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Citation
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Judgment date
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| November 2025 |
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A planned, coordinated entry is not an emergency search; evidence obtained is inadmissible and conviction quashed.
Criminal procedure — Warrantless search — Emergency search under s.43 CPA — Requirement of immediate, unforeseen urgency; evidence obtained from unlawful search inadmissible; conviction cannot stand absent admissible proof.
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10 November 2025 |
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Conviction quashed where cautioned statement and key exhibits were improperly admitted and recent-possession elements not proven.
Criminal procedure — admissibility of cautioned statements — requirement to clear documents and afford accused opportunity to comment; Evidence — reading of exhibits in court — failure to read is fatal; Doctrine of recent possession — prosecution must prove possession, ownership, recent theft and that the object is subject of charge; Proof beyond reasonable doubt — conviction quashed where key elements not established.
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7 November 2025 |
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Appeal struck out as time-barred for failing to prove written request entitling exclusion of time under section 19(2) LLA.
Land appeal — limitation — section 44(2) LDCA — 45 days to appeal from DLHT decision; computation of time — section 19(2) Law of Limitation Act — exclusion of time for obtaining copy requires proof of written request and dates of request/supply; unsupported oral assertion insufficient; appeal struck out as time-barred; no costs where court raised issue suo motu.
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6 November 2025 |
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Appeal struck out for being filed after 45-day limitation without proof of certified-judgment supply or extension.
Land law – Appeals from District Land and Housing Tribunal – Time limitation – section 44(2) Land Disputes Courts Act; Limitation – exclusion while awaiting certified copies – section 19(2) Law of Limitation Act; Electronic filing – e-CMS filing dates; Incompetent appeals – striking out for lateness; Evidence – necessity of proof when relying on supply of certified judgment.
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6 November 2025 |
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Applicant failed to account for delay or produce evidence of earlier appeal; extension of time to appeal was refused.
Criminal procedure – extension of time to file notice and petition of appeal; requirement to account for each day of delay; need for documentary proof of earlier filings or dismissal; prison transfer and e-filing system not ipso facto good cause; ignorance of law is not a ground.
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5 November 2025 |
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Applicant in custody failed to account for an 88-day delay and did not prove good cause for extension; application dismissed.
* Criminal procedure – Extension of time – Good cause required – Applicant must account for each day of delay.
* Evidence – Hearsay – Allegation a document was handed to prison officers requires supplementary affidavits by those officers to avoid hearsay.
* Statutory timelines – Notice of appeal to be filed within 10 days; petition within prescribed time under s.382 of the CPA.
* Delay and diligence – Inordinate, unexplained delay and lack of diligence justify refusal of extension.
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5 November 2025 |
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Court granted extension to appeal because an apparent illegality in the plea outweighed unexplained delay.
Criminal procedure — extension of time to appeal — good cause requires accounting for each day of delay; illness may excuse part of delay if proved; hearsay allegation of prison officer’s failure to file Notice irrelevant without corroboration; apparent illegality on face of record (equivocal plea) can constitute sufficient cause for extension.
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5 November 2025 |
| October 2025 |
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17 October 2025 |
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Eyewitness and lawful identification parade established manslaughter; accused convicted and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment.
* Criminal law – Manslaughter – elements: death, unlawful causation, absence of malice aforethought.
* Evidence – visual identification and identification parade – reliability factors (daylight, distance, duration, witness credibility) and admissibility.
* Defence – alibi – burden remains with prosecution; alibi need only raise reasonable doubt.
* Sentencing – use of lethal weapon and sensitive body part; application of Tanzania Sentencing Guidelines, 2023; mitigation considered.
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17 October 2025 |
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1st accused convicted of murder on confession, eyewitness and post-mortem evidence; 2nd accused acquitted for lack of corroboration.
* Criminal law – Murder – ingredients: death, responsibility, malice aforethought – proof beyond reasonable doubt required. * Confession – accused’s confession as strong evidence when corroborated by independent exhibits and eyewitness testimony. * Accomplice evidence – caution required when relying on co-accused’s confession; corroboration necessary where credibility is doubtful. * Sentence – statutory mandate of death by hanging upon conviction for murder under the Penal Code.
