Results.
42 judgments found.
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December 2020
30 December 2020
8 December 2020
November 2020
16 November 2020
16 November 2020
14 November 2020
13 November 2020
6 November 2020
Applicant failed to prove good cause for extension after lengthy delay and inadequate proof of court-caused delay.
Land law — Delay in supply of certified copies
— Burden of proof lies on applicant
— Evidence from court registry (affidavit/certificate) may be necessary to substantiate court-caused delay
— possible ground for extension but requires proof of timely request, follow-up, collection, and immediate filing
Land law — Land disputes courts act s38(1) — extension of time to file appeal
6 November 2020
5 November 2020
October 2020
30 October 2020
Alleged illegality and misnaming justified extending time for the applicant to appeal an execution order.
Civil procedure
— Civil practice
— Execution — whether execution can be enforced against a person not party to original proceedings due to misnaming
Land law — extension of time to appeal — alleged illegality as sufficient cause to extend time (Principal Secretary v Devram Valambhia)
26 October 2020
26 October 2020
Alleged procedural unfairness and illegality in university discontinuation justified leave to seek certiorari and mandamus.
Administrative law
— Judicial review — Leave to apply for prerogative orders — Allegations of illegality, procedural unfairness and irrationality
— prerogative orders (certiorari and mandamus) — Reinstatement and correction of examination results
Natural justice — requirement of fair hearing in disciplinary proceedings — University disciplinary decisions — Proper composition of decision‑making body
22 October 2020
Conviction for grave sexual abuse quashed where prosecution failed to prove 'for sexual gratification' element beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — sexual offences — grave sexual abuse — Prosecution’s burden and proof beyond reasonable doubt
22 October 2020
Sickness occurring after the 60‑day appeal period does not amount to good cause to extend time to appeal.
Appellate practice — extension of time — Sickness/medical incapacity as potential good cause — Land Disputes Courts Act s.38(1)
21 October 2020
Guilty plea and prosecution facts omitting victim's age made the plea ambiguous; conviction quashed.
Criminal law — Appeal after guilty plea
— conviction quashed where prosecution facts omitted age
— exceptions where plea ambiguous or admitted facts cannot sustain conviction
Criminal law — guilty plea
Criminal law — Statutory rape — victim's age is a material element
20 October 2020
20 October 2020
Applicant granted extension to file revision because conflicting tribunal judgments raised apparent illegality.
Limitation law — Limitation — extension of time
19 October 2020
Court extended appeal time, excluding period spent diligently prosecuting an appeal later struck out, and granted 60 days.
Land law — computation of limitation
— authorities considered: Selina Chibango, Yusufu Same, Transport Equipment Ltd v Valambhia
— exclusion of time spent diligently prosecuting a subsequently struck‑out appeal
— sufficient cause for extension
Land law — Land disputes courts act s38(1) — extension of time to appeal
15 October 2020
September 2020
Extension application struck out for wrong statutory citation; overriding objective cannot cure procedural mis-citation.
Land law — Land appeals — extension of time to appeal from District Land and Housing Tribunal
— affidavit formalities
— correct statutory provision
25 September 2020
Unsubstantiated illness did not constitute good cause to extend time for filing an appeal.
Civil procedure
— Burden of proof — Burden of proof on the party who alleges
— Extension of time to appeal — Applicant’s sickness as sufficient cause supported by medical records — Land Disputes Courts Act s 41(2)
3 September 2020
August 2020
27 August 2020
Acquittal in criminal proceedings does not preclude civil liability; respondent proved claim on balance of probabilities.
Criminal law — appellate review
— limits on re-evaluation in second appeal
— weight of evidence and general denial
Criminal law — Civil v criminal proceedings — acquittal/withdrawal in criminal case not an absolute defense in civil claim
Criminal law — Standard of proof — balance of probabilities
19 August 2020
Rape conviction quashed where uncorroborated complainant evidence and material contradictions created reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — Rape
— Burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt
— Insufficient police investigation
— Material contradictions among prosecution witnesses
— Medical examination showing no injuries or spermatozoa
— One‑on‑one allegation
18 August 2020
14 August 2020
June 2020
Extension of time refused where illness unproven and alleged lack of locus standi not apparent on the record.
Civil procedure
— extension of time — requirement of good and sufficient cause — unsupported illness insufficient
— locus standi in land disputes — intermeddling/member of household constitutes sufficient interest
— Ward Tribunals access — any person who reasonably believes rights infringed may complain
22 June 2020
May 2020
A City Council may revoke a wrongfully issued Letter of Offer; original owner's compensation entitlement prevails.
Land law
— acquisition and compensation — Surveyed allocation as compensation — Effect on customary owners' entitlement
— allocation and offers — distinction between an offer of allocation and a registered — Revocation of a Letter of Offer wrongly issued
21 May 2020
18 May 2020
Indecent assault conviction quashed for failure to prove elements beyond reasonable doubt; offences should have been charged alternatively.
Criminal law — sexual offences
— Indecent/sexual assault — elements: intent to cause sexual annoyance and act/gesture/word/object intended to be seen or heard
— Rape — proof of penetration — medical evidence showing intact hymen/anus may negate penetration
Criminal procedure — Charging — Where a single act constitutes multiple offences they should be charged in the alternative to avoid double punishment
12 May 2020
Bail pending appeal denied where claimed family hardship was not exceptional and appeal lacked overwhelming prospects.
Criminal procedure — Bail pending appeal
4 May 2020
March 2020
23 March 2020
Filing a memorandum instead of a petition under section 38(2) renders an appeal from the District Land and Housing Tribunal incompetent.
Civil procedure — Procedural requirement — Non‑compliance with mandatory procedural requirements renders appeal incompetent
Constitutional law — Constitutional provision article 107A(2)(e) — Use of Article 107A/overriding objective to cure procedural defects not available to circumvent mandatory procedural rules
Land law — Appeal procedure — petition to be filed in District Land and Housing Tribunal — Land Disputes Courts Act s 38(2)
13 March 2020
Concurrent findings on boundaries and possession upheld; appellant failed to prove adverse possession or superior title.
Land law — adverse possession/limitation
— appellate review of concurrent tribunal findings
— weight and credibility of witness evidence
Land law — boundary disputes and ownership — proof of boundaries
13 March 2020
An appeal filed more than 60 days from the tribunal’s decision is time-barred; certification of judgment does not extend the period.
Civil procedure
— extension of time — proviso to s.38(1) permits extension for good cause
— Preliminary objection on limitation — appeal dismissed and costs awarded
Land law — Land disputes courts act s38(1) — sixty-day appeal period to High Court — limitation runs from date of tribunal decision, not certification of copy
11 March 2020
Applicant's illness and diligence justified court's discretionary grant of extension of time to file an appeal.
Civil procedure — extension of time — discretionary exercise — factors: reason for delay, length of delay, diligence, prejudice — illness as sufficient cause
11 March 2020
Secretary's name in Coram does not prove participation; concurrent factual findings on ownership affirmed; appeal dismissed.
Land disputes — Appellate interference with concurrent factual findings limited — misapprehension required
Land disputes — Coram and role of Ward Tribunal secretary
— appearance in Coram does not prove participation
— Secretary is record-keeