Safety of conviction; Compensation order set aside.
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4 March 2026 |
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Consent judgment adopts settlement resolving disputed land ownership; payment and acknowledgement constitute full and final settlement.
Land law – consent judgment – Deed of Compromise and Settlement – Order XXIII Rule 3 Civil Procedure Code – settlement adopted as judgment – payment as full and final settlement – enforceability of settlement as decree – necessary parties (Registrar of Titles, Commissioner for Lands, Attorney General) – costs each party bears own.
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4 March 2026 |
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Indirect contributions during long cohabitation can justify monetary compensation despite lack of documentary proof.
Cohabitation/presumption of marriage – contributions to family property – direct (financial) and indirect (domestic) contributions; weight of documentary evidence; compensation for improvements to inherited land.
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3 March 2026 |
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Appellant’s rape conviction upheld: penetration and lack of consent proved, identification safe, procedural irregularities non‑prejudicial.
Criminal law – Rape: penetration and absence of consent; medical evidence corroboration; identification evidence – recognition, prolonged proximity and immediate identification; variance in names/charge – materiality and prejudice; delay in arraignment – prejudice required to vitiate; failure to call witnesses – indispensable gap test; appellate re‑evaluation of credibility.
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2 March 2026 |
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Court held termination was substantively and procedurally unfair, quashed six-month award, substituted twenty months and remitted computation to CMA.
Employment law — unfair termination — substantive and procedural unfairness; statutory minimum compensation for unfair termination; requirement to disclose investigation reports and to permit representation, calling and testing of witnesses; necessity to compute awards on operative remuneration proved on record; remittance to CMA to compute terminal dues.
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2 March 2026 |
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Conviction for statutory rape upheld: child’s testimony and medical evidence proved age and penetration; variances and delay were immaterial.
Evidence — Child witness (s127 Evidence Act) — Substantial compliance and safety of conviction; Criminal law — Statutory rape (s130(1)(2)(e)) — proof of age by medical and testimonial evidence; Criminal procedure — Variance in particulars (time/place) not fatal absent prejudice; Credibility — delay and minor contradictions not necessarily fatal where corroboration exists.
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2 March 2026 |
| February 2026 |
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Second appellate court upheld acquittal where mens rea for theft was not proved beyond reasonable doubt.
Theft — elements: actus reus established but mens rea must be proved beyond reasonable doubt; concurrent factual findings; limited scope of second appellate re-evaluation; family transactions and bona fide belief as raising reasonable doubt; civil remedy for recovery.
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27 February 2026 |
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Probate closure set aside for failing to resolve objections about omitted assets and discriminatory distribution.
Probate administration — Court-supervised fiduciary process — Rule 10(1) GN 49 of 1971 — Form V (inventory) and Form VI (accounts) — Duty to ensure 'true and complete' inventory — Closure/functus officio — Non-discrimination and gender equality in distribution — Remission for limited rehearing.
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27 February 2026 |
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Whether eyewitness night identification and unexplained delay rendered the appellant’s conviction unsafe.
Criminal law – Sexual offences – Eyewitness identification – Night identification tested by lighting, proximity and prior acquaintance; Criminal procedure – Delay in arraignment – unexplained delay requires demonstrated prejudice to vitiate trial; Pleadings – Variance in place – materiality and prejudice; Evidence – Failure to call investigator/PF3 – adverse inference only if material and likely to affect safety of conviction.
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27 February 2026 |
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The appellant’s conviction for unlawful possession of elephant tusks was upheld; absence of CCTV and custody challenges did not create reasonable doubt.
Wildlife law — unlawful possession of Government trophy — proof of possession; Evidential law — production of CCTV footage not universally obligatory; Chain of custody — certificate of seizure and continuity; Sentence — statutory minimum custodial term upheld.
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27 February 2026 |
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27 February 2026 |
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Court granted extension to appeal due to applicant's illness and unproven fraud allegations, prioritising the child's best interests.
Extension of time — sufficient cause — illness and hospitalization as grounds for delay — accounting for each day of delay — unproven allegation of forged medical documents — discretion exercised in light of child's best interests.