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17 October 2025 |
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Equivocal guilty pleas and lack of expert identification and voluntariness inquiry rendered convictions unsafe; release ordered.
Criminal law – Unlawful possession of government trophies – jurisdiction and DPP consent – charge sufficiency – legality of search without warrant but with independent witness – equivocal plea of guilty invalidating conviction – inadmissible confession where voluntariness not inquired – failure to prove animal identity without expert evidence.
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17 October 2025 |
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Amended charge complied with; penetration proved but absence of non-consent meant rape conviction quashed.
Criminal procedure – amendment/substitution of charge – compliance with section 251(1),(2)(a) CPA; Evidence in sexual offences – elements of rape: penetration, lack of consent, identity; PF3/medical evidence as proof of intercourse; credibility and conduct of complainant; attempted compensation negotiations not proof of rape.
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16 October 2025 |
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Conviction set aside where penetration was proved but identity of the perpetrator remained in reasonable doubt.
* Criminal law – Unnatural carnal knowledge (s.154 Penal Code) – Essential elements: penetration, identity, age; proof beyond reasonable doubt. * Sexual offences – Recognition evidence – reliability affected by time, light, proximity; failure to call material witnesses may raise adverse inference. * Hearsay – third-party reports cannot establish identity. * Medical evidence – confirms penetration but does not identify perpetrator.
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10 October 2025 |
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Taxing Master misapplied attendance scale and unlawfully awarded taxation costs; travel/accommodation claims were unjustified.
Advocates Remuneration Order 2015 – Order 64(1) applicability where no change of advocate; agent may file bill; Attendance fees (Item 3(a)) distinct from journey allowance (Item 3(g)); statutory scale (TZS 50,000/15 minutes) and requirement to prove time or special reasons for excess; Order 48 prohibition on taxation costs where more than one-sixth disallowed.
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10 October 2025 |
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Accused convicted of murder after reliable recognition ID, medical evidence and weapon chain of custody proved malice aforethought.
Criminal law – Murder: proof of ingredients — identification by recognition; post‑mortem evidence; chain of custody of weapon; inference of malice aforethought.
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10 October 2025 |
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A voluntary extra‑judicial confession, accepted by the court, sustained a murder conviction and death sentence.
Criminal law – Murder – elements: death, responsibility, malice aforethought; Extra‑judicial confession – admissibility and voluntariness; Retracted confession – requirement for corroboration and exception where confession is believed; Ballistics and circumstantial evidence – need for direct link to accused (seizure proof).
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10 October 2025 |
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Court upheld conviction for unlawful possession of elephant tusks; chain of custody and valuation admissible; alternative fine set aside.
* Wildlife law – definition of 'trophy' – elephant tusks as government trophies; identification and valuation by wildlife officer admissible. * Criminal law – possession – actual/joint possession requires physical control and knowledge; signing of seizure certificate probative. * Evidence – chain of custody – oral testimony and exhibit registers can establish continuous custody. * Procedure – omission of accused's caution statement does not necessarily vitiate otherwise cogent prosecution evidence. * Sentencing – fine cannot substitute mandatory imprisonment under EOCCA/WCA.
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10 October 2025 |
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Pre-marriage property substantially developed during marriage becomes matrimonial; custody awarded in child's best interests.
Matrimonial property – assets acquired before marriage but substantially improved during marriage – s.114(3) Law of Marriage Act; Division of matrimonial house – joint acquisition and contribution; Bicycles acquired during union included in matrimonial pool; Child custody – paramountcy of best interests under s.125(2) LMA; First appeal as rehearing – civil standard of proof (balance of probabilities).
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8 October 2025 |
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Confession expunged for statutory non‑compliance, but victim and eyewitness evidence sustain rape conviction and 30-year sentence.
Criminal law – Rape: elements of penetration and lack of consent; evidence – victim as best witness; identity – eyewitness observation and contemporaneous admission; confession – admissibility and statutory four-hour rule (Criminal Procedure Act s.51(1)(a)) – confession expunged for non‑compliance; failure to call material witness – not fatal where other credible corroborative evidence exists.
