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401 judgments found.
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December 2024
Primary court reliance on improperly tendered electronic evidence renders its judgment a nullity; applicant may reinstitute proceedings.
Evidence
— Electronic evidence — Jurisdiction of primary courts to deal with electronic evidence — Tendering, marking, admission and endorsement of exhibits — Exhibit Management Guidelines
— Rule 4, Order XIII CPC — Documents not forming part of record — Judgment a nullity — Quashing proceedings and liberty to reinstitute
23 December 2024
Appeal allowed: respondent failed to prove corporate capacity to sue and lawful allocation of village land.
Land law
— Village land allocation — whether Village Council may allocate village land exceeding 50 acres — Village Land Regulations r 76(1) and Village Land Act s 17(5)
— locus standi — capacity to sue — Trustees Incorporation Act s 8
23 December 2024
Appeal dismissed: abduction not proved due to absence of force, deceit or secret confinement.
Appellate practice — Appellate review of trial court's evaluation of evidence and credibility — First appellate court entitled to re-evaluate evidence and uphold trial court findings when contradictions render claimant's case unproven
Criminal law — wrongful confinement — definition and elements — Penal Code ss 246, 249
Evidence — credibility of complainant — Effect of victim’s silence, public incidents and opportunities to resist on proving abduction
13 December 2024
Appeal allowed: tribunal wrongly struck out land claims for non-joinder and for alleged absence of cause of action.
Civil procedure — Joinder — Order I
Civil procedure — Pleadings
— Order VII
— possession and refusal to give vacant possession can constitute a cause of action
Civil procedure — Preliminary objections
Land law — Suit for declaration of ownership — Proper determination on merits where preliminary objections improperly sustained
12 December 2024
Applicant failed to prove sufficient cause (including sickness) or to account for delay; extension of time dismissed.
Civil procedure — extension of time — discretion to extend time requires sufficient cause
Civil procedure — Hearsay
— Inordinate/ unexplained delay grounds refusal of extension
— medical facts about an adult third party require that person's affidavit
11 December 2024
Appeal dismissed for improper forum and being time‑barred; consequential proceedings must be heard by a magistrate with extended jurisdiction.
Civil procedure
— Appeal time limits — Appeal filed outside 30‑day statutory period — Application for extension of time
— Extended jurisdiction — Applications arising from matters determined by a magistrate with extended jurisdiction to be heard by the magistrate who heard the matter or another assigned magistrate — Judicature and Application of Laws (Transfer and Management of Cases Assigned to Magistrates with Extended Jurisdiction) Rules, 2023 Rule 13
11 December 2024
Electronic filing: filing date is the date of payment and the appeal was held timely within the 30‑day limit.
Civil procedure
— Appeals from Primary Court to District Court — statutory 30‑day limit
— computation of time
— Effect of technical delay in fee payment — does not necessarily render appeal incompetent if payment date falls within limitation
— Electronic filing — filing date is date of payment of court fees (not registry receipt)
10 December 2024
Customary dowry is a consideration, not a gift, and must be returned when the customary marriage breaks down.
Family law
— Dowry (bride price) — refund on dissolution of customary marriage — Local Customary Law (Declaration) Orders GN.279 of 1963, Rule 52
— Gifts in contemplation of marriage — Recoverability when marriage fails — Law of Marriage Act s.2(1)
10 December 2024
Appeal dismissed where title to land was previously adjudicated and respondent proved criminal trespass beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — Criminal trespass — Proof of unlawful entry and ownership — Penal Code s 299(a)
Jurisdiction — Primary Court jurisdiction — Primary Court jurisdiction over criminal trespass despite prior land adjudication — Magistrates Courts Act s 18(1) and Schedule
Natural justice — Right to be heard — court cannot decide new issues suo motu without reopening proceedings
10 December 2024
Appellate court quashed land tribunal judgment because the land application omitted mandatory particulars, rendering proceedings incompetent.
Land law — Land practice — Pleadings
10 December 2024
Unproven delay and unsubstantiated allegation of illegality defeat an application for extension to file a review.
Civil procedure
— Delay in obtaining copy of judgment — Need for documentary proof (eg. written request to Deputy Registrar)
— Review — review for illegality only if illegality is apparent on face of record
— extension of time — Requirements to show sufficient cause and to account for each day of delay
6 December 2024
Conviction quashed where search was unlawful and prosecution failed to prove link between appellant and vehicle containing trophies.
