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Citation
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Judgment date
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| July 2022 |
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Appellate court upholds discretionary general damages and costs where specific damages were pleaded but not strictly proved.
Tort—neighbour principle and negligence; particulars of negligence required in pleadings; special damages must be strictly proved; general damages discretionary and seldom disturbed on appeal; costs follow partial success; punitive damages require proven culpability; burden of proof remains on claimant.
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29 July 2022 |
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High Court cannot extend time to serve a notice of appeal once filed in the Court of Appeal.
Appellate procedure – extension of time – s.11(1) Appellate Jurisdiction Act – limited to pre-notice-of-appeal remedies. Court of Appeal Rules – Rule 84(1) (service of notice) and Rule 10 (extension of time) – extension is a power of the Court of Appeal. Jurisdiction – filing of notice of appeal in the Court of Appeal divests the High Court of jurisdiction over matters governed by Court of Appeal Rules.
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28 July 2022 |
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Court grants extension due to technical delay after applicant was served incorrect documents; alleged illegality not apparent.
Extension of time – Land Disputes Courts Act s.41(2); technical delay where earlier appeal was struck out; sufficient cause and accounting for each day (Lyamuya); alleged illegality must be apparent on face of record; Regulation 3(2)(b) GN No.174/2003 – description of suit land; locus in quo relevance.
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28 July 2022 |
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28 July 2022 |
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28 July 2022 |
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28 July 2022 |
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26 July 2022 |
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Child’s sworn testimony and medical evidence corroborated sodomy; appeal dismissed and conviction with 30‑year sentence upheld.
Criminal law – sexual offences against a child – admissibility of child’s evidence under section 127(2) Evidence Act; discretion of prosecution on witnesses; corroboration by medical evidence; proof beyond reasonable doubt in sodomy cases.
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26 July 2022 |
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Appellate court upheld rape conviction, finding reliable identification, medical corroboration and admissible oral admissions proved guilt.
Criminal law – Rape; visual/recognition identification in daylight and by a familiar victim; earliest mention and corroboration; medical evidence (PF3) corroborating penetration; evaluation of defence; oral admissions/confession; proof beyond reasonable doubt.
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26 July 2022 |
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The court upheld the appellant's conviction for stealing, finding the evidence and statements properly admitted and corroborative.
Criminal law – Stealing – proof of ownership, fraudulent taking and conversion – requirement of proof beyond reasonable doubt. Evidence – cautioned and extra-judicial statements – voluntariness inquiries and corroboration with oral testimony. Evidence – objections to admissibility or timing of statements must be raised at trial, not on appeal. Appeal – appellate re-evaluation of defence evidence where trial court omissions are alleged.
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26 July 2022 |
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Failure to record Ward Tribunal members at each sitting vitiates jurisdiction and nullifies ensuing proceedings and judgments.
Land Disputes Courts Act (Cap. 216 R.E. 2019) – Ward Tribunal composition – requirement to record names and genders of members at each sitting – coram – jurisdictional requirement. Civil procedure – fatal irregularity – omission to disclose tribunal members at each sitting vitiates proceedings and judgment – nullity. Appeal – appellate tribunal’s confirmation of flawed proceedings – quashing of both trial and first appellate judgments. Remedies – quash and set aside; no retrial directed due to statutory amendments; fresh filing required under new regime.
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26 July 2022 |
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Applicant cannot be paid from execution proceeds where not party to that execution; consolidation of executions required.
Civil procedure – Execution – entitlement to proceeds – A person not party to an execution cannot claim priority from execution proceeds; decree holder applying for execution is the proper recipient. Civil procedure – Execution – consolidation – Where multiple decree holders claim the same attached property, consolidation of execution files is the appropriate remedy. Evidence – Affidavits – factual assertions must be contained in affidavit evidence; oral submissions cannot introduce new facts.
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25 July 2022 |
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Material variance of dates between charge and testimony prejudiced the appellant; appeal allowed and appellant released.
Criminal law – Rape – Variance between date in charge sheet and dates in evidence; material inconsistency and prejudice to accused; need to amend charge; benefit of doubt.
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25 July 2022 |
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Failure to comply with Evidence Act s.127(2) when recording a child’s testimony rendered the conviction unsafe and was quashed.
Evidence Act s.127(2) — Recording evidence of child of tender years — Requirement to form and record opinion on understanding of oath and sufficient intelligence; s.127(6) — curative provision; admissibility and weight of child’s testimony; expunging defective child evidence renders conviction unsafe.
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25 July 2022 |
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21 July 2022 |
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Application for interim injunction to halt local rice levy dismissed for failure to prove prima facie case or irreparable harm.
Interim injunctions — maintenance of status quo — requirements: prima facie case; irreparable harm; balance of convenience; jurisdiction to grant injunction without pending suit (s.2(3) Judicature; s.95 CPC); local government levies — G.N. No. 693 of 2019 — burden on applicants to prove unlawful collection and that they were charged.
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21 July 2022 |
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21 July 2022 |
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20 July 2022 |
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Court set aside 21% compound interest for lack of proof and substituted 6% simple interest for five years.
