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61 judgments found.
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December 2017
A sale lacking essential land particulars and made by a person with only temporary village allocation cannot transfer village land.
Land law
— adverse possession — long use does not confer title where village ownership/allocation is known
— Village land — disposal by individual with temporary allocation — inability to transfer ownership
29 December 2017
Failure to comply with mandatory s.235(1) Criminal Procedure Act renders convictions null despite sufficient evidence.
Criminal law — unlawful possession of government trophy and firearms — evidential sufficiency and admissibility of trophy valuation
20 December 2017
The appellant’s convictions lacking complainant testimony were quashed; convictions with direct and corroborated evidence were upheld.
Criminal law
— Forgery and obtaining by false pretence — inadmissibility of hearsay to prove deception
— proof beyond reasonable doubt — sufficiency of direct evidence and corroborated expert comparison
— Sentencing and compensation — appellate reduction of excessive award
13 December 2017
Credible victim testimony and medical proof can sustain a rape conviction despite expunged physical exhibit and confession.
Criminal law — Sexual offence (rape) — Victim's testimony as primary evidence and requirement of proof of penetration — Evidence Act s 127(7)
Criminal procedure — Admissibility of caution statements — recording within prescribed time — Criminal Procedure Act s 51(1)
Evidence — Forensic/exhibits — Alleged blood stains require expert/DNA analysis before admissibility
11 December 2017
November 2017
Conviction for incest quashed where defence raised reasonable doubt and medical evidence did not link appellant to the offence.
Criminal law
— Defence evidence — Failure to consider defence — Effect on safety of conviction
— medical evidence — Loss of hymen indicates penetration but does not, by itself, identify the assailant
— Sexual offences/incest — Proof of identity of assailant
29 November 2017
Termination was substantively fair for misconduct but procedurally unfair; compensation reduced to six months' remuneration.
Civil procedure — Remedies — Compensation — discretion to reduce awarded months where dismissal substantively fair but procedurally flawed
Labour law — termination of employment — Substantive fairness (misconduct)
10 November 2017
CMA award quashed where no written mandate supported a representative claim; parties ordered to refile within 30 days.
Representative proceedings — Labour Institutions (Mediation & Arbitration) Rules GN No.64/2007 — Rule 5(2)&(3): written mandate/list required for multi-employee filings — Rule 24(1)-(3): joinder — failure to record mandate or joinder renders CMA proceedings nullity ab initio.
9 November 2017
Conviction for attempted unnatural offence quashed for lack of overt acts, unreliable medical evidence, and inadequate reasons for substitution.
Criminal law — Unnatural offence — Attempt to commit unnatural offence — Proof requires overt acts and proof beyond reasonable doubt — Penal Code s.155
Evidence
— Documentary evidence (PF.3) — Need for oral evidence to connect PF3 and opportunity for accused to be heard — Confession evidence inadmissible if improperly recorded
— victim’s testimony — Reliance on uncorroborated testimony and need for medical corroboration — Evidence Act s.127(7)
2 November 2017
Co-accused's cautioned statement admissible; conviction for receiving stolen property upheld absent retraction or sufficient defence.
Criminal law — Receiving stolen property — Use of co-accused’s cautioned/confession statement against co-accused — Number of witnesses not determinative
2 November 2017
October 2017
Conviction quashed where handwriting expert evidence lacked corroboration by the alleged signatory.
Criminal law — Forgery — Admissibility and corroboration of handwriting evidence — Requirement for corroboration by the alleged signatory
Evidence — Documentary evidence — admitted documents speak for themselves — Use of seized document for signature comparison where document is not disputed
13 October 2017
Appeal dismissed: Primary Court decisions must be appealed to the District Court, not the Land and Housing Tribunal.
Appellate practice — appeals originating from Primary Court — Petition of appeal to be filed in the District Court — Magistrates Courts Act s.20(1)(b)
Land disputes — Jurisdiction of District Land and Housing Tribunal — District Land and Housing Tribunal lacks jurisdiction to entertain appeals from Primary or District Courts — Land Disputes Courts Act s.35(1)
13 October 2017
Court endorsed deed of settlement as judgment ordering payment, surrender of property, and enforcement on default.
Civil procedure
— Consent/settlement — High Court endorsement of parties’ Deed of Settlement as judgment and decree
— Enforcement — execution of decree on default
— Property transfer — payment schedule and surrender of premises
12 October 2017
Appeal dismissed: familiar-victim identification under nearby lighting was held reliable in robbery with violence.
