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34 judgments found.
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December 2014
Conviction for unlawful possession of government trophy quashed for failure to prove species amid evidential contradictions.
Wildlife offences — Wildlife offence
— contradictions in witness descriptions
— DPP consent
— unlawful possession of government trophy
15 December 2014
Conviction for possession of a government trophy quashed due to material inconsistencies about the meat’s identity despite valid DPP consent.
Criminal law
— Evidence — contradictions among prosecution witnesses and need for expert identification
— Jurisdiction — DPP consent
— Sentence — conviction quashed and sentence set aside
— unlawful possession of government trophy — identity of seized meat and insufficiency of proof
15 December 2014
September 2014
Conviction for armed robbery quashed where identification evidence was unreliable and not ‘water tight’.
Criminal law — Armed robbery
— conviction unsafe and liable to be quashed
— identification evidence
— inadequate victim description and unexplained police lighting render identification unreliable
25 September 2014
Conviction quashed where caution statement was admitted without voluntariness inquiry and identity was not proved beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — Admissibility of caution statements — mandatory inquiry into voluntariness where objection is raised — failure renders statement improperly admitted
Criminal procedure — Identification evidence
Evidence — Standard of proof — conviction cannot stand where key confession improperly admitted and identity not proved beyond reasonable doubt
19 September 2014
Failure to inquire into voluntariness of confession and inadequate identification led to quashing of conviction.
Criminal procedure — caution statement/confession — obligation to conduct inquiry into voluntariness when objection is raised prior to admission
Evidence
— Identification
— improperly admitted confession and inadequate identification vitiate conviction
— Standard of proof
19 September 2014
August 2014
Appellate court dismissed challenge to land judgment: jurisdictional delay, limitation, transfer evidence, and adjournment refusal all found without merit.
Civil procedure — refusal of adjournment and right to call defence witnesses
Land law
— Evidence — admissibility and weight of land transfer records and testimony of Land Officer
— Limitation — applicability and proof of date of transaction
— transitional jurisdiction
26 August 2014
Adultery claim failed for insufficient circumstantial evidence despite the trial judgment lacking proper reasons.
Civil procedure
— burden and standard of proof — on balance of probabilities in civil claim
— Evidence — Adultery
— Judgment requirements
19 August 2014
Preliminary objections alleging time‑bar and lack of locus standi were dismissed for want of prosecution after parties failed to file ordered submissions.
Land law — appeals from Ward Tribunal to District and High Court
Land law — Limitation Act and notice of appeal requirements
Land law — Preliminary objections
— dismissal of preliminary points
— time‑bar and locus standi
11 August 2014
Rape conviction quashed where unexplained delay, medical signs of prior intercourse, and hearsay undermined proof.
Criminal law
— sentencing — first offender — Legality of imprisonment under s 131(2)(a) Criminal Procedure Act
— sexual offences — proof of rape — victim's evidence as primary evidence and requirement of corroboration, including medical evidence
Criminal procedure — delay in reporting offences — Effect of unexplained delay on credibility and proof
7 August 2014
Revision application struck out for being instituted as an appeal rather than by required chamber summons and affidavit.
Civil procedure
— Jurisdiction and locus standi — Substantive complaints raised but not adjudicated due to procedural defect
— Procedural irregularity — Written submissions will not be considered where initiating procedure is defective
— Revision proceedings
7 August 2014
Revision application struck out as incompetently instituted because moved as an appeal instead of chamber summons supported by affidavit.
Civil procedure — Revision proceedings
— improper procedure renders application incompetent and liable to be struck out
— Proper mode of instituting revision in High Court
7 August 2014
July 2014
Appellate court dismissed compensation claim for alleged second cattle trespass and refused to consider documents not admitted at trial.
Civil procedure — Civil appeal — Evidence
— appellate court should not consider documents not admitted at trial
— proof of multiple incidents of cattle trespass requires evidence on record
— valuation report admissibility and reliance
11 July 2014
Oral evidence and locus visit established occupation since 1970, rendering the appellant's claim time‑barred.