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27 February 2026 |
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Pendency of a related application does not suspend execution; recusal requires substantiated bias, not speculation.
Execution of decree – effect of pendency of separate proceedings on attachment – ownership dispute and non-attachable properties – recusal of judicial officer requires substantiated real likelihood of bias.
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23 February 2026 |
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A tribunal wrongly dismissed a land claim on contested probate findings without evidentiary proof of identity.
Land law; jurisdiction; preliminary objections; disputed facts vs pure points of law (Mukisa Biscuit); res judicata under section 9 CPC; probate determinations and identity of land; remittal for merits determination
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20 February 2026 |
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High Court granted extension to appeal in probate matter, overruling preliminary objections and finding jurisdiction under the Magistrates’ Courts Act.
Probate/administration law – extension of time to appeal – Magistrates’ Courts Act s25(1)(b) proviso – preliminary objections and Mukisa Biscuit test – jurisdiction not ousted by lapse of statutory appeal period – sufficient cause where arguable procedural irregularities.
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20 February 2026 |
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The applicant proved title by Right of Occupancy; respondents held trespassers and ordered to vacate.
Land law – ownership dispute – proof on balance of probabilities – evidentiary weight of letter of offer and rent receipts – failure to produce documentary evidence – trespass and vacant possession – administratrix’s locus standi.
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19 February 2026 |
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Recusal denied; objection proceedings struck out for lack of jurisdiction and failure to annex impugned order; execution to proceed.
Civil Procedure – Execution – Order XXI Rule 59 – Objection proceedings – Executing court and jurisdiction – Requirement to annex impugned order – Abuse of process – Recusal – reasonable apprehension of bias.
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18 February 2026 |
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Applicant failed to account for each day of delay; extension of time to appeal was dismissed.
Civil procedure — Extension of time to file appeal — Discretionary remedy — Applicant must account for each day of delay — Judgment delivered in presence of parties is starting point — Limited illness does not justify inordinate unexplained delay.
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18 February 2026 |
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Court granted 30‑day extension to file appeal due to missing court file and applicant’s prompt, persistent follow‑up.
Civil procedure – Extension of time – Sufficient cause – Missing court file – Applicant’s conduct and promptness once impediment removed – Interest of justice.
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17 February 2026 |
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District Court's proceedings vitiated by unqualified representation, time-barred e-filing, insufficient fees and improper retrial order.
Advocates Act – representation by unqualified advocates nullifies proceedings; Limitation – eCMS filing date and Rule 21(3) determine filing time; Court fees – failure to pay prescribed fee renders filing defective; Trial de novo – retrial only where original trial defective (Fatehali Manji); Appellate duty – proper analysis and evaluation of evidence required.
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16 February 2026 |
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Unexplained two‑plus month delay after withdrawal of appeal insufficient to justify extension of time.
Civil procedure — Extension of time to file appeal — Judicial discretion — Factors: length of delay, reasons, arguable appeal, prejudice — Applicant must account for each day — Technical delay from struck-out appeal — Illegality must be apparent on face of record to justify extension.
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13 February 2026 |
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Court granted prisoners an extension to file appeal, finding reliance on prison authorities constituted sufficient cause.
Criminal procedure — Extension of time under s.361(2) — Sufficient cause — Prisoners' inability to access legal assistance — Judicial discretion to grant leave.
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13 February 2026 |
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Prisoner’s misplaced notice and delayed record supply found sufficient cause to grant extension to file appeal.
Criminal procedure – Extension of time to file notice of appeal and appeal – Discretionary relief – Sufficient cause – Prisoner’s inability to act, misplaced documents, delay in supply of records.
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13 February 2026 |
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Whether counts previously tried and acquitted bar retrial and whether remaining forgery and uttering charges were proved.
Criminal law — autrefois acquit/double jeopardy — re‑trial of same transactions barred; Forgery and uttering — expert handwriting and stamp analysis sufficient to prove forgery; Criminal Procedure Act s.331(1) — judgment need not phrase discrete issues if reasons and decisions are embedded in analysis; Evidence — failure to call mobile network personnel not necessarily fatal where alternative evidence and explanations exist; Use of exhibits from prior trial — not per se inadmissible.
