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Citation
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Judgment date
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| November 2002 |
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Court affirmed rape conviction on medical and identification evidence, amended misquoted charge, and upheld mandatory 30-year sentence.
Sexual offences — Rape of a child — Proof of penetration may be established by medical evidence of bruising and blood — Identification: contemporaneous daylight identification and prompt arrest corroborative — Absence of semen not fatal — Misdescription of statutory subsection curable under procedural law — Mandatory minimum sentence for statutory rape.
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13 November 2002 |
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Identification was reliable, alibi unproven, convictions upheld; first two appellants’ sentences increased to statutory thirty years.
* Criminal law – Robbery with violence – identification of accused – reliability where victims were known to accused, lighting at scene and sufficient observation time. * Criminal procedure – Defence of alibi – requirement to give statutory notice and call supporting witnesses. * Evidence – Corroboration – credible eyewitness testimony does not require independent corroboration; investigating officer’s evidence may supply corroboration. * Sentencing – Minimum Sentences legislation – appellate court may quash and increase sentence where statutory minimum applies.
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11 November 2002 |
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Appeal dismissed for failure to prove joint ownership of funds and insufficient evidence in post-divorce property claim.
* Family law – divorce – primary court procedure – divorce, division of matrimonial property and custody/maintenance should be determined together where applicable.
* Civil claims over alleged jointly owned funds – requirement of evidence to prove joint ownership of bank deposits.
* Evidence – parental testimony admissible to show parental financial assistance; cultural generalisations not conclusive.
* Appellate review – absence of proof justifies dismissal of monetary claim following divorce proceedings.
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5 November 2002 |
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Conviction for rape upheld on identification and medical evidence but reclassified and sentence reduced due to Act’s non‑commencement.
* Criminal law – Rape – Identification in daylight and medical evidence sufficient to prove penetration and perpetrator. * Sexual Offences (Special Provisions) Act 1998 – Inapplicability to offences committed before commencement (1 July 1998). * Consent immaterial for sexual intercourse with a child under 18. * Forensic sperm comparison not essential where direct identification and medical evidence prove offence.
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4 November 2002 |
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Appellant's rights limited to original house plot; later occupation of adjoining land was trespass and appeal dismissed.
* Land law – grant of a limited house plot by an owner and subsequent sale of remaining land to a third party – proprietor's discretion to sell remaining land.
* Property rights – limits of occupation derived from a gratuitous grant; expansion after death amounts to trespass.
* Civil procedure – admissibility of witness evidence irrelevant where original owner's credible testimony establishes boundaries.
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1 November 2002 |
| October 2002 |
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High Court upheld appellate division of matrimonial property, finding the second wife made no contribution and refusing to interfere.
* Matrimonial property – division of property between spouses – assessment of contribution under section 114 Law of Marriage Act, 1971 – evidence required to establish contribution.
* Family law – effect of cohabitation timing on status as contributor to matrimonial property – joinder of interested third parties in divorce/property proceedings.
* Civil appeal – appellate court's discretionary division of matrimonial property – appellate interference only where discretion misapplied or unsupported by reasons.
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31 October 2002 |
| September 2002 |
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Whether the amended Road Traffic Act mandates custodial sentence for causing death by dangerous driving or allows non-custodial sentencing.
Road Traffic Act s.63(2)(a) – amendment by Act No.16/1996 – mandatory minimum sentence; sentencing discretion – whether custodial term is compulsory for causing death by dangerous driving; interpretation of "shall be liable" in sentencing provisions; applicability of DPP v Makujaa and Jackson Bembembuye precedents.
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25 September 2002 |
| July 2002 |
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High Court lacks jurisdiction to hear appeal from a Ward Tribunal matter; appeal struck out under Ward Tribunal Act s.20(2),(3).
* Civil procedure – Appeals – Ward Tribunal matters – Statutory appeal route under Ward Tribunal Act No.7/1985 s.20(2),(3) – Primary Court as first appellate forum; District Court decision final and conclusive – High Court lacks jurisdiction to hear direct appeal from Ward Tribunal matters.
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31 July 2002 |
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High Court lacked jurisdiction to revise decisions originating in a Ward Tribunal; application struck out for want of jurisdiction.
• Civil procedure – revisional jurisdiction – Limitations of High Court revisional powers under Magistrates’ Courts Act in respect of matters originating in Ward Tribunals.• Ward Tribunal Act (No. 7/1985) – s.20(2)-(3) – Appeal route and finality of district court decisions on Ward Tribunal matters.• Parties and locus standi – inability of non-parties to obtain High Court revision where statute precludes jurisdiction.
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30 July 2002 |
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Conviction for obtaining by false pretences quashed where evidence showed a genuine sale and not deception.
Criminal law – Obtaining by false pretences – Elements of offence – Delivery of goods under a sale agreement and part payment do not establish obtaining by false pretences; Misquotation of statute not fatal where no prejudice; Possible separate offence of giving false information to public officer.
