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433 judgments found.
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August 2024
Failure to record reasons for magistrate reassignment and lack of s.192 compliance nullified the trial; retrial ordered.
Civil procedure — Relief
Criminal law
— Criminal Procedure Act s.192 — preliminary hearing compliance
— Criminal procedure act (s.214(1)) — change of trial magistrate — failure renders proceedings void for want of jurisdiction
23 August 2024
Appeal dismissed as time‑barred for failure to seek extension under MCA s25(1)(b).
Civil procedure
— Extension of time to appeal — Application supported by affidavit — Law of Limitation Act s 3
— Filing of appeals — Filing an appeal out of time — Magistrates Courts Act s 25(1)(b)
16 August 2024
Appellate courts properly evaluated evidence; oral agreement proved and appeal dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure
— Appellate review — duty to analyse trial evidence
— Contracts — oral agreement enforceability
— Double claim — determination whether same cause of action pending elsewhere
15 August 2024
Allegations of part payments and dispute over claimed loan balance established triable issues, so leave to defend was granted.
Civil procedure
— Summary procedure — triable issues entitle defendant to leave to appear and defend — Order XXXV r 3(1)(c)(i) CPC
— leave to defend — part payment and disputed liability may raise triable issues warranting leave — Affidavit sufficiency: part payments and annexed bank statements
14 August 2024
Failure to renew a primary mining licence within the statutory 90‑day period renders the area open to fresh licences; transmission does not equal renewal.
Administrative law — Administrative decision — grant of new licence valid where prior licence expired and was not validly renewed
Mining law — primary mining licence validity and renewal
13 August 2024
Conviction for theft quashed where evidence showed only later possession, not taking or dishonest intention.
Criminal law — Stealing — possession of stolen property and failure to give lawful account — Subsequent possession does not by itself establish theft
Evidence — Possession of allegedly stolen property — Identification and proof of recent theft — Subsequent possession does not by itself establish theft
9 August 2024
Alleged coercion of a signed acknowledgement must be proved; respondent established debt on the balance of probabilities.
Civil procedure — Evidence — Proof on balance of probabilities
Contract law — Admission of debt — Allegation of coercion requires proof of intimidation, threats, lack of voluntariness or curtailed legal representation
9 August 2024
Certification refused: proposed points lacked established legal character or record support and were unfit for Court of Appeal consideration.
Appellate practice — Appellate procedure — certification of point of law under s.6(7)(b) AJA
Appellate practice — competence of expert evidence
— cannot be smuggled in as new point
— duty of appellate courts to determine grounds of appeal where raised
Appellate practice — reliance on court record — issues not on record cannot be certified
5 August 2024
Application for extension of time dismissed for lack of sufficient cause and counsel’s lack of diligence.
Civil procedure — extension of time — Sufficient cause and diligence of counsel — Clerical errors by court do not automatically justify extension
5 August 2024
Failure to tender and admit a mandatory conciliation certificate renders a divorce petition premature and deprives the court of jurisdiction.
Civil procedure — Procedure
Evidence — Annexures to pleadings are not evidence — formal tender and admission required
Family law — Divorce — Mandatory referral to Marriage Conciliation Board
2 August 2024
July 2024
An ambiguous, improperly recorded guilty plea can vitiate conviction and require quashing and remittal for fresh trial.
Criminal law — Equivocal plea of guilty — Equivocal plea versus unequivocal admission of facts — Requirement under s 228(2) CPA
Criminal procedure
— appeals barred against conviction after guilty plea (s.360(1)) — Exceptions permitting appeal where plea is imperfect, ambiguous, or charge discloses no offence (Laurence Mpinga) — Section 360(1) CPA — appeals barred except as to sentence
— conviction quashed and retrial ordered — Quashing conviction and remitting for trial before another magistrate — Consideration of time served in sentencing
31 July 2024
Extension denied: alleged jurisdictional illegality not apparent and ex parte notice challenge is not proper ground.