Criminal law — Admissibility — Proper marking/receipt of exhibits — trial rulings may cure objections where record shows formal admission
Criminal procedure — Search and seizure — Compliance with sections 38 and 40 CPA (authority, time of execution, receipt/signature/reporting) — Evidence seized during unlawful search may render conviction unsafe
Evidence — Proof of possession — Connection between accused and place of concealment (motor vehicle) — ignition key alone insufficient without corroboration
6 December 2024
The applicant failed to prove defamation on the balance of probabilities; electronic evidence requires proper authentication.
Civil procedure
— defamation — standard of proof: balance of probabilities
— electronic evidence
— admissibility and authentication
— functus officio
— hearsay and quality of evidence
— judgment pronouncement/notice
6 December 2024
Conviction quashed where identification, material contradictions and poor investigation undermined prosecution's armed-robbery case.
Criminal law — Armed robbery
— identification of accused
— material contradictions between police statement and in‑court testimony
— sufficiency of evidence
Criminal law — inadequate investigation and delay in charging — doubts resolved in favour of accused
6 December 2024
Delay and unsupported allegations against former counsel do not justify extension of time to appeal.
Civil procedure — Abuse of process — applications aimed at frustrating execution may be refused and attract costs
Civil procedure — extension of time
6 December 2024
A party who voluntarily refuses to attend a retrial cannot later claim denial of the right to be heard.
Civil procedure — ex-parte proceedings — voluntary absence or refusal to participate precludes later complaint of denial of hearing
Constitutional law — right to be heard
Evidence — Burden of proof
Land law — Revision
6 December 2024
Appellant failed to prove ownership; trial Tribunal properly evaluated evidence and appeal dismissed with costs.
Land disputes
— Evidence — credibility assessment and adverse inference from failure to call key witnesses
— Land dispute — burden of proof on party alleging title — proof on balance of probabilities
— Locus in quo — inspection not mandatory, only in exceptional circumstances
— Unsurveyed land — documentary proof and corroboration required to establish ownership
6 December 2024
5 December 2024
Appellant proved ownership of 9 acres; tribunal erred in disregarding village allocation evidence.
Evidence — Evaluation of oral and documentary evidence — Burden of proof under Evidence Act ss.110(1) and 111 — Weighing of admitted exhibits
Land law
— Evidence of ownership — Evidence of village allocation and weight of village documents in proving ownership
— Trespass and eviction — Eviction proper where ownership and trespass proved
5 December 2024
Tribunal proceedings quashed where defective Ward Tribunal certificate and non-joinder denied applicant right to be heard.
Land disputes jurisdiction; mandatory Ward Tribunal mediation certificate (s.13 LDCA); non-joinder of interested parties (right to be heard) vitiating proceedings; nullity; quashing of District Land and Housing Tribunal judgment.
5 December 2024
A credible child’s testimony can sustain a sexual‑offence conviction despite broken DNA chain‑of‑custody and expunged medical evidence.
Criminal law — Sexual offence (unnatural offence) — proof of penetration — Penetration as essential ingredient and sufficiency of victim's testimony under s127(6) Evidence Act
Evidence
— Child witness (tender age) — Admissibility under section 127(7) Evidence Act — Credibility and assessment of child evidence
— chain of custody — Biological/DNA specimens — Broken chain undermines evidential value of laboratory comparison
5 December 2024
Trial court wrongly discharged the respondent under s225(5) CPA despite prosecution proceeding in absence; order quashed and trial remitted.
Criminal law — absolute/conditional discharge — Whether discharge permissible where prosecution had been permitted to proceed in absence under s226(1) CPA — s225(5) CPA
Criminal procedure
— Missing record of proceedings — Missing proceedings and coram alterations — Revisional relief and rectification
— Trial in absence (s226(1) CPA) — Effect of s226(1) and setting aside under s226(2)
5 December 2024
Primary probate courts cannot determine land ownership; ownership disputes must be litigated in land courts against the administrator.
Probate law — Primary/Probate courts limited to appointment of administrators — Administrator as legal representative with property vesting in them
4 December 2024
Conviction quashed because an unsworn, prosecution‑arranged interpreter vitiated the fair trial, leaving insufficient evidence to convict.
Criminal law — Evidence — Identification and sufficiency — Medical confirmation of penetration insufficient without evidence identifying perpetrator
Criminal law — Fair trial
— Interpreter appointment and oath
— Oaths and Statutory Declarations Act s4
4 December 2024
Claimant failed to prove land ownership; sale agreement not tendered and material witnesses were not called.