Criminal law — Robbery with violence — Identification at night where victim is familiar with accused — Reliability of identification evidence
Criminal procedure
— Delay in arrest — Effect of suspect’s unavailability on safety of prosecution case
— failure of prosecution to produce witnesses — Necessity to call hearsay recipients (neighbours) where primary witnesses and police provide direct evidence
10 October 2017
Conviction cannot rest solely on an uncorroborated co‑accused confession; particulars must be proved beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law
— confession of co-accused — conviction cannot be based solely on co‑accused's confession — Evidence Act s 33(2), Ally Salehe Nsutu [1980] TLR 11
— Particulars of offence — Failure to prove essential particulars warrants appellate interference — Proof of particulars beyond reasonable doubt
5 October 2017
A defective charge and insufficient circumstantial evidence require quashing the appellant's shopbreaking conviction.
Criminal law — shopbreaking — defective charge for failure to specify subsection — improperly recorded caution statement — conviction quashed for failure to prove case beyond reasonable doubt
4 October 2017
September 2017
Appeal allowed and matter remitted for retrial due to reliance on untendered documents, assessors' improper cross-examination, and improper composition.
Civil procedure — improper composition at locus in quo — requirement of chairman plus two assessors
Civil procedure — remedy
— no costs ordered
— retrial before different chairman and assessors
Land disputes
— Evidence — assessors not permitted to cross-examine witnesses
— Land dispute — reliance on untendered documents — exhibit
29 September 2017
Whether time spent obtaining certified copies is excluded when computing the 45‑day appeal period for the appellant.
Land law — Appeals — Time for appeal from District Land and Housing Tribunal (original jurisdiction)
28 September 2017
19 September 2017
Guilty plea was valid; ten-year sentence found excessive and reduced to concurrent three-year terms.
Criminal law — Plea of guilty — Validity and completeness of plea
Criminal law — sentencing
— appellate interference where sentence is manifestly excessive
— Mitigating factors and early guilty plea
— Substitution of concurrent term
12 September 2017
12 September 2017
August 2017
Victim’s testimony corroborated by mother and medical evidence sufficed to uphold statutory rape conviction.
Criminal law — sexual offences against a child — Proof of penetration — Corroboration by medical report (PF3)
Criminal procedure — credibility of family witnesses — Admissibility and weight
Evidence — Medical report (PF3) admissibility — Tendering and accused’s right to call or cross‑examine medical officer
22 August 2017
Administrator entitled to house where evidence showed gift to her mother and respondent’s claim was time‑barred.
Land law — ownership — gift inter vivos — donor’s tax receipts do not necessarily defeat a valid gift to donee who occupied property.* Limitation of actions
7 August 2017
Unauthorised representation of a corporate respondent vitiates tribunal proceedings as a jurisdictional nullity.
Land law
— jurisdictional defect
— costs assessed by Taxing Master
— nullity of proceedings where corporate entity not duly represented or served
— unauthorised representative
— locus standi — representation of corporate respondent
3 August 2017
Convictions quashed for lack of territorial jurisdiction, deficient judgment analysis and reliance on uncorroborated expert handwriting opinion.
Criminal law — territorial jurisdiction — trial without jurisdiction nullifies proceedings
Criminal procedure
— Evidence — expert handwriting opinion
— Judgment requirements
2 August 2017
July 2017
Conviction for drug possession quashed where Government Chemist did not testify and exhibit quantities conflicted.
Criminal law — possession of narcotic drugs — requirement of proof that seized material is cannabis sativa
— charging
— discrepancy between charge and exhibits’ quantities undermines prosecution case
— expert
25 July 2017
Respondent’s continuous occupation proved ownership; disputed land not shown to be village land, appeal dismissed.
Evidence
— Hearsay — Weight and admissibility where primary witnesses provide direct evidence but other witnesses’ accounts are hearsay and doubtful
— Proof of ownership — Occupation/possession evidence required to establish title
Land law — Village land — Proof of ownership and oral allocation requires corroborating witnesses and village allocation document
19 July 2017
Conviction for statutory rape upheld; sentence altered to corporal punishment because appellant was aged eighteen or less at commission.