Land law
— ownership dispute — proof by long occupation and locus in quo visit — Credibility and weight of oral evidence
— licensee — Occupation and acquisition supporting licence status — Licence versus trespass: status and consequences
Limitation law — recovery of land — twelve‑year limitation — Law of Limitation Act, Cap 89 R.E.2002
11 July 2014
Respondents had locus to sue for a blocked long-used cattle passage; appeal dismissed with costs.
Land law — appellate procedure
— court will not decide issues not pleaded below
— non-joinder and parties’ capacity
— recognition of use-based rights to pathways
Land law — locus standi — beneficiaries
Land law — right of way/passage
11 July 2014
Applicant failed to prove ownership and did not timely object to execution; appeal dismissed with costs.
Land law — ownership dispute — sufficiency of evidence to establish title
Civil procedure — Execution — Objection to execution — Whether objection is time-barred and when limitation begins to run (service of execution notice)
11 July 2014
Appellate court upholds tribunal: disputed parcel is clan land, administrator limited to deceased father, appeal dismissed with costs.
Land law
— Appellate review — assessment of credibility and weight of evidence
— burden of proof
— clan land versus individual estate
— Letters of administration — scope of appointment
11 July 2014
Long, undisturbed occupation ripened into adverse possession; appeal dismissed and compensation required if village acquires land.
Administrative law — Administrative acquisition — village/local council acquisition of privately occupied land requires compliance with compensation law
Evidence — admissibility of documentary evidence and reliance on uncertified or unserved documents
Land law — adverse possession — continuous, undisturbed occupation since 1986 — occupancy for over 25 years supports ownership by adverse possession
8 July 2014
Prior judicial determination of property rights defeats an ownership defence to criminal trespass; date variances in charges can be curable.
Civil procedure — Appeal — Scope of interference where earlier court has determined property rights and no reversal has been obtained
Criminal law — Trespass
Criminal procedure — variance between charge sheet particulars and evidence — Curable error
2 July 2014
June 2014
Conviction quashed where charge omitted weapon particulars, identification was unreliable, and prosecution relied on suspicion.
Criminal procedure — adequacy of charge particulars
Criminal procedure — fair trial implications
Criminal procedure — Identification evidence
— suspicious circumstances insufficient for conviction
— visual ID
Criminal procedure — omission to specify weapon in armed robbery
23 June 2014
Death during a spontaneous fight amounts to manslaughter, not murder, absent evidence of premeditation or exceptional circumstances.
Criminal law — homicide
— Death in course of a fight
— Manslaughter
Criminal law — malice aforethought — proof requirements
Criminal law — sentencing — first offender and time in custody
Criminal law — use of lethal weapon and flight after offence — evidential weight
20 June 2014
Circumstantial evidence and inconsistent defence led to conviction for murder; sentenced to death by hanging.
Criminal law
— Murder — conviction on circumstantial evidence — requirement that inculpatory facts exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence
— sentencing — mandatory death penalty — Court acknowledges cruelty but applies statutory sentence
Evidence — Witness credibility — contradictions between police statements and in-court testimony undermine prosecution case — Effect of inconsistent statements and alleged lies on accused’s defence
20 June 2014
Courts cannot themselves distribute a deceased’s estate; distribution is for appointed administrators, so impugned orders were set aside.
Civil procedure — Administration of estates
— appointment of multiple administrators where minors are beneficiaries
— Distribution of estate is the duty of appointed administrators
6 June 2014
Courts must not distribute an intestate estate; distribution is the administrators' duty, and judicial orders prescribing shares were improper.