Land dispute; burden of proof on claimant; Evidence Act s.110 adverse inference for non-production of material witnesses; failure to tender exhibits; appellate re-evaluation of evidence.
4 December 2024
Appellant failed to prove ownership; proper remedy was objection proceedings under Order XXI Rule 57; appeal dismissed with costs.
Evidence — Documentary exhibits
— Annexed but un‑tendered documents not admissible
— adverse inference where witnesses not called
— duty to call material witnesses
Land law — Execution — Challenge to attachment of property — Objection proceedings
2 December 2024
November 2024
Extension granted: technical delay and accounted-for financial hardship constituted good cause to lodge the bill of costs.
Civil procedure — extension of time — Bill of costs
— application allowed and bill to be filed within 30 days
— financial constraints can, in peculiar circumstances and where applicant promptly acts, be an excusable reason
— respondents' failure to file counter-affidavit may warrant ex parte proceeding
— technical delay arising from previously struck-out proceedings may constitute good cause
29 November 2024
Statutory rape under section 131 carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years; appellate courts may enhance unlawful lesser sentences.
Criminal law — Statutory rape
29 November 2024
Appellate court affirms child rape conviction: child testimony admissible, minor inconsistencies immaterial, conviction upheld.
Criminal law — Rape
— admissibility and weight of victim’s testimony
— appellate re-evaluation where trial judgment lacks critical analysis
— competency and admissibility of medical evidence
— Evidence of child of tender years and section 127 Evidence Act compliance
— materiality of omitted witnesses and adverse inference
— preliminary hearing and arraignment procedural irregularities
29 November 2024
Appeal dismissed: locus visit and evidentiary deficiencies upheld respondent's ownership, omission of deceased party not fatal.
Civil procedure — Parties — Death of party and duty to join legal representative under Order XXII CPC
Land law — ownership and trespass — Proof by long possession, occupation and locus in quo inspection
Probate law — Succession — Customary inheritance — Proof requirements and role of inventory when administration or letters are sought
29 November 2024
Ill-health termination was substantively justified but procedurally defective; CMA award quashed and twelve months’ compensation awarded.
Civil procedure — Remedies — quashing of CMA award and award of 12 months’ compensation where procedure defective
Employment law
— Procedural fairness
— termination carried out before convened meeting renders procedure unfair. Civil procedure/Labour revision — change of CMA file numbers and delays caused by applicant’s successive/incompetent filings do not amount to illegality
— Termination for incapacity/ill health — substantive fairness
29 November 2024
Extension of time refused where applicant failed to provide credible, evidenced reasons or account for each day of nearly two-year delay.
Civil procedure — extension of time — admissible supporting evidence (affidavit, medical records, death certificate, power of attorney) — Lyamuya test applied
29 November 2024
Failure to specify offences in sentencing under s.312(2) CPA invalidated the trial judgment and required a fresh judgment.
Criminal procedure
— Appeal — quashing conviction for procedural irregularity does not preclude retrial where guilt undetermined — Section 372(1) Criminal Procedure Act
— contents of judgment — Failure to state points for determination, reasons and specific offence — Section 312(2) Criminal Procedure Act
29 November 2024
Whether illness justifies extension of time to appeal and the requirement to account for every day of delay.
Civil procedure — Extension of time to appeal — Illness as ground — Requirement to account for each day of delay (Bushiri principle)
29 November 2024
Failure to join the Registrar of Titles in overlapping-title trespass dispute amounted to illegality warranting extension to appeal.
Land law
— Titles and surveys — challenging a survey or title requires joining previous owner and Commissioner for Lands — Necessity to involve Registrar of Titles/Commissioner for Lands
— extension of time to appeal — illegality on face of record as sufficient cause — Failure to join Registrar of Titles
29 November 2024
Convictions quashed for double jeopardy where identical offence was charged twice against same victim despite credible evidence.
Criminal law — Sexual offences/incest — Incest by male — Victim’s evidence and cautioned statement as corroboration
Criminal procedure — Misjoinder of offences — Misjoinder/double jeopardy
— Charging same offence twice invalid
— defect not curable
Evidence — Hearsay — statements based on an uncalled third party cannot safely ground conviction — Corroboration and admissibility of secondary testimony
29 November 2024
Acquittal for trafficking where possession not proved and statutory destruction procedures were not complied with.
Criminal law — Drug offences — Trafficking — Proof of possession and compliance with Drugs Control and Enforcement Act s36 and Regulation 14(7) regarding inventory, magistrate certification and photographs
29 November 2024
Arbitrator decided non‑pleaded renewal/termination issues; court quashed the award for being improperly procured.
Labour law — Pleadings and scope of determination — Issue framing and pleadings
Labour law — retrenchment/operational requirements
— Code of Good Practice (GN No.42)
— Distinction between expiry of fixed‑term contract and retrenchment
29 November 2024
Concurrent findings that respondent proved ownership on the balance of probabilities were upheld; appeal dismissed.
Land disputes — Land dispute
— balance of probabilities
— burden of proof remains on party bearing onus
— credibility and weight of evidence
— concurrent findings of Ward Tribunal and DLHT not to be disturbed absent error
— ownership
— standard of proof in civil cases
28 November 2024
28 November 2024
Child’s sworn testimony, PF3 medical evidence and the appellant’s admissions supported convictions for rape and HIV transmission.
Criminal law — Medical evidence (PF.3)
— Admission/confession to police as corroboration
— Competence of clinical officer to examine and tender PF3
— Proof beyond reasonable doubt for rape and transmission of HIV
— rupture of hymen, bruising and proof of recent sexual activity
Criminal law — Rape — Child complainant’s evidence
Criminal law — sentencing — appellate interference only for irregularity or manifestly excessive sentence
28 November 2024
Acquittal upheld because ownership and unlawful mens rea were not proved for malicious damage.
Criminal law — Malicious damage to property — Prima facie case and discharge under s.36 PCCPC
— honest claim of right
— Role of eyewitness evidence versus valuation evidence
28 November 2024
Slander claim failed: trial court mischaracterised pleadings but appellant did not prove publication, so dismissal upheld.
Evidence — Criminal conviction as evidence in civil proceedings — A criminal conviction relevant to a civil issue is prima facie evidence of the fact in issue in subsequent civil proceedings — Evidence Act s 43A
Tort — Defamation — Elements: defamatory meaning, reference to plaintiff, publication to third party — Publication as essential element
28 November 2024
Res judicata inapplicable where prior dismissal involved different parties; suit including Attorney General properly proceeds in High Court.
Civil procedure
— Dismissal for want of prosecution — Whether dismissal under Order IX r.8 precludes bringing a fresh suit under r.9(1) — Bars only between same parties unless set aside
— Res judicata — Application of section 9 CPC — Five requirements for res judicata (same issue, same parties, same title, competent court, finally decided)
— jurisdiction — Suits involving the Attorney General must be instituted in the High Court — Government Proceedings Act s 7
28 November 2024
Appellate court upheld respondent's boundary and encroachment finding and dismissed the appellant's appeal with costs.
Appellate practice — Appellate review of factual findings — justification for reversing trial court — Appellate interference only where trial court overlooked material evidence or mis-assessed credibility
Land law — Boundary disputes — locus in quo inspection by tribunal — Ownership and encroachment established by locus in quo and original owner's evidence
28 November 2024
Child victim’s credible identification, corroborated by medical evidence, upheld conviction despite procedural lapses.
Civil procedure — Procedure — appellate re-evaluation of defence when trial court failed to analyze it
Criminal law — Unnatural offence — Identification by child witness — credibility of child and corroboration by medical evidence
28 November 2024
Acquittal upheld where victim's material inconsistencies and weak evidence failed to prove statutory rape beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — Statutory rape — proof of age and penetration
Criminal procedure — Appellate re‑evaluation of evidence on first appeal — Duty of first appellate court to re‑evaluate evidence and consider the defence
Evidence — credibility of complainant — inconsistent statements and delay in reporting may render testimony unreliable
28 November 2024
The applicant was granted extension to file a reference after delay caused by awaiting proceedings and technical delay.
Civil procedure — Technical delay doctrine — pending prior reference
26 November 2024
A third party claiming property subject to a matrimonial decree must use objection proceedings in the executing court, not a separate land suit.
Civil procedure
— Execution
— Relief — quashing of improperly instituted parallel land proceedings to avoid conflicting decrees
Jurisdiction — Land disputes — conflict where the same landed property is subject of a matrimonial decree and a land suit
26 November 2024
Prisoner’s inter-prison transfer and reliance on prison officers constituted good cause to extend time to lodge an appeal.
Criminal procedure — Extension of time to file appeal — good cause — Prisoner transfer and reliance on prison officers — Notice of intention to appeal duty of incarcerated appellant
26 November 2024