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8 October 2025 |
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Appeal allowed: conviction for attempted unnatural offence quashed for lack of proximate acts and absence of victim’s in‑court testimony.
Criminal law – Attempt to Commit Unnatural Offence (s.155 Penal Code) – sufficiency of charge when section 154 not specified; fairness of trial and curative provision (s.411 CPA); proof of attempt requires acts proximate to commission; hearsay and failure to test competency of alleged victim undermine conviction.
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6 October 2025 |
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Material variance between charge particulars and evidence required amendment; failure to amend vitiated the prosecution and conviction.
Criminal law – charge particulars – material variance between charge sheet dates and evidence – obligation to amend charge under section 251 CPA – failure to amend vitiates prosecution; proof beyond reasonable doubt; acquittal/quashing of conviction.
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3 October 2025 |
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Witness over fourteen promised instead of being sworn; victim's evidence expunged and remaining evidence failed to prove penetration.
Evidence — Competence of witness with mental development problems (s.135(5) Evidence Act) — Child of tender age exception and requirement for oath/affirmation — Evidence taken without required oath to be expunged — Sufficiency of evidence in unnatural offence — Penetration an essential element requiring medical corroboration.
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3 October 2025 |
| September 2025 |
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Failure to annex the RPC charge, proceedings and decision renders a leave application for judicial review incompetent and struck out.
* Judicial review — leave to apply — gatekeeping function of leave stage — necessity of establishing an arguable prima facie case
* Procedural requirements — Rule 5, Judicial Review Rules — annexure of impugned charge, proceedings and decision (judicial practice)
* Preliminary objection — pure point of law where absence of essential documents is apparent on record
* Competence — failure to annex essential documents renders leave application incompetent and liable to be struck out
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30 September 2025 |
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Procedural defects in identification parade and unsworn/irregular medical evidence rendered the conviction unsafe and were quashed.
Criminal law — Identification parade — Identifying witness must give prior detailed description before parade; failure renders identification unreliable. Evidence — Witness to be sworn under section 212(1) CPA; unsworn testimony may be expunged. Documentary evidence — PF3 must be properly admitted and read in court to carry weight. Conviction — Procedural irregularities affecting identification and evidence may render conviction unsafe and warrant quashing.
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30 September 2025 |
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Appellate court upheld statutory rape conviction, finding age, penetration and identity proved and ID parade proper.
Criminal law – statutory rape – proof of age, penetration and identity; identification parade conducted under PGO No. 232; medical corroboration (non‑intact hymen); admissibility and identification of exhibits; non‑summoning of non‑essential witness not fatal.
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26 September 2025 |
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Ignorance of law and unproven prior applications do not constitute good cause for extending time to file a criminal appeal.
* Criminal procedure – extension of time to file petition of appeal – discretion and requirement to show "good cause"; accounting for each day of delay.
* Ignorance of law or being a layperson does not constitute good cause for extension of time.
* Failure to produce prior court orders or applications undermines assertions of earlier proceedings and remedies.
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26 September 2025 |
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Applicant failed to show sufficient cause for extension; alleged illegality was not apparent on the record.
* Civil procedure – Extension of time – Applicant must show sufficient cause, account for each day and avoid inordinate delay.
* Limitation – Periods for appeal – Days delayed for lack of supplied records excluded only if date of supply is proved.
* Illegality – Must be apparent on the face of the record to constitute sole ground for extension of time.
* Poverty/impecuniosity – Not a free-standing ground where applicant unreasonably delays seeking legal aid.
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26 September 2025 |
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Whether prosecution proved forgery and use of forged financial documents beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Forgery and use of forged documents – proof beyond reasonable doubt; handwriting expert evidence – attribution and reliability; possession/signed preparer endorsement – insufficiency to establish forgery; circumstantial evidence – requirement to exclude reasonable doubt; sentencing – interplay between PCCB Act and EOCCA (considered but rendered moot by acquittal).