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29 July 2002 |
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Oral magistrates’ judgments pronounced immediately are procedurally improper; appellate reliance on unheard village decisions vitiated the award.
Magistrates' procedure – Oral judgments – procedural impropriety of immediate oral judgment without considering submissions; Appellate review – reliance on village/ward resolutions where affected party not heard; Evidence – entitlement to bonus payment requires proof of performed duties; Civil procedure – consideration of written submissions before pronouncement of judgment.
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23 July 2002 |
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Procedural failures (unrecorded plea and premature acquittal) rendered the trial a nullity and prompted quashing and retrial.
Criminal procedure — Failure to record accused’s plea (s228(2)) — Magistrate acquitting before prosecution closes — No-case-to-answer inquiries (ss230–231) — Procedural irregularities rendering trial a nullity — Quash and retrial ordered.
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22 July 2002 |
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The applicant cannot sue an agent personally when the principal is known and can be joined.
Agency law – agent acting for cooperative union – receipts as evidence of agency; Suit against agent where principal known – agent not personally liable; Joinder of principal as necessary party; Avoidance of duplicative suits.
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18 July 2002 |
| June 2002 |
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Appeal allowed: convictions quashed because post-arraignment identification parade and other defects made identification evidence unsafe.
Criminal law – Robbery with violence – Identification evidence – Identification parade conducted after accused had been brought before court – post-arraignment parade undermines reliability – night-time identification – failure to produce complainants’ police statements and the alleged weapon – interested witnesses (husband and wife) – conviction unsafe.
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12 June 2002 |
| May 2002 |
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The Sexual Offences Act covers animals and credible eyewitness proof of penetration suffices to convict for bestiality.
* Sexual Offences Act – interpretation – whether applies to animals (bestiality) – statutory replacement of s.154 expands scope to animals.
* Evidence – sufficiency – eyewitness testimony of penetration can support conviction without expert medical/veterinary evidence.
* Proof required – penetration alone suffices; emission not necessary to establish the offence.
* Sentence – statutory minimums under Sexual Offences Special Provisions Act (minimum 30 years for the offence).
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8 May 2002 |
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8 May 2002 |
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Appellate court may, under revisional powers, convert acquittal to conviction where recent possession proves theft.
Criminal law – Revisional jurisdiction (s.37(1) Criminal Procedure Code) – Power to convert acquittal to conviction in interest of justice; Criminal law – Theft – doctrine of recent possession; Stock Theft Ordinance/ Penal Code – possession of stolen stock as evidence of guilt.
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8 May 2002 |
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Appeal upholds convictions of three appellants (including neglect by night watchman); third appellant acquitted for lack of evidence.
Criminal law – breaking and stealing (ss 396(1), 265 Penal Code) – neglect to prevent offence (s 383) – recent possession doctrine – competency/compellability of witness (Law of Evidence s 127) – court’s power to detain refractory witness (Criminal Procedure s 199(1)(b)).
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6 May 2002 |
| April 2002 |
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16 April 2002 |
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District Commissioner acted ultra vires in suspending the applicant's registered society; suspension quashed and status quo reinstated.
Administrative law – prerogative relief (certiorari, prohibition) – ultra vires administrative act; Societies Ordinance – power to declare/cancel societies vested in President; Registrar’s practice of consulting local authority – reasonable; Regional Administration Act s.14(2) – limits on district commissioner’s powers; evidence required to justify suspension on public order grounds.
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10 April 2002 |
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The applicant’s conviction for obtaining goods by false pretences was upheld and the unspecified compensation order was rectified to Shs 4,500,000.
* Criminal law – Obtaining goods by false pretences (s.302 Penal Code) – elements: obtaining, false representation of present fact, intent to defraud. * Representation considered false where maker knew it to be false or did not believe it true. * Conditional discharge (s.38 Penal Code) – discretionary; not disturbed absent cross-appeal. * Compensation order (s.348 Criminal Procedure Act) must specify amount; appellate correction/rectification and enforcement under Civil Procedure Code.
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4 April 2002 |
| February 2002 |
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Appeals dismissed: convictions for daytime armed robbery upheld and mandatory twelve strokes added to concurrent 30-year sentences.
Criminal law – armed robbery – identification evidence and identification parade – alibi plea – burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt – appeal – sentencing – mandatory corporal punishment.
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22 February 2002 |
| January 2002 |
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Trial magistrate erred in striking out charge after accused's guilty plea; High Court quashed order and ordered retrial.
Criminal procedure — plea after adjournment — requirement to read charge and take fresh plea before stating facts — conviction on own plea — where facts do not disclose offence magistrate should enter plea of not guilty and allow prosecution to call evidence — absence of exhibit immaterial if accused admits seizure — striking out a charge vs acquittal — retrial ordered.
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1 January 2002 |