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443 judgments found.
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December 2021
District Court wrongly struck out a revision; s.22 MCA allows invocation by correspondence and does not require citation in such complaints.
Civil procedure — Procedural fairness — Court should not raise and decide preliminary issues suo motu without hearing parties
Civil procedure — Procedural requirements — Citation of enabling provision required in formal statutory processes but not where court is moved by correspondence
Civil procedure — Revision
— No prescribed modality
— revision may be by chamber summons, correspondence or suo motu
31 December 2021
31 December 2021
30 December 2021
29 December 2021
Whether conviction is sustainable despite procedural defects and whether statutory life sentence applies for raping a six‑year‑old.
Criminal law — Rape
— child witness competency: promise to tell the truth suffices
— conviction procedure errors curable under s388(1) CPA
— no mandatory duty for police investigator to testify
— identification, confession and medical evidence may suffice
— proof of age by testimony
— sentence varied to life under s131
29 December 2021
Court granted interim injunction pending suit, holding s95 CPC and JALA s2(3) permit such relief and AG service sufficed.
Civil procedure
— Government proceedings act (section 6(2)) — Mandatory 90‑day notice before instituting suit or joining government officers — Service on Attorney General sufficient where AG represents government and no prejudice shown
— Interim injunction — Grant of preservation orders in absence of pending suit — Section 95 CPC and s 2(3) JALA
— interim injunction pending suit after statutory notice to Government — Proviso to Order XXXVII does not preclude inter partes injunction against private respondent — Order XXXVII CPC
28 December 2021
Failure to record consideration of assessors' opinions under s.24 renders a judgment defective and warrants remittal for proper judgment.
Land disputes
— Judgment composition — Remittal to trial Chairman to compose proper judgment where assessors' opinions are on record but judgment is silent — Remedy: remittal rather than retrial
— assessors’ opinions — Mandatory requirement to give and consider assessors' written opinions before judgment — Land Disputes Courts Act s.24
28 December 2021
Court upheld conviction based on voluntary written and oral confessions corroborated by conduct and witness testimony.
Criminal law — Confession evidence
— circumstantial corroboration and non-recovery of stolen property not necessarily fatal to conviction
— retracted confession can ground conviction if true
— voluntariness of cautioned and extra-judicial statements
27 December 2021
Victim's credible testimony upheld rape conviction; second conviction quashed to avoid double jeopardy.
Criminal law — Rape and impregnating a schoolgirl
— appellate re-evaluation
— credibility of victim as best evidence in sexual offences
— double jeopardy: quashing concurrent lesser conviction
— minor inconsistencies resolved by handwritten record and medical exhibits
27 December 2021
Revision under s.43(1)(b) is time-barred; Limitation Act applies and condonation for delay was required.
Land law — Land law and civil procedure — Revision — Time limitation
17 December 2021
Traffic guilty plea established negligence; employer vicariously liable and general damages reduced on appeal.
Damages — General damages — appellate court will only disturb quantum if wrong principle applied or award is inordinately high
Evidence — Evidence of prior criminal judgment — Whether criminal judgments are conclusive in civil proceedings — Evidence Act s 43A
Tort — Vicarious liability — employer’s liability for employee’s negligent driving while in course of employment
17 December 2021
Appellate court upholds inclusion of widow as beneficiary and affirms that discriminatory customary rules cannot override the Constitution.
Civil procedure — Probate and administration — determination of applicable law — Primary Court's duty to ascertain mode of life of deceased
Customary law
— Appellate review — District Court’s use of comparative jurisprudence permissible in probate reasoning
— discriminatory customary rules cannot override constitutional non‑discrimination
— entitlement to inherit — widow may inherit directly where evidence supports contribution
— procedural fairness — issues raised in affidavits do not deprive parties of right to be heard
17 December 2021
Dismissal for want of prosecution without guiding an unrepresented appellant violated right to be heard; appeal held premature.
Land law — Land appeal
— dismissal for want of prosecution
— restoration application as remedy
— right to be heard and fair trial
— tribunal's duty to guide or adjourn
— unrepresented litigant
17 December 2021
Wrong case number in appeal papers, caused by tribunal error, is not fatal; amendment permitted.
Civil procedure — Procedure — Preliminary objection
— amendment of pleadings allowed
— Court records inconsistency
— litigant not punished for trial court's clerical error
— overriding objective
— wrong citation of case number in memorandum of appeal
15 December 2021
Applicant failed to prove ownership; customary titles invalid without Village Assembly approval; suit dismissed with costs.