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25 September 2025 |
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Striking out a suit does not create enforceable possession rights and Rule 98 cannot be used absent a judgment debtor.
* Civil procedure — Order XXI, Rule 98 CPC — detention for obstruction — requires a judgment debtor or person acting at his instigation.
* Striking out — effect — terminates proceedings and leaves parties as before; does not create enforceable possession rights.
* Contempt/enforcement — cannot be based on implication from a struck-out suit; requires an express order and evidence of instigation.
* Propriety of enforcement remedies — inadmissible where no judgment or executable decree exists.
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24 September 2025 |
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Appeal dismissed: recent possession, proper identification and maintained chain of custody supported conviction.
* Criminal law – Burglary and theft – circumstantial evidence and recent possession doctrine – possession of recently stolen property and breaking instruments as basis for inference of guilt.
* Evidence – Identification and admission of exhibits – descriptions, exhibit numbers and witness testimony sufficient.
* Evidence – Chain of custody – oral testimony may suffice where documentary trail is absent.
* Procedure – Admissibility of seizure documents and conduct of trial – compliance with Exhibit Management Guidelines and criminal procedure.
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24 September 2025 |
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Appellate court upheld respondent's 40% share in matrimonial house and shop based on monetary and non-monetary contributions.
* Matrimonial property — distribution under section 114 Law of Marriage Act — direct and indirect (monetary and non-monetary) contributions. * Appellate procedure — inadmissibility of documents not tendered at trial. * Standard of proof in matrimonial claims — balance of probabilities. * Deference to concurrent findings of fact unless misdirection or miscarriage of justice. * Occupation pending compensation — not automatically granted absent legal basis.
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23 September 2025 |
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Committal order quashed for lack of evidence that other execution modes were exhausted before seeking civil imprisonment.
Execution law – Mode of execution – Arrest and detention as civil imprisonment is a last resort; decree-holder must show attempts to exhaust other execution modes, trace or attach assets, or proof of concealment/transfer; name discrepancies curable where parties transacted on common understanding; revisional powers under s.31 MCA to correct procedural irregularity.
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19 September 2025 |
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An appellate court cannot decide issues not pleaded or heard; sua sponte determinations without hearing render judgment a nullity.
Family law – Islamic marriage dissolution – role of reconciliation boards (s.101, s.104(5) LMA); appellate procedure – appellate court deciding issues not raised on appeal; audi alteram partem – decision without hearing is nullity; remedy – quash and remit for fresh determination.
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11 September 2025 |
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Circumstantial last-seen evidence and inferred malice established murder; mandatory death sentence imposed.
* Criminal law – Murder – burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt; circumstantial evidence and the doctrine of last seen. * Malice aforethought – inference from weapon, injuries and prior threats. * Sentencing – mandatory death penalty under section 197 Penal Code.
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11 September 2025 |
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A conviction entered under a different statutory offence than that charged is a fatal irregularity warranting quashing and release.
* Criminal law – Charge and particulars – Requirement under section 135 of the Criminal Procedure Act to disclose specific offence and essential elements.
* Criminal procedure – Variance between charge and conviction – Convicting for an offence not charged causes miscarriage of justice and renders proceedings a nullity.
* Drug offences – Distinction between seeds used in production of drugs and "narcotic drugs" under statutory definitions.
* Retrial – Ordered only where original trial illegal or defective and where interest of justice requires.
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8 September 2025 |
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Identification by recognition upheld; attempted murder proved; belated alibi accorded no weight; sentenced to 20 years.
* Criminal law – Attempted murder – Elements: intention, commencement of means, overt acts, intervening event; identification by recognition; alibi notice under s.200(4)-(6) CPA; sentencing for high-level offence; return of exhibits (phone and SIM).
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3 September 2025 |
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Immediate provocation negated malice aforethought; unlawful killing reduced from murder to manslaughter and sentenced to 15 years.
Criminal law – Unlawful killing – distinction between murder and manslaughter – malice aforethought – sudden provocation – weight of confessions and extra-judicial statements; sentencing and credit for time served.