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13 February 2026 |
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Conviction quashed where chain of custody defects and witness contradictions undermined proof of narcotics possession.
Criminal law – Drugs – Chain of custody – Integrity of sampling and packaging – Contradictions in witness evidence – Proof beyond reasonable doubt – Admissibility and evidential value of exhibits.
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13 February 2026 |
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Appeal allowed: conviction quashed due to unsafe night identification, weak recent-possession proof and defective chain of custody.
Criminal law – Armed robbery – visual identification at night – reliability and caution required; doctrine of recent possession – proof of ownership (receipt/IMEI) and proper application; chain of custody and credibility of exhibit custodian; evaluation of defence evidence under Section 312; burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt.
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13 February 2026 |
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Prisoner’s transfer and lack of access to records constituted sufficient cause to extend time to file notice and appeal.
Criminal procedure – Extension of time to file notice of appeal and appeal – Sufficient cause – Prisoner’s inter‑prison transfer and lack of access to court records – Applicant unrepresented and reliant on prison authorities – Discretionary relief granted.
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13 February 2026 |
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Whether limitation or adverse possession can apply where the occupier is a permissive licensee.
Property law — licensee occupation — limitation of actions — adverse possession — whether permissive occupation can attract limitation or support adverse possession — certification of points of law under s.8(2)(c) Appellate Jurisdiction Act.
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13 February 2026 |
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Certificate granted to determine legality of matrimonial property division and the maintenance award on appeal.
Appellate Jurisdiction Act s.8(2)(c) — certificate on point(s) of law; Matrimonial assets — division and extent of contribution under Law of Marriage Act; Disposal of matrimonial property before dissolution; Maintenance assessment — legal standards versus factual disputes.
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13 February 2026 |
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Court allowed extension to file notice and appeal, finding incarceration and advocate’s inaction amounted to sufficient cause.
Criminal procedure – extension of time to file notice of appeal and appeal – discretion to grant extension – sufficiency of cause where applicant is incarcerated and dependent on prison authorities; advocate’s alleged inaction.
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13 February 2026 |
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Appeal dismissed for being time‑barred and for lack of proper representative locus standi.
Probate appeal — Time limitation under section 20(3) Magistrates' Courts Act — statutory filing period not extendable by judicial direction; filing complete upon payment of fees — Locus standi — requirement to sue in representative capacity where acting as administrator — appeal struck out as time‑barred and incompetent.
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12 February 2026 |
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Probate appeal nullified where respondent lacked locus standi; first appellate judgment quashed and trial decision reinstated.
Probate and administration — Locus standi — Legal capacity to sue or defend estate — Personal representative/administratrix required — Proceedings without lawful capacity are jurisdictional nullities — Quash and reinstate trial court decision.
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10 February 2026 |
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The respondent proved the Tsh 29,464,000 debt by written acknowledgements and witnesses; appeal dismissed and judgments affirmed.
Civil procedure – burden of proof – primary courts – proof on balance of probabilities; written acknowledgements of debt as evidence; forgery allegations require cogent proof or expert evidence; appellate review of evidence and credibility findings; costs awarded to successful respondent.
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9 February 2026 |
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Child’s credible testimony, supported by medical and eyewitness evidence, upheld conviction and mandatory life sentence.
Criminal law – Unnatural offence against a child – Child victim credibility and Section 127(6) Evidence Act – Medical corroboration (PF3) – Minor contradictions immaterial – Delay in arraignment without prejudice – Mandatory life sentence.
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9 February 2026 |
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Action based on a declaratory judgment was timely, but plaintiff failed to prove dispossession by the receiver manager.
Limitation — actions founded on a judgment attract a 12-year limitation period; Receiver manager — appointee under a debenture acts as agent of appointing bank; Proof — party alleging dispossession must produce contemporaneous documentary evidence; Adverse inference may follow failure to tender primary documents; Civil standard — balance of probabilities.
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9 February 2026 |
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High Court lacks jurisdiction to grant extension for review of a dismissal decree after full hearing; appeal is the remedy.