Civil procedure
— Ex parte judgment — duty to notify absent party of judgment delivery — Jurisdiction to set aside lies with the court which pronounced the ex parte judgment
— Extension of time to appeal — illegality of impugned decision as sufficient ground for extension — Application of Lyamuya guidelines
16 July 2024
12 July 2024
Convictions found unsafe where identification, hearsay and proof of ownership/value of allegedly stolen goods were inadequately proved.
Criminal law
— Circumstantial evidence — doctrine of recent possession — ownership and identification of allegedly stolen items
— Evidence — hearsay — Use of second‑hand description inadmissible to ground conviction
— identification evidence — Visual identification in darkness — Requirement to prove source and intensity of light for positive identification
11 July 2024
10 July 2024
A manifest illegality in disciplinary proceedings—denial of right to be heard—can justify an extension of time to seek judicial review.
Judicial review — extension of time — technical delay and illegality as grounds for extension
— authorities: Devram Valambhia
— Denial of right to be heard
— Kangalawe
— Lyamuya Construction
— manifest on face of the record
10 July 2024
Appellate court upheld DLHT: assessors' opinions properly recorded and sale without co-owner's consent void; appeal dismissed.
Land law
— Sale of land — sale by person without authority or title cannot transfer good title to buyer
— unregistered land — ownership by oral purchase — evidentiary standard and corroboration of oral contracts
8 July 2024
5 July 2024
Whether the accused’s confessions, conduct and fatal injuries established malice aforethought for murder.
Criminal law — Murder — Malice aforethought: inference from weapon, force, wound location, attacker’s conduct before and after attack — Penal Code s.200
Criminal procedure — Circumstantial evidence and confessions — detailed caution statements corroborating circumstantial facts
5 July 2024
2 July 2024
Appellant failed to prove ownership; tribunal complied with locus in quo order and respondents’ sales were valid.
Land law — compliance with appellate orders — locus in quo inspection
Land law — Customary/kin succession
— allocation at clan meeting and capacity to transfer
— Authenticity of sketch maps and admittance of documents
— Validity of sale agreements arising from customary allocation
Land law — Evidence — burden of proof
2 July 2024
June 2024
28 June 2024
28 June 2024
Applicant failed to establish sufficient cause for extension of time; technical delay, counsel error and alleged illegality were inadequate.
Land law — Land — Extension of time to appeal
28 June 2024
26 June 2024
25 June 2024
Ward Tribunal’s appointment of a spokesperson without party’s request violated right to be heard, nullifying proceedings.
Land disputes — natural justice — right to be heard — Ward Tribunal may allow a party’s relative/household member to represent that party only upon party’s request
— appointment by Tribunal without request nullifies proceedings
— revisional powers
21 June 2024
20 June 2024
Accused convicted of murder on corroborated circumstantial evidence and a voluntary confession; motive was belief child was not his.
Criminal law — Murder — circumstantial evidence — cautioned statements and corroboration
19 June 2024
14 June 2024
The Taxing Officer misapplied the remuneration scales and failed to give reasons, so instruction fees were substantially reduced.
Legal profession — Advocates remuneration order 2015 — taxation of costs — Proper application of schedules — Misapplication of Ninth Schedule to unliquidated/tort claims
14 June 2024
Equivocal guilty pleas and defective, inconsistent charges rendered convictions unsafe; appellants entitled to benefit of doubt.
Criminal procedure — plea of guilty — Equivocal plea — Cannot charge mutually exclusive subsections together
14 June 2024
13 June 2024
Technical failure of the court’s e‑CMS can amount to sufficient cause to permit extension of time to file an appeal.
Civil procedure
— extension of time
— Procedural compliance — non‑appearance and scheduling order noncompliance by respondent treated as failure to prosecute
10 June 2024
7 June 2024
4 June 2024
May 2024
An administratrix cannot be ordered to refund purchase money absent evidence she received or benefited from the sale.
