|
Citation
|
Judgment date
|
| November 2025 |
|
|
Revision dismissed: termination found unfair due to employer's failure to produce evidence and observe disciplinary procedure.
Labour law – unfair termination – employer’s burden to prove valid reason and fair procedure; disciplinary procedure (Rule 13(5) G.N. No. 42/2007); admissibility of exhibits; absence of employee admission; entitlement to severance where termination unfair; refusal to deduct alleged stolen amount without proof of employee liability.
|
11 November 2025 |
|
Where pleadings do not disclose when a trespass claim arose, a tribunal cannot presume accrual on the deceased’s death; strike out is appropriate.
Land law – limitation – recovery of deceased’s land – s.9(1) Law of Limitation Act (time deemed to accrue on death) – exceptions under s.24(1) where right accrues after death – accrual may depend on discovery of trespass or appointment of administrator – parties bound by pleadings; strike out defective application where cause of action not pleaded. |
7 November 2025 |
|
|
7 November 2025 |
| October 2025 |
|
|
Failure to describe land may not be fatal if the respondent’s evidence sufficiently identifies the property and proves ownership.
* Land law – description of immovable property – Order VII Rule 3 CPC – adequacy of description required to identify suit land
* Civil procedure – remedy for inadequate description – strike out versus determination on merits where identification is possible
* Evidence – civil standard – re-evaluation on balance of probabilities; weight of testimony and contradictions
* Procedural fairness – suo motu consideration of description does not necessarily violate right to be heard when treated in assessment of proof
|
24 October 2025 |
|
Revision dismissed: arbitrator properly decided that a casual worker is not protected from unfair termination and raised no new issues.
Labour law – casual worker status – protection from unfair termination – CMA's finding that casual labourers are not covered; review – material irregularity; procedural fairness – whether arbitrator decided on issues on record and whether new issues were raised without hearing parties.
|
24 October 2025 |
|
Visual identification by known witnesses upheld; convictions affirmed but life sentences reduced to thirty years.
Criminal law – Armed robbery – Visual identification by known witnesses – Identification parade unnecessary where witnesses knew suspects – Minor contradictions not fatal – No documentary ownership required for domestic animals – Recent possession inapplicable where suspects arrested after delay – Sentencing: first offender mitigation requires consideration; life sentence substituted with statutory minimum thirty years.
|
24 October 2025 |
|
Tribunal’s hearing of preliminary objections before complying with an appellate order to visit locus in quo was irregular and nullified.
Land dispute – compliance with appellate orders – obligation to visit locus in quo – preliminary objections – non-joinder and jurisdiction – Registrar of Titles – fatal irregularity – nullification and remittal for fresh judgment.
|
21 October 2025 |
|
Prosecution failed to prove unnatural offence and abduction due to inconsistent testimony and unreliable identification.
* Criminal law – Unnatural offence and abduction – burden of proof; credibility of victim in sexual offences; visual identification and identification parade requirements; corroboration by medical evidence; necessity for clear prior description and uniqueness of vehicle or features.
|
20 October 2025 |
|
Appeal allowed; conviction quashed due to unreliable prosecution evidence and insufficient proof linking appellant to rape.
* Criminal law – Sexual offences – Child rape – Credibility of complainant – Delay in reporting and failure to promptly name suspect undermining reliability.
* Evidentiary law – Corroboration and hearsay – Father’s hearsay/unexplained account found improbable.
* Medical evidence – Delayed examination (approx. 20 days) and failure to specify fresh injuries reduces probative value.
* Appellate review – Re-evaluation of credibility where conviction rests on credibility of witnesses.
|
20 October 2025 |
|
Appellant’s statutory rape conviction quashed due to material inconsistencies that destroyed the victim’s credibility.
* Criminal law – Statutory rape – elements: age, penetration, identity; credibility of child witness; material contradictions between victim’s testimony, guardian’s account and medical record; appellate assessment of witness coherence.
|
17 October 2025 |
|
|
17 October 2025 |
|
Appellate court expunged unread PF3 and quashed conviction due to a fatally defective charge omitting consent.