Civil procedure – Review v appeal – Dismissal after full hearing is a final decree challengeable by appeal, not review; error apparent must be self-evident; Section 14 Limitation Act requires court to have jurisdiction to entertain substantive application; extension of time futile where jurisdiction lacking.
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6 February 2026 |
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Tribunal must determine if disputed land is registered before deciding joinder of Registrar of Titles; retrial directed.
Land law – registered versus unregistered land – necessity to determine registration status before ordering joinder of the Registrar of Titles; non‑joinder of Registrar in registered land disputes is fatal; retrial ordered; jurisdictional implications of registration status.
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5 February 2026 |
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Whether a conditional family handover conferred ownership or merely an invitee’s right to use the land.
Land law — family meeting minutes and handling-over note — conditional grant (no sale or mortgage) creates invitee/use license, not transfer of ownership — possession/improvements by invitee do not confer title — validity of subsequent sale by owner — nemo dat quod non habet and estoppel inapplicable — boundary discrepancies and locus in quo visit not decisive.
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5 February 2026 |
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Reinstatement of a withdrawn matrimonial petition was irregular but not void; Primary Court had jurisdiction and maintenance award upheld.
Matrimonial law – Withdrawal and reinstatement of petition – Procedural irregularity not necessarily a nullity if no prejudice; Jurisdiction – Primary Courts’ competence under MCA s.18(1)(b) and LMA ss.76 & 114; Maintenance – discretionary assessment, children’s welfare paramount.
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3 February 2026 |
| January 2026 |
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The applicant’s mix of constitutional supervisory jurisdiction and JALA with statutory company remedies rendered the petition incompetent.
Company law — Rectification of register — Jurisdictional incompatibility — Article 108(2) supervisory constitutional jurisdiction — High Court must be properly constituted as Constitutional Court when invoking supervisory jurisdiction — JALA s.2(3) residual excluded where written law provides remedy — Jurisdictional defect incurable; petition struck out.
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30 January 2026 |
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Court recorded parties’ settlement under Order XXIII Rule 3, adopting payment schedule and marking the execution as settled.
Civil procedure – Consent settlement recorded under Order XXIII Rule 3 – Recording and adoption of deed of settlement as consent ruling – Enforcement of decretal payment schedule – Execution application marked settled.
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30 January 2026 |
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Whether a 1993 love-and-affection transfer conferred a 50% ownership interest in the farm to the applicant’s estate.
Land law – Registered certificate of title as conclusive evidence – Transfer by love and affection – Forgery allegations in civil proceedings require high standard of proof – Spousal consent and retrospective application – Rectification/subdivision and issuance of separate titles
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30 January 2026 |
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The 2nd defendant’s negligence and employment established vicarious liability; insurer liable for bodily injury and property damage only.
Motor-vehicle accident — negligence proven by eyewitness testimony and criminal conviction — vicarious liability of employer — special damages must be strictly proved — third-party motor insurance covers bodily injury and property damage but excludes consequential/business losses.
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30 January 2026 |
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Failure properly to evaluate conflicting evidence and to visit the locus in quo led to dismissal of the trespass claim.
Land law – trespass and extraction of soil; civil standard of proof (balance of probabilities); evaluation of witness credibility and material contradictions; failure to call material witness and adverse inference; locus in quo visitation discretionary but necessary in physical/spatial disputes; appellate intervention where tribunal misdirects on evidence.
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30 January 2026 |
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District Court erred in striking out malicious prosecution suit solely on pecuniary grounds; subject-matter competence controls.
Civil procedure — Jurisdiction — Pecuniary jurisdiction is determined by specific damages but not exclusively; subject-matter competence and lowest competent forum must be considered — Primary Courts lack jurisdiction over common law torts (malicious prosecution) — Striking out solely on pecuniary grounds may deny access to justice.
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27 January 2026 |
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Court granted Mareva injunction preserving applicants’ occupation pending expiry of 90‑day notice and filing of substantive suit.
Land law — Mareva (preservative) injunction — interlocutory relief pending statutory notice — joinder of Registrar of Titles/Attorney General — sufficiency of land description — Atilio v. Mbowe tests — enforcement by police
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26 January 2026 |