Civil procedure — Administration of estates — Distribution of intestate estate — Duty of administrators to administer and distribute estate — Primary Court and District Court exceeded powers by prescribing shares
6 June 2014
May 2014
Victim's credible identification and medical evidence upheld rape conviction; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law
— Sexual offences — Rape — Identification of assailant
— Medical evidence — PF3 and doctor’s testimony corroborating penetration
Appellate practice — Appeal procedure — Whether prosecution proved charge beyond reasonable doubt
5 May 2014
A charge omitting the statutory 'threatening' element of attempted rape is defective and not curable, vitiating the conviction.
Criminal law — sexual offences — attempted rape — Defective charge for failure to cite subsection containing elements of offence
Criminal procedure — Charge particulars — omission renders the charge incurably defective and occasions failure of justice — Section 388 Criminal Procedure Code
2 May 2014
Failure to allow cross-examination and contradictions in identification evidence rendered the conviction unsafe.
Criminal law — Armed robbery
— issues in identification at scene and identification parade
— sufficiency of evidence and identity of accused
Criminal law — Exhibits — seizure and chain of custody (certificate of seizure not tendered) and production of relevant witnesses
Criminal procedure — right to cross-examine a key witness
Evidence — contradictions in prosecution witnesses, inconsistency in dates and marks on exhibits undermining credibility
2 May 2014
March 2014
A court that has pronounced final judgment is functus officio; subsequent orders made thereafter are null and void.
Civil procedure — functus officio — Whether a court that has finally disposed of a matter can make subsequent orders — Finality of judgment
Probate law — Administration of estate — Validity of proceedings and orders made after final disposition of a probate cause — Appointment of administrator
28 March 2014
A quashed ward-tribunal decision cannot found res judicata; the matter must be retried de novo and each party bears own costs.
Land disputes — res judicata — appellate order for trial de novo
28 March 2014
Conviction quashed where no weapon was alleged, caution statement unlawfully admitted and prosecution evidence insufficient.
Criminal law
— Armed robbery — requirement of use of dangerous or offensive weapon or instrument — distinction from robbery by actual violence
— Evidence — Caution statement — statutory recording time and voluntariness inquiry on retraction
17 March 2014
Conviction quashed where victim and key witnesses were not called and medical report was improperly admitted.
Appellate practice — Retrial — not ordered where cumulative procedural and evidential defects make conviction unsafe
Criminal law — Unnatural offence — proof beyond reasonable doubt
Criminal procedure
— non‑compliance leads to expunction
— Section 240(3) requirement to inform accused of right to call/cross‑examine doctor before admitting medical report
Evidence — Failure renders evidence hearsay
17 March 2014
Rape conviction quashed where prosecution failed to prove penetration and omitted medical corroboration.
Criminal law — Rape (statutory rape) — victim — Medical corroboration may be necessary where available — Conviction unsafe where penetration not proved and doctor not called
17 March 2014
Appellant's uncorroborated claim failed to rebut tribunals' findings; appeal dismissed for lack of evidence.
Land law
— possession and title — evidentiary burden and credibility of witnesses — Requirement to produce tangible evidence to establish title
— Occupation by invitee/licencee — invitee cannot acquire title by long occupation
Appellate practice — Appellate interference — First appellate court will not disturb concurrent findings of fact absent compelling circumstances
6 March 2014
February 2014
Affidavits containing legal argument and vague, inconsistent prayers render an interlocutory injunction application incompetent; application struck out with costs.
Civil procedure
— Affidavits — Prohibition of legal arguments or conclusions in affidavits — Order XIX Rule 3(1) CPC
— Interim injunction — Clarity of prayers for injunctions — Relief must be clearly framed, injunctions normally sought pending determination of the main suit
— Verification of pleadings — Compliance with Order VI Rule 15(3): requirement to state date and place of verification
7 February 2014
January 2014
Conviction quashed where rape identification rested solely on voice at night without proven familiarity.
Criminal law — identification evidence — voice identification
— requirement of demonstrable familiarity with the voice
— Sufficiency of evidence in sexual offence convictions
1 January 2014