Land law — Cause of action — distinction between ownership dispute and tort of trespass
Land law — evidential burden
— invalidity/unreliability of title where statutory allocation procedures not followed
— proof on balance of probabilities
Land law — ownership of village land
13 December 2021
Delay in medical examination and minor witness inconsistencies do not defeat conviction where accused was caught in the act.
Criminal law
— in flagrante delicto — Direct evidence required to found conviction based on catching in the act — Apprehension at scene affords strong probative weight
— sexual offences against a child — corroboration by immediate witnesses and medical PF.3 — No fixed statutory time for examination
Criminal procedure — charge particulars and curative power under section 388 CPA — Omission to cite specific subsection of the offence — s 388(1) Criminal Procedure Act
13 December 2021
Applicant failed to show good cause for extension of time; illness and financial constraints were insufficient, application dismissed.
Civil procedure — extension of time — good cause — illness evidence and unexplained delay — financial constraints and seeking legal advice not sufficient
10 December 2021
Failure to exhaust the statutory appeal under Regulation 58(13) bars judicial review; application struck out, no costs.
Administrative law — Judicial review — prerogative orders (mandamus and certiorari)
Civil procedure — Verification of pleadings
Immigration law — Immigration Services — appeal to Commissioner General for officers below Assistant Inspector
10 December 2021
10 December 2021
10 December 2021
Applicant failed to show sufficient cause for six‑year delay to set aside dismissal; application dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure
— Abuse of process — repeated incompetent applications and unexplained gaps may justify refusal of extension — Grounds for refusal of extension
— extension of time — application to set aside dismissal for want of prosecution — Sufficient cause required under Law of Limitation Act s 14(1)
10 December 2021
A complaint about insufficient evidence for declaring paternity is a factual issue, not a certifiable point of law.
Civil procedure — Certification of points of law for appeal — Certification of point of law under s 5(2)(c) Appellate Jurisdiction Act — Distinction between absence of any evidence (question of law) and insufficiency/weight of evidence (question of fact)
Probate law — recognition of heir — Locus standi and procedural compliance in declarations of customary children — Customary (Declaration) Orders Rules (G.N. No. 279 of 1963)
10 December 2021
Appeal dismissed save that excessive imprisonment was reduced to the 15‑year statutory minimum; caution statement and conviction upheld.
Criminal law — Robbery — sufficiency of identification where accused arrested at scene of crime — Identification immaterial where accused apprehended fleeing scene
Criminal procedure — Minimum Sentences Act — Limits of subordinate court sentencing powers under section 170 Criminal Procedure Act — Minimum Sentences Act s 5(a)(1), Criminal Procedure Act s 170(1)
Evidence — Caution statement — Competency of police officer of or above rank of constable to record statement — Evidence Act s 3(1)
10 December 2021
10 December 2021
9 December 2021
8 December 2021
8 December 2021
7 December 2021
7 December 2021
Victim's visual and voice identification plus medical evidence of penetration upheld conviction for rape despite absence of spermatozoa.
Criminal law
— Rape — Identification evidence — Application of Waziri Amani factors (lighting, prior acquaintance, immediate naming, arrest at scene)
— corroboration — medical (PF3) confirming penetration — Medical evidence of penetration by blunt object suffices despite absence of spermatozoa
7 December 2021
Second appeal dismissed; concurrent factual findings on misrepresentation and agreed compensation upheld.
Appellate practice — Second appeal — Interference with concurrent findings of fact — Misapprehension or misdirection required to interfere
Evidence — Evaluation of evidence — Admission of written agreement and sample exhibits supporting claimant’s balance of probabilities
Tort — Misrepresentation — Seller’s liability to compensate buyer where quality misrepresented and compensation was agreed
7 December 2021
Court upheld statutory rape conviction, finding victim testimony corroborated by medical evidence and date variances non‑prejudicial.
Criminal law — sexual offences against a child — Proof of age, penetration and identity — Proof that victim is under relevant statutory age is an essential ingredient
Criminal procedure — Variance between charge particulars and evidence — Variance between charge and evidence as to time — Section 388 Criminal Procedure Act (curing defects)
Evidence — Witnesses — Failure to call material witnesses — Number of witnesses required to prove a fact
7 December 2021
Court restored land application dismissed for want of prosecution, finding consistent prior appearances amounted to good cause.
Civil procedure — restoration — Dismissal for want of prosecution — Consistent prior appearances as basis for restoration — Judicial discretion and substantive justice
7 December 2021
Appellate court upheld statutory rape conviction, finding reliable identification and medical corroboration despite inadequate trial defence analysis.
Criminal law
— Statutory rape — medical corroboration (PF3) — Penal Code s 130(1)(2)(e)
— Visual identification — Reliability of identification — Requirements for watertight identification (Waziri Amani)
6 December 2021
Voir dire no longer required; expert and witness evidence sufficient to uphold child‑rape conviction.