Criminal law
— Cautioned statement — admissibility and weight
— Juvenile sentencing — corporal punishment
— sexual offences against a child — Proof of penetration
11 July 2017
Court upheld convictions, finding victims' recognition under torchlight reliable and non-tendering of the torch non-fatal.
Criminal law
— Evidence — Tendering of exhibits — Absence not fatal where witness testimony establishes lighting and observation
— Visual identification — Evidence of recognition — Even recognition of a known person requires clear detail on lighting, distance and circumstances to be reliable
— property offences — Armed robbery and grievous harm — Proof beyond reasonable doubt supported by eyewitness and medical evidence
10 July 2017
An unequivocal guilty plea admitting all elements bars appeal on conviction; procedural defects in exhibits immaterial absent objection.
Criminal law — Rape
— Admissibility and procedural irregularity
— Admission of facts
— Caution statement and PF3
— Appeal barred by Section 360(1) when convicted on guilty plea
— Afterthought allegations of coercion
— Plea of guilty
4 July 2017
Delay and procedural defects made the respondent's termination unfair; general damages award quashed, 48 months' compensation upheld.
Labour law — procedural fairness — promptness, opportunity to mitigate, six‑month guideline
Labour law — remedies
— assessment and quashing of excessive general damages
— judicial review of CMA awards
— reinstatement/re‑engagement/compensation
Labour law — unfair termination — substantive fairness (delay, employer conduct, proof on balance of probabilities)
3 July 2017
Forced resignation amounted to unfair termination; employee awarded remaining fixed‑term compensation and statutory severance.
Labour law
— Constructive termination — Employer‑created intolerable conditions — Employer‑induced resignation, procedural requirements under GN No. 42 of 2007 Rule 13
— Remedies for unfair termination — severance (s42) — Compensation for unexpired fixed‑term period and severance under ELRA s42(2)(a), repatriation entitlement under s43(1)(c)
— termination of employment — Substantive fairness (misconduct) — Failure to prove alleged disclosure of confidential information, absence of third‑party witness
3 July 2017
High Court partly allowed revision to call, inspect and revise CMA records; precise relief not specified.
Labour law — Revision of CMA award — Court will not set aside arbitration award absent sufficient grounds — Procedure where respondent absent
3 July 2017
Termination was substantively fair for misconduct but procedurally unfair for insufficient notice; twelve months' compensation awarded.
Employment law — unfair termination — substantive fairness (misconduct/gross dishonesty based on falsified warehouse reports) — procedural fairness — alleged bias of investigator on disciplinary committee — remedy: twelve months' compensation under s.40(1)(c) ELRA
3 July 2017
June 2017
Conviction quashed where child’s evidence was uncorroborated and voir dire/in‑camera procedures were defective.
Criminal law — sexual offences — Proof of penetration — Specificity of complainant's description
Criminal procedure
— child witness — voir dire — Competency to give evidence
— non-compliance vitiates proceedings — In camera proceedings — Mandatory procedure and effect of procedural irregularities
30 June 2017
Whether the CMA had jurisdiction to hear a public servant's dismissal dispute despite the option to appeal to the Public Service Commission.
Administrative law — Administrative appeals
— Regulation 60(2) GN No.168/2003
— Whether appeal to the Public Service Commission is mandatory
Labour law — Jurisdiction of CMA — Exhaustion of internal remedies by public servants before instituting labour proceedings
23 June 2017
CMA may hear disputes by public servants; appeal to Public Service Commission under r60(2) is optional, not mandatory.
Labour law — Jurisdiction of CMA
— Exhaustion of internal remedies by public servants before instituting labour proceedings
— Public Service Regulations GN No.168/2003 r 60(2)
23 June 2017
The CMA had jurisdiction to hear a public servant's labour dispute; appeal to the Public Service Commission is optional.
Civil procedure — Statutory construction
— cannot found a challenge to jurisdiction
— citation to non-existent
Labour law — jurisdiction — CMA’s power
23 June 2017
Appeal allowed: claim time‑barred, administratrix lacked locus standi, and respondent failed to prove title.
Civil procedure — locus standi of administrator — Letters of administration required
Land law — Limitation — Accrual of cause of action and twelve‑year limitation
— Law of Limitation
— Schedule
Land law — proof of title — burden on claimant to prove ownership on balance of probabilities
20 June 2017
A conviction based solely on delayed exculpatory child testimony without proper s127 inquiry and corroboration is unsafe.