Civil procedure — Burden of proof — allegation of payment to deceased payee — Requirement of receipts
Evidence — Cross-examination — Non-cross-examination does not automatically equate to acceptance — Applicability in civil land disputes
Probate law — Administration of estates — Suit against administrator in personal capacity — Probate and Administration of Estates Act, Cap. 352, ss. 3 & 13
31 May 2024
31 May 2024
29 May 2024
Application for extension of time dismissed: e‑filing difficulties and alleged illegality did not justify delay.
Civil procedure — Electronic filing — transition to e‑CMS — technical difficulties and counsel’s unfamiliarity do not automatically constitute sufficient cause
Civil procedure — extension of time — requirement of sufficient cause and accounting for each day of delay
Civil procedure — Illegality as ground for extension
— may justify extension only where the manner of decision‑making is unlawful (lack of jurisdiction or denial of hearing)
— tribunal’s invitation to parties defeats claim of suo motu decision
22 May 2024
Appellants’ challenges fail; respondent proved ownership on balance of probabilities and assessor-name omission was harmless.
Evidence — Burden and standard of proof — civil cases: balance of probabilities — Corroboration by witnesses and acceptance by failure to cross‑examine
Land disputes — assessors’ opinions — Omission of assessor name/typographical error — No failure of justice
Land law — pleadings and description of immovable property — Identification of land (size, boundaries, neighbours) — Use of witnesses and site visit to identify boundaries
15 May 2024
Applicants' extension of time found incompetent for unexplained 395-day delay and missing co‑applicant affidavit.
Civil procedure
— Extension of time to appeal — Sufficient cause — Duty to account for each day of delay
— Res sub judice — Objection fails if pending matters involve different parties or no proof produced — Civil Procedure Code s.8 (res sub judice rule)
— Omission of affidavit for an applicant renders application incompetent — Requirement that all applicants support the application by affidavit
14 May 2024
A right-to-be-heard illegality apparent on the Ward Tribunal record can justify extending time despite an otherwise unexplained 416-day delay.
Administrative law — Administrative/jurisdictional error — right to be heard — denial of hearing at Ward Tribunal as illegality apparent on the face of the record
Civil procedure
— extension of time
— sufficiency of cause
10 May 2024
Victim’s credible testimony can sustain rape and impregnation convictions; DNA is not the sole means to prove paternity.
Criminal law — sexual offences — Rape and impregnation of a schoolgirl
— DNA not indispensable for proving paternity of unborn child
— exhibits authentication and statutory formality issues
— Victim’s credible testimony may suffice
3 May 2024
Victim's credible evidence upheld convictions for rape and impregnating a pupil; DNA not always required to prove paternity.
Criminal law
— impregnating a schoolgirl — need to establish nexus/paternity (lack of DNA/forensic link) — DNA evidence not invariably required where credible evidence establishes paternity
— sexual offences — proof of rape — victim's evidence as primary evidence and requirement of corroboration, including medical evidence
Criminal procedure — Charge particulars — Date of offence as necessary particular — Lack of specific date or omission of statutory citation does not necessarily vitiate conviction
3 May 2024
3 May 2024
Applicant failed to show good cause for extension; alleged illegality was not apparent on the record.
Land law — extension of time to file appeal
— Accounting for each day of delay
— Imprisonment and seeking legal aid as grounds
— Unstamped documents as irregularity vs. jurisdictional defect
3 May 2024
April 2024
Summary judgment granted for unpaid statutory pension contributions, accumulated penalties, interest and costs against the defendant.
Civil procedure — National Social Security Fund Act s.74A(2)
— award of interest and costs
— recovery of unpaid statutory contributions and penalties
Civil procedure — Summary judgment
29 April 2024
Applicant granted extension to file revision after raising prima facie illegality and denial of hearing.
Extension of time; illegality as sufficient cause; advocate’s practising certificate; right to be heard; substituted service; court may assess illegality prima facie when granting enlargement of time.
25 April 2024
Acquitted where unreliable night-time identification and omitted material witnesses left murder charge unproved.
Criminal law — Murder — visual identification and corroboration — Reliability and sufficiency of identification
Criminal procedure — failure of prosecution to produce witnesses — Failure to call material witness — Adverse inference where prosecution omits to call a central witness
25 April 2024