Compound interest — special damages — must be specifically pleaded and strictly proved; insufficient evidence to award compound interest where refund delayed by pending land suit; substitution with simple interest at 6% per annum for five years.
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19 July 2022 |
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19 July 2022 |
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Victim's credible testimony and medical corroboration warranted conviction despite minor contradictions; appeal against acquittal allowed.
Criminal law – Rape of a child – Victim’s direct testimony as primary evidence of penetration – Medical corroboration via PF3. Evidence – Distinguishing minor contradictions from discrepancies going to the root of the case. Appeal – Power of appellate court to re-evaluate credibility and substitute findings where trial court misdirected itself.
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19 July 2022 |
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19 July 2022 |
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18 July 2022 |
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18 July 2022 |
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18 July 2022 |
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18 July 2022 |
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18 July 2022 |
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Failure to record and avail assessors' opinions renders the tribunal's judgment a nullity and mandates a retrial.
Land procedure – composition of District Land and Housing Tribunal – requirement that Chairman and assessors deliberate and that assessors’ written opinions be given and availed at conclusion of hearing (s.23(2) Cap.216; Reg.19(2) GN.174/2003). Procedural irregularity – failure to record/avail assessors’ opinions – renders judgment a nullity and necessitates retrial. Appellate remit – distinction between composing judgment from recorded evidence and re-opening proceedings.
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15 July 2022 |
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Appeal dismissed for want of prosecution after appellant failed to file ordered written submissions and appear.
Land appeal – procedural compliance – written submissions – failure to file constitutes failure to appear – dismissal for want of prosecution; Civil procedure – court scheduling order – consequences of non-compliance; Costs – awarded where appeal dismissed for want of prosecution.
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15 July 2022 |
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Application struck out as incompetent because appeals from Ward Tribunal require a certificate on a point of law, not leave.
Civil procedure — Extension of time — Competency of application — Appeals from Ward Tribunal require a certificate on a point of law (s.47(3) Land Disputes Courts Act), not leave to appeal — Court may strike out incompetent applications.
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15 July 2022 |
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15 July 2022 |
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14 July 2022 |
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14 July 2022 |
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14 July 2022 |
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14 July 2022 |
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14 July 2022 |
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14 July 2022 |
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12 July 2022 |
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Omission of the required statement under Rule 5(2)(a) renders a leave-to-apply-for-judicial-review application incompetent.
Judicial review — leave to apply for judicial review — Rule 5(2)(a) — requirement for a statement providing name and description of applicant (Form A) — omission fatal. Affidavits — hearsay and opinion — information from advocate permissible where verification clause discloses knowledge versus belief; not every third-party source must depose. Procedure — leave application must be accompanied by specified documents; affidavit only verifies facts.
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12 July 2022 |
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Omission of the statutory statement accompanying a leave-to-apply-for-judicial-review renders the application incompetent and struck out.
Judicial review — leave to apply — procedural requirements under Rule 5(2)(a) and Form A — statement providing name and description of applicant mandatory. Evidence — affidavits — hearsay and opinion — distinction between facts within deponent's knowledge and matters on information and belief or legal advice. Civil procedure — non-compliance with mandatory filing requirements — incompetence and striking out of application.
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12 July 2022 |
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Administrator’s land recovery claim was time-barred; accrual occurs on dispossession and 12-year limitation applies.
Limitation of actions – recovery of land – 12-year limitation under Item 22, Part I Schedule, Law of Limitation Act (Cap. 89 R.E. 2019). Accrual of cause of action – dispossession rule under sections 9(1), 9(2) and 33(1) – right deemed to accrue on dispossession date. Administrator’s position – section 35 treats administrator as claiming as if no interval between death and grant, but does not avert limitation where dispossession predates grant. Appeal – appellate courts should not entertain new matters not raised in the court below.
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12 July 2022 |
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12 July 2022 |
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A fixed‑term contract that expired as agreed is not unfair termination absent a reasonable expectation of renewal by the applicant.
Labour law – fixed‑term contract – automatic termination on expiry – unfair termination principles apply only where employee reasonably expects renewal – proof of contract and payment of terminal benefits (Exhibits R4, R5).
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12 July 2022 |
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Court extended time to file application for leave to appeal, excluding time spent obtaining certified copies from computation.
Extension of time; section 11(1) Appellate Jurisdiction Act; competence and Rule 46(1) Court of Appeal Rules; computation of time; exclusion of time to obtain certified copies under section 19(2) Law of Limitation Act; leave to appeal to Court of Appeal.
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12 July 2022 |
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11 July 2022 |
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11 July 2022 |
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Preliminary objection of abuse of process requires factual proof; failure to file court‑ordered submissions warrants dismissal for want of prosecution.
Land procedure – extension of time to appeal – procedural compliance with court orders – failure to file court‑ordered written submissions constitutes failure to appear and warrants dismissal for want of prosecution. Civil procedure – preliminary objection – abuse of court process – objection is not a pure point of law where factual inquiry is necessary; such matters require evidence and cannot be resolved by preliminary objection.
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8 July 2022 |
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8 July 2022 |
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8 July 2022 |
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8 July 2022 |