|
Citation
|
Judgment date
|
| December 2002 |
|
|
Recent-possession and owner identification upheld conviction for receiving stolen property; appellant’s purchase claim rejected.
* Criminal law – Receiving stolen property – Doctrine of recent possession – Short interval between theft and recovery may justify inference of possession of stolen goods. * Evidence – Identification by owner and price/packing marks as corroborative evidence. * Credibility – Implausibility of purchase-from-vendors explanation without receipts.
|
13 December 2002 |
|
Malicious-damage conviction quashed where malice was not established after related disorderly-conduct charges failed.
Criminal law – Malicious damage to property – Elements: damage and malice – Malice cannot be inferred where related charges of violent or disorderly conduct are not proved – Conviction quashed; sentence and compensation set aside.
|
10 December 2002 |
|
The applicant's further appeal is incompetent where the Ward Tribunals Act makes the District Court's decision final.
Ward Tribunals Act (No.7 of 1985) – Appeals procedure; Section 20(1)–(3) – Appeal from Ward Tribunal to Primary Court and on points of law to District Court; Finality of District Court decisions – No further appeal to High Court; Jurisdiction – Incompetence of subsequent appeal.
|
3 December 2002 |
| October 2002 |
|
|
Robbery convictions quashed due to unreliable night identification, inadequate police evidence, and overall weak prosecution case.
Criminal law – Robbery – Identification evidence at night – Reliability of identification; Failure to call police to prove identification parade and arrests; Delay in arrest and inconsistencies in complainant’s timeline; Non‑recovery of stolen property – Cumulative deficiencies rendering conviction unsafe.
|
2 October 2002 |
| September 2002 |
|
|
Appellate court affirmed conviction for stealing by agent where appellant failed to account for cooperative funds.
* Criminal law – Stealing by agent – s.273(b) Penal Code – failure to account for funds received on behalf of cooperative.
* Evidence – documentary crop-purchase reports and signatures – weight and credibility.
* Appellate review – interference with trial court’s findings of fact and law only where demonstrable error exists.
|
30 September 2002 |
| August 2002 |
|
|
Leave to appeal out of time granted where trial court ordered ex-parte proof before defence time expired and set-aside application was timely.
Civil procedure – leave to appeal out of time – ex-parte judgment – ordering ex-parte proof before expiry of time to file defence – time for applying to set aside under O.9 R.13 – appealability of dismissal on technicality.
|
7 August 2002 |
| July 2002 |
|
|
Concealed ivory found under a locked bus boot supports convictions; appellants’ appeals dismissed.
* Criminal law – Possession of wildlife products – Concealment in vehicle boot as evidence of knowledge and possession of ivory.
* Evidence – Inference from concealment, placement and circumstances supporting guilty knowledge.
* Appeal – Appellate deference where trial court conducts careful credibility and factual analysis.
|
31 July 2002 |
| May 2002 |
|
|
Appeal against theft convictions raising issues of proof of ownership, reliability of an alleged admission and sufficiency of evidence; judgment text incomplete.
* Criminal law – Theft – Proof of ownership/uniqueness of stolen goods – Identification of goods as belonging to an institution. * Evidence – Extra‑judicial admissions and their weight as against co‑accused. * Criminal procedure – Credibility assessment of witnesses; sufficiency of evidence to convict. * Sentencing – Appropriateness of five‑year imprisonment terms.
|
20 May 2002 |
|
Where mass commotion occurred, inadequate identification evidence rendered the appellants' convictions unsafe; appeal allowed.
Criminal law – Visual identification in mass-commotion – Need for clear, specific identification evidence where pitch invasion and general fighting occurred; failure to challenge defensive explanation renders conviction unsafe.
|
20 May 2002 |
|
Conviction for grievous harm upheld on reliable identification and corroborating medical evidence; alibi without notice failed.
Criminal law – occasioning grievous harm – identification evidence – reliability of complainant’s identification of neighbour – medical evidence (PF3) corroboration – alibi defence without prior notice held insufficient.
|
15 May 2002 |
|
Appeals dismissed where accused caught selling recently stolen pharmacy medicines and offered no explanation for possession.
* Criminal law – Robbery – Possession of recently stolen property as evidence linking accused to theft; identification evidence; circumstantial proof can sustain conviction where accused cannot explain possession; upholding trial court's evaluation of evidence.
|
10 May 2002 |
| February 2002 |
|
|
Appeal against rape conviction dismissed where complainant and sibling gave convincing identification evidence.
* Criminal law – Rape – Identification evidence – victim and sibling provided convincing, consistent identification supporting conviction.
* Criminal procedure – Appeal – sufficiency of evidence and reappraisal of identification – appellate court will not disturb conviction absent reasonable doubt.
|
20 February 2002 |
|
Mischarging an Economic Offence under the wrong statute renders the trial a nullity; convictions quashed and retrial ordered.
* Criminal law – jurisdiction and charge – Economic Offences under the Economic and Organized Crime (Control) Act – effect of charging under the wrong statute – trial nullity.
* Criminal procedure – alternative verdicts – incorrect statutory citation (s.283) and improper alternative conviction – limits on magistrate's power to enter alternative verdicts.
* Retrial – where trial is nullity – fresh trial before different magistrate required, particularly where public officer implicated.
|
20 February 2002 |
|
The appellant's conviction based solely on an uncorroborated co-accused statement was unsafe and was quashed.
* Criminal law – Obtaining money by false pretences – Sufficiency of evidence – Reliance on uncorroborated statement of co-accused – Credibility of witnesses.
* Evidence – Receipt as prima facie proof of payment; where false pretence must be clearly established.
* Appeal – Conviction unsafe where sole evidence is discredited and no independent link to offence exists.
|
20 February 2002 |
|
Conviction quashed where identification was weak and self‑serving, uncorroborated evidence failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – identification evidence – reliability of marks on property – caution with weak visual identification; self‑serving witness – need for corroboration; absence of police evidence undermining prosecution case; conviction quashed for insufficient evidence.
|
18 February 2002 |