Criminal law — Child evidence
— curable defect in charge under s388
— delay in medical exam not necessarily fatal
— materiality of witnesses
— medical expert evidence admissible and probative
— promise to tell the truth suffices
— Voir dire requirement removed by amendment
6 December 2021
Second appeal dismissed; concurrent factual findings upheld as supported by evidence and fair hearing.
Criminal law — assault causing actual bodily harm — sufficiency of evidence
Criminal law — concurrent findings of trial and appellate courts
— interference only if misapprehension of evidence or wrong application of law
— right to be heard/natural justice
6 December 2021
6 December 2021
Waiting for a copy of an impugned ruling and a dispute over illegality can justify extension to file a reference; separate applications required for distinct decisions.
Legal profession
— Advocates remuneration order (order 8) — extension of time to file reference
— omnibus applications — separate applications for distinct decisions
— practice of attaching impugned ruling — good practice/necessary
— sufficient cause — waiting for copy and alleged illegality can justify extension
3 December 2021
Delay in receiving a copy of the ruling justified extension to file reference against a taxed bill of costs.
Legal profession — Advocates remuneration order — extension of time to file reference against taxed bill of costs — delay due to late supply of ruling
— discretionary extension factors
— merits of EFD/voucher evidence reserved for reference
— no legal requirement to attach impugned ruling
3 December 2021
Where a bill of costs is dismissed for want of prosecution the applicant should seek restoration, not a reference under Order 7.
Legal profession
— Advocates remuneration order GN No.264/2015 — proper citation
— preliminary objection — competence and verification
— procedure — proper remedy where bill of costs dismissed for want of prosecution
3 December 2021
Conviction quashed: unreliable solar‑light identifications and improperly admitted caution statement due to absent trial‑within‑trial.
Criminal law — Visual identification — Reliability of identification
Criminal procedure
— Cautioned statement — Duty to conduct inquiry/trial‑within‑trial into voluntariness where objection is raised
— omission to enter conviction — Omitted conviction and remittal
3 December 2021
2 December 2021
2 December 2021
Extension granted to file leave to appeal: delay due to late supply of records and citation error held clerical and curable.
Appellate practice — Appellate procedure — Extension of time
Civil procedure
— Overriding objective — cure of clerical mis‑citation
— Relief — extension granted where no prejudice shown to respondent
Evidence — delay caused by court’s failure to supply records — diligence of requester
2 December 2021
November 2021
Victim’s credible testimony, corroborated by relatives and medical evidence, upheld conviction for unnatural offence.
Criminal law — corroboration — victim’s account corroborated by relatives and medical PF3
Criminal law — Defence of alibi — requires notice
Criminal law — Unnatural offence — Evidence of child witness
— post‑amendment requirement is promise to tell the truth
— voir dire not required
Evidence — Proof of age — parent’s oral testimony sufficient absent birth certificate
30 November 2021
High Court partly allows appeal: pharmacy not joint property; house divided 80% respondent, 20% appellant; visitation granted.
Civil procedure — Appeals — afterthought grounds not raised at first appeal dismissed
Family law — division of matrimonial property under section 114 LMA
— house divided 80/20 due to respondent’s greater contribution
— pharmacy not proved as joint asset
— requirement of proof of joint acquisition
— weight of contributions (money, work) considered
30 November 2021
29 November 2021
Appellate tribunal's unproved awards, improper assessor participation and a fraudulent auction vitiated proceedings; sale void, title restored.
Civil procedure — Proof of special damages — Specific damages must be strictly pleaded and proved before award by tribunal
Land law
— District Land and Housing Tribunal composition — mandatory requirement for Chairman to sit with not less than two assessors and for assessors to give and have their opinions recorded — Land Disputes Courts Act s23
— Execution and auction sales — Fraudulent or collusive auction vitiates transfer and renders sale void
28 November 2021
Where a fixed‑term contract is renewed by default, unfair termination compensation equals the remaining unexpired term.
Employment law
— Fixed‑term contracts — renewal by default — unfair termination — measure of compensation equals remaining unexpired period
— probation — successive renewals do not restart probation
— reliefs — unpleaded claims and double recovery disallowed
26 November 2021
Appellate court quashed rape conviction due to unexplained reporting delay, witness contradictions, and unreliable prosecution evidence.
Appellate practice — Appellate review — First appellate court’s power to re-evaluate evidence and reach its own findings
Criminal law — Rape — Proof beyond reasonable doubt
Evidence — Witness credibility — Contradictions between victim and parent
26 November 2021