Criminal law – Rape – particulars of offence must disclose essential elements (consent) – defective charge fatal and not curable under s.388 CPA; Evidence – documentary exhibits admitted must be read in court – failure leads to expungement.
|
15 October 2025 |
|
|
15 October 2025 |
|
|
7 October 2025 |
|
|
6 October 2025 |
|
Appellant failed to prove land ownership; adverse inference for not calling material witness; appeal dismissed with costs.
Land dispute — ownership and trespass; burden of proof on balance of probabilities; credibility and consistency of witnesses; failure to call material witness — adverse inference (Hemed Said v. Mohamed Mbilu); appellate restraint absent misapprehension of evidence.
|
3 October 2025 |
|
Appellant's sodomy conviction quashed where prosecution omitted a material witness and the victim's testimony was inconsistent.
* Criminal law – Unnatural offence – Burden of proof – prosecution must prove offence beyond reasonable doubt.
* Evidence – Adverse inference – failure to call material witness who reported incidents at village meeting.
* Evidence – Credibility of child complainant – inconsistencies between testimony and medical record can undermine reliability.
* Medical evidence – delay and contents of medical report considered in assessing corroboration.
* Procedure – conviction quashed where material links in prosecution case unexplained.
|
3 October 2025 |
| September 2025 |
|
|
|
26 September 2025 |
|
|
25 September 2025 |
|
|
5 September 2025 |
| August 2025 |
|
|
Court found dismissal for misconduct lawful; severance and compensation awards set aside.
Employment law — unfair termination — misconduct — locus of misconduct (workplace versus outside) — burden to prove reasons for dismissal — severance pay not payable for dismissal for misconduct — compensation payable only for unfair termination.
|
29 August 2025 |
|
A complaint exceeding the Insurance Ombudsman's jurisdictional limit renders the proceedings and decision a nullity.
Insurance law – Jurisdiction of Insurance Ombudsman – Pecuniary limits – Validity of proceedings where claim exceeds jurisdictional threshold – Nullity of proceedings.
|
26 August 2025 |
|
Prosecution’s failure to establish ownership and resolve evidentiary gaps resulted in the respondent’s acquittal for theft being upheld.
Criminal law – appeal against acquittal – proof beyond reasonable doubt – ownership of alleged stolen property – adverse inference for failure to call material witness – variance between charge and proof.
|
26 August 2025 |
|
First appellate court upheld respondents’ ownership: appellant’s case was hearsay and failed on balance of probabilities.
* Land law – ownership and possession – proof on balance of probabilities – direct evidence versus hearsay. * Evidence – hearsay inadmissibility and weight. * Civil procedure – locus in quo inspection and parties’ right to show demarcations. * Succession and capacity – administrators and surviving spouse’s rights to land without separate letters of administration.
|
26 August 2025 |
|
Land tribunal proceedings nullified due to failure to join the Attorney General and lack of jurisdiction after statutory amendment.
Procedural law – Government Proceedings Act – Amendment regarding joinder of Attorney General – Jurisdiction of tribunal in suits involving local government authorities – Nullification of proceedings for procedural non-compliance.
|
21 August 2025 |
|
A tribunal's decree is valid despite insufficient property description if both parties clearly understood the disputed subject matter.
Land law – Administrator of estate – Pleadings and reliefs not specifically prayed for – Sufficiency of property description – Effect of insufficient property description where there is no prejudice – Tribunal's power to grant relief consistent with evidence and pleadings.
|
21 August 2025 |
|
The court upheld conviction for statutory rape, finding no merit in objections to confession evidence and medical proof of penetration.
Criminal law – Rape – Evidence – Confession – Admissibility of extra-judicial statement – Requirement for trial-within-a-trial – Medical evidence – Standard of proof – Non-calling of available witnesses – Statutory rape.
|
20 August 2025 |
|
Conviction quashed where prosecution failed to prove case beyond reasonable doubt and did not call a material witness.
Criminal law – Unnatural offence – Standard of proof – Failure to call material witnesses – Adverse inference against prosecution – Sufficiency and credibility of evidence – Conviction quashed where reasonable doubt persists.
|
15 August 2025 |
|
Court overturned the tribunal’s ruling, declaring the appellant owner after finding respondent failed to substantiate purchase claim.