Criminal law — sexual offences against a child — Rape and unnatural offence
Evidence — Child witness (tender age) — Compliance with s 127(2) Evidence Act
Evidential weight of medical (PF3) and witness testimony — Medical evidence (PF3) — Corroboration of child testimony by PF3/medical findings (penetration)
20 June 2017
Conviction quashed where the child complainant's unsworn evidence lacked independent corroboration and specific dates.
Criminal law — sexual offences against a child — reliance on victim’s testimony and medical (PF3) corroboration
Criminal procedure — Charge sheet — Necessity to prove specific date of rape as stated in the charge sheet
Evidence — Corroboration of child evidence — Medical evidence and independent witness locating accused on victim provided sufficient corroboration
20 June 2017
Appellate court quashed non‑custodial sentences for statutory minimum offence and equalised compensation between respondents.
Criminal law — obtaining money by false pretence — Minimum sentence
8 June 2017
Judgment quashed and retrial ordered due to defective locus inspection, unlawful tribunal intervention, and improperly tendered settlement document.
Civil practice and procedure
— Documents not admitted in evidence — Proper production of originals and compliance with O VII R.14(1) and burden of proof
— Irregularity in the trial proceedings — Unauthorized intervention by a non‑presiding chairman — Proceedings nullified
Land law — Boundary dispute — Locus in quo inspection — Requirement of illustrative sketch plan
6 June 2017
May 2017
The applicant succeeded in having a tribunal's striking-out order quashed and the matter remitted for merits determination.
Appellate practice — Appellate review — quashing of tribunal’s procedural order
Civil procedure — Costs — each party to bear own costs
Land law — Land procedure — striking out applications
— remittal to Tribunal for merits determination
— whether Tribunal properly struck out application instead of determining it on merits
10 May 2017
April 2017
Whether a husband’s sale of matrimonial land without the wife’s consent and without lawful process was valid.
Land law
— Appeal — setting aside tribunal decision for miscarriage of justice
— Limitation — recovery of land (12 years)
— matrimonial property — Whether land sold by husband was matrimonial
— Village authority — no power to order forced sale as punishment
19 April 2017
Appellants' identification at scene was insufficient and prosecution failed to prove armed robbery beyond reasonable doubt.
Civil procedure — Procedural law — Omission to cite statutory provision in judgment
Criminal law — identification evidence — Visual identification
10 April 2017
March 2017
A conviction entered on an unequivocal guilty plea bars appeal against conviction under s.360(1), absent sentence-only grounds.
Criminal procedure — plea of guilty
— equivocal
— language comprehension and voluntariness of plea
Criminal procedure — s.360(1) Criminal Procedure Act — appeal barred where conviction on plea of guilty
28 March 2017
Tribunal's failure to follow land‑acquisition procedure and to account for assessors' opinion rendered its decision invalid.
Land law
— customary occupancy
— Evidence — documents not tendered/admitted cannot be relied upon
— procedure — mandatory requirement to record and account for assessors' opinions under section 24 of the Land Disputes Courts Act
— Village land management — limits on village council powers and revocation procedure
28 March 2017
Tribunal decided an unframed boundary issue and condemned a party unheard; appeal allowed and matter remitted for retrial.
Civil procedure — Framing of issues — court may not raise and decide an unframed issue without giving parties opportunity to lead evidence and address the court (audi alteram partem) — Order XV Rule 5(1) Civil Procedure Code
Land law
— Certificate of Occupancy — Validity and propriety require adjudication on ownership and due procedure
— ownership dispute — duty to decide framed issues
28 March 2017
Conviction quashed for defective charge where entrusted gold was converted; retrial ordered with proper charge.
Criminal law — Stealing by agent — Wrong statutory citation where entrusted property (gold) was converted into cash — Distinction between s.273(b) and s.273(e) of the Penal Code
Criminal procedure — Defective charge — Conviction quashed and sentence set aside where essential elements not alleged or proved — Retrial required
21 March 2017
Conviction quashed for defective charge; compensation set aside and retrial ordered, pending proper statutory basis.
Criminal law — Sexual offence (rape) — Charge must cite correct subsection (s130(2)(e)) where victim is under eighteen — Prejudice to fair trial
Criminal procedure — Compensation orders — Order unsustainable where underlying conviction is quashed — Penal Code s.131(1) (as amended)
14 March 2017