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Citation
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Judgment date
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| November 2024 |
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Extension granted where defective notice and incarceration constituted good cause for out-of-time appeal.
Criminal procedure — s.361(2) CPA — extension of time to lodge notice and petition of appeal; defective notice of appeal (wrong charge) as cause for delay; incarceration and lack of control over appeal process as sufficient cause; exercise of judicial discretion to admit appeal out of time.
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14 November 2024 |
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14 November 2024 |
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A struck-out time-barred appeal does not preclude returning to the High Court to seek extension of time; preliminary objections dismissed.
Civil procedure — probate appeal — extension of time under s.25(1)(b) Magistrate’s Courts Act; distinction between striking out and dismissal under s.3(1) Law of Limitation Act; competence and functus officio; remedy where prior appeal struck out as time-barred.
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13 November 2024 |
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13 November 2024 |
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Omission of lack of consent in grave sexual abuse particulars is fatal; conviction quashed and appellant discharged.
Criminal law – Grave sexual abuse – particulars of offence – necessity to particularize relevant paragraph of section 138C(1) and to allege essential ingredients including lack of consent – omission fatal and incurable. Criminal procedure – Defective charge sheet – incurable irregularity warrants quashing of conviction and discharge of accused. Appeal – First appellate court duty to re-evaluate evidence (rehearing).
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12 November 2024 |
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Appellant failed to prove ownership or invitee status; appeal dismissed for failure to discharge burden of proof.
Land law – ownership disputes – burden of proof in civil proceedings; Evidence – hearsay and afterthoughts inadmissible/weakens case; Pleadings – variance between pleadings and evidence fatal; Possession evidence – continuous occupation may rebut unproven title claims.
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12 November 2024 |
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Appeal allowed: conviction quashed because prosecution failed to link the appellant to the charged dates of the rape.
Criminal law – Rape – Standard of proof: proof beyond reasonable doubt – Best evidence from the victim on penetration and consent. Evidence – Material inconsistency between charge sheet and victim’s testimony (date of occurrence) can be fatal to prosecution’s case. Medical evidence corroboration does not substitute for direct linkage of accused to charged particulars.
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12 November 2024 |
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12 November 2024 |
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12 November 2024 |
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12 November 2024 |
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Incarceration constituted good cause to extend time to file a notice of intention to appeal under section 361(2) CPA.
Criminal procedure – extension of time – s.361(2) Criminal Procedure Act – notice of intention to appeal – imprisonment/incarceration as sufficient cause for delay – unopposed application.
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11 November 2024 |
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11 November 2024 |
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The plaintiff’s land suit was struck out as res judicata because the same dispute had been finally decided.
Civil procedure – Res judicata – Section 9 CPC – application of five-condition test (Peniel Lotta) to bar subsequent suit over same land. Identity of subject matter and privies – subsequent purchasers and authorities deriving title from original owner cannot avoid res judicata. Finality of litigation – unappealed High Court decision bars re-litigation; striking out and costs appropriate.
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8 November 2024 |
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A later-filed land suit is incompetent and struck out where a prior parallel land application involving same parties is pending.
Civil procedure – Res subjudice – Section 8 Civil Procedure Code – conditions for res subjudice; land disputes – parallel proceedings before District Land and Housing Tribunal; preliminary objections – competence and abuse of court process; limitation and non-joinder raised but not determined where res subjudice is dispositive.
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8 November 2024 |
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Failure to issue summons for an ex‑parte judgment is illegality justifying extension of time to apply to set it aside.
Land law – extension of time – Law of Limitation Act s.14(1) – setting aside ex‑parte judgment – requirement to issue summons notifying parties of judgment date – illegality apparent on face of record as sufficient cause (Valambia; Lyamuya).
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8 November 2024 |
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Appellant failed to prove title; tribunal correctly found respondent owner based on heavier evidence.
Land law – proof of title and ownership – competing claims; burden of proof where both parties claim ownership – Hemedi Saidi principle; relevance of customary/territorial ownership in land disputes; discrepancy in land measurement not fatal to ownership claim; effect of donor’s capacity on validity of disposition.
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8 November 2024 |
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8 November 2024 |
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Court allowed late filing of submissions due to incomplete trial records and ordered the appeal to proceed on merits.
Civil procedure — Written submissions — Failure to file as equivalent to non-appearance — Leave to file out of time — Sufficient reasons required where typed trial proceedings incomplete — Discretion to allow late filings and proceed on merits.
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7 November 2024 |
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Administrator’s challenge to taxed bill fails; taxing officer’s discretion and Rule 58 permit awards without produced receipts.