Land law – ownership dispute – standard of proof – adverse inference for failure to call material witness – burden of proof in civil cases – effect of failure to produce sale agreement.
|
14 August 2025 |
|
Conviction for rape quashed due to evidentiary inconsistencies, delayed reporting, and doubts as to proof beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Rape – Standard of proof – Delay in reporting and naming perpetrator – Age inconsistency – Credibility of witnesses – Appellate review.
|
13 August 2025 |
|
A claim for land ownership dismissed where appellant failed to prove inheritance and respondents showed valid purchase and long possession.
Land law – Limitation of actions – Calculation of limitation period for land recovery – Proof of ownership – Comparative reliability of documentary versus oral evidence – Appellate powers of court in re-evaluation of evidence.
|
12 August 2025 |
|
Conviction quashed where broken chain of custody and improperly admitted extra‑judicial statement left reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — Evidence — Chain of custody — Contradictory transfer dates breaking chain; Admissibility of extra‑judicial/confession statements — material witness (Justice of the Peace) must be called; Competency to tender statements — investigator must account for custody; Identification — informer’s prior identification and independent witness familiarity are critical; Standard of proof — prosecution must exclude reasonable doubt.
|
11 August 2025 |
|
Conviction for statutory rape quashed where voice identification and a retracted caution statement failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Rape (statutory) – proof of penetration and age; Identification – voice identification at night is weak; Caution statement – retracted confession and need for corroboration; Conviction unsafe where identification and confession are unreliable.
|
11 August 2025 |
|
|
7 August 2025 |
|
|
1 August 2025 |
| July 2025 |
|
|
Convictions based on retracted confessions without independent corroboration cannot stand where prosecution evidence is insufficient.
Criminal law – circumstantial evidence – reliability and admissibility of retracted confessions – requirement for corroboration – insufficiency of prosecution evidence – failure to call material witnesses – standard of proof in criminal cases.
|
30 July 2025 |
|
|
25 July 2025 |
|
|
25 July 2025 |
|
The court convicted the accused for murder on circumstantial evidence but ordered detention during the President's pleasure due to mental incapacity during trial.
Criminal law – murder – circumstantial evidence – chain of evidence – standard of proof – mental incapacity of accused during trial – sentencing under President’s pleasure.
|
23 July 2025 |
|
A conviction for murder was sustained based on credible single eyewitness testimony and corroborative medical evidence.
Criminal Law – Murder – Eyewitness testimony as sole basis for conviction – Assessment of credibility – Proof of malice aforethought – Standard of proof – Defence of alibi.
|
23 July 2025 |
|
Prosecution’s reliance on flawed circumstantial evidence and inadmissible confessions led to the acquittal of the accused persons.
Criminal law – murder – circumstantial evidence – weight of confession statements – evidentiary standards – failure to call material witnesses – benefit of doubt to accused.
|
23 July 2025 |
|
The accused was acquitted of murder due to insufficient and inconsistent circumstantial evidence failing to meet the standard of proof.
Criminal law – murder – circumstantial evidence – standard of proof – role of inconsistencies in witness testimony – acquittal where reasonable doubt exists.
|
23 July 2025 |
|
A murder conviction was based on confessional evidence, circumstantial facts, and established malice aforethought, resulting in a death sentence.
Criminal law – Murder – Circumstantial evidence – Confessional statements – Malice aforethought – Provocation and intoxication as defences – Death penalty.
|
23 July 2025 |
|
A murder conviction based on circumstantial evidence and the 'last seen' doctrine, resulting in a mandatory death sentence.
Criminal law – murder – circumstantial evidence – doctrine of last person seen – requirement for corroboration – malice aforethought – death sentence – burden of proof in criminal matters.
|
23 July 2025 |
|
The High Court remanded the case for further proceedings due to improper dismissal of application for non-appearance despite claimed sickness.
Land Law – Application for restoration – Sickness as valid cause for non-appearance – Evaluation of evidence regarding name discrepancies
|
17 July 2025 |
|
|
11 July 2025 |
|
|
11 July 2025 |
|
|
11 July 2025 |
|
Court upholds fair termination of employment for misconduct under Labour Relations Act principles.
Labour law – unfair termination – procedural and substantive fairness – valid reasons for termination – misconduct by employees.
|
10 July 2025 |
| June 2025 |
|
|
|
27 June 2025 |