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3 September 2025 |
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An appeal against a conviction for unnatural offence was dismissed after the court found all elements proved beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – unnatural offence – appeal against conviction and sentence – proof of penetration – assessment of circumstantial evidence – evaluation of defence – procedural irregularity regarding right to appeal – whether conviction was based on suspicion or sufficient evidence.
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2 September 2025 |
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A police officer was convicted of manslaughter for fatally shooting a colleague during an operation, based on circumstantial evidence and a dying declaration.
Criminal law – manslaughter – circumstantial evidence – dying declaration – chain of custody – proof beyond reasonable doubt – admissibility and corroborative value of dying declarations – materiality of witnesses – identification and linkage of firearm evidence.
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2 September 2025 |
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The court convicted the accused of murder, rejecting the provocation defense due to evidence of premeditation and deliberate intent.
Criminal law – murder – proof of malice aforethought – defense of provocation – confession and premeditation – mandatory death penalty.
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2 September 2025 |
| August 2025 |
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An appeal against a rape conviction succeeded due to insufficient evidence on the key element of penetration.
Criminal law – Rape – Essential elements – Proof of penetration – Standard of proof – Testimony of eyewitnesses where the victim cannot testify – Medical evidence – Sufficiency of evidence for conviction.
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29 August 2025 |
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Withdrawal of an appeal for failure to join necessary parties does not constitute technical delay justifying extension of time.
Civil procedure – extension of time – good cause – technical delay – withdrawal versus striking out of appeal – accounting for delay – appellate jurisdiction.
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29 August 2025 |
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Conviction quashed due to a defective charge and insufficient evidence establishing guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Defective charge – Failure to specify offence committed after breaking and entering – Standard of proof – Identification and chain of custody – Evidential inconsistencies – Sufficiency of confession to ground conviction.
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29 August 2025 |
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Failure to sufficiently describe the disputed land in pleadings renders proceedings and judgment a nullity in land disputes.
Land law – pleadings – requirement for sufficient description of suit land – failure to comply with Regulation 3(2)(b) of Land Disputes Courts Regulations and Order VII Rule 3 of the Civil Procedure Code – effect of fatal defects in pleadings – nullification of proceedings and judgment.
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22 August 2025 |
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An appeal was dismissed after the appellant's main submission was filed out of time without leave of court.
Civil procedure – Failure to file submissions within prescribed time – Effect of late filing without leave – Strict compliance with court orders – Dismissal for want of prosecution.
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22 August 2025 |
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The High Court upheld the conviction for Armed Robbery, finding the charge, evidence, and procedure satisfactory beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Armed robbery – Charge sheet – Proper penal provision – Visual identification – Confession – Defence of alibi – Proof beyond reasonable doubt – Contradictions in testimony – Procedural compliance under the CPA – Appeal dismissed.
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22 August 2025 |
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A conditional discharge for infanticide was imposed, balancing the seriousness of the offence with substantial mitigating circumstances.
Criminal law – Sentencing – Infanticide – Applicability of Penal Code section 199 and Sentencing Guidelines – Consideration of mitigating factors – Conditional discharge as alternative sentence.
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20 August 2025 |
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Court partially allows reference, affirming instruction fees but reducing attendance costs to statutory scale since transportation fees were not pleaded.
Taxation of costs – Advocates Remuneration Order – instruction fees – liquidated sum – recovery of attendance and transportation costs – requirement to adhere to statutory scales and pleadings – discretionary power of taxing master – review of taxing master’s discretion.
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15 August 2025 |
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A conviction on a plea of guilty for narcotics possession was quashed due to the prosecution's failure to tender a required analyst report.
Criminal law; drugs and narcotics; conviction on plea of guilty; mandatory Government Analyst report under the DCEA; retrial not to be ordered for prosecution to fill evidentiary gaps; interests of justice; quashing of conviction and sentence.
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15 August 2025 |
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An application for extension of time to appeal dismissed for failure to demonstrate good cause or establish sufficient grounds.
Land procedure – Extension of time – Good cause – Requirement to account for each day of delay – Technical delay must be supported by evidence – Illegality as a ground for extension must be apparent on the face of the record.
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15 August 2025 |