Taxation of costs – Advocate Remuneration Order, 2015 (G.N. No. 263 of 2015) – Rule 58 on production of receipts – receipts required only if taxing officer so directs; Taxing officer’s discretion – instruction fees – factors: care, labour, papers, importance, value, complexity; Attendance and journey allowances – properly taxable under the prescribed schedules; Review standard – court reluctant to interfere absent wrong principles or excess.
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7 November 2024 |
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7 November 2024 |
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7 November 2024 |
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Appellant’s evidence held heavier; customary right of occupancy insufficient absent proof seller's title; appeal allowed.
Land law – ownership disputes – competing claims by gift and by oral sale – weight of evidence decides. Evidence – customary right of occupancy – not conclusive where seller's good title is not proved. Evidence – failure to call material witnesses – adverse inference. Civil procedure – evaluation of evidence – party with heavier evidence succeeds.
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6 November 2024 |
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Plaintiff failed to prove wakfu donor’s title; certificate of occupancy held illegally obtained and BAKWATA declared owner.
Land law – ownership dispute; wakfu (Islamic endowment) – requirement that donor have title to pass; evidence – burden and standard of proof; failure to call material witnesses – adverse inference; registration/certificate of occupancy – prima facie evidence but susceptible to rebuttal; registration obtained amid pending litigation may be invalid.
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6 November 2024 |
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Leave granted to seek judicial review of termination based on an allegedly forged qualification and procedural unfairness.
Judicial review — Leave to apply — Rule 5(2) GN. No. 324 of 2014 — affidavit and statement sufficiency at leave stage; submissions are not evidence. Administrative law — procedural fairness in disciplinary/appeal processes — right to be heard, timeliness, allegation of bias. Leave stage standard — applicant need only raise arguable points, not prove errors. Overriding objective/constitutional principles — substantive rights prevail over technical dismissals.
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5 November 2024 |
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Appellant failed to prove the house was part of the deceased’s estate; tribunal correctly preferred respondent’s evidence and appeal dismissed.
Land law – ownership dispute over family house – burden of proof and balance of probabilities; Proving gift of land – absence of written deed not fatal where credible oral and corroborative evidence exists; Credibility and weight of witness testimony – trial tribunal entitled to prefer respondent’s evidence; Extraneous matters – inclusion of facts not in record vitiates judgment only if unsupported by proceedings; Presumption of marriage – lawful inference where supported by evidence.
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5 November 2024 |
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High Court lacks jurisdiction to stay execution once notice of appeal to the Court of Appeal is lodged.
Civil procedure – Jurisdiction – Effect of lodging notice of appeal – Once notice of appeal to Court of Appeal is filed, High Court lacks jurisdiction to grant stay of execution; Order XXXIX r.5 CPC; preliminary objection to jurisdiction.
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5 November 2024 |
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Conviction quashed where child-victim’s testimony failed to identify the appellant and material contradictions existed.
Criminal law – Rape – proof beyond reasonable doubt – identification of accused – child-victim unsworn evidence (s.127(2) Evidence Act) – material contradictions between victim and other witnesses – conviction unsafe where victim fails to identify accused.
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4 November 2024 |
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Referral to a reconciliation board and issuance of Form No.3 is mandatory before instituting divorce proceedings.
Family law – Divorce – Requirement to refer matrimonial disputes to a marriage reconciliation board under s.101, Law of Marriage Act – Form No.3 certificate mandatory. Ward tribunals – Power to act as reconciliation boards (Part III, Schedule to Ward Tribunals Act) – Form No.3 issued by ward tribunal sufficient. Civil procedure – Appellate court entitled to rely on record over counsel's concessions.
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1 November 2024 |
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The appellant’s statutory rape conviction was upheld: child testimony, age and medical evidence proved the offence beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Statutory rape – proof of age and penetration; Evidence of child witness – compliance with section 127(2) Evidence Act; Failure to call witnesses – materiality assessment; Burden of proof – section 112 Evidence Act; Admissibility and weight of family members' evidence.
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1 November 2024 |
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Appeal dismissed: convictions for armed robbery and rape upheld despite expunged seizure exhibits, based on victim, medical and confession evidence.
Criminal law – armed robbery – ingredients: theft, use of weapon/force – corroboration by victims' testimony and confession; Criminal law – rape – penetration and lack of consent, supported by medical PF3; Evidence – cautioned and extra‑judicial statements admissible where properly procured and not objected to; Evidence – failure to call independent witness to search/seizure may require expunging exhibits but conviction can still stand if other evidence suffices; Procedure – preliminary hearing irregularity not fatal absent prejudice.
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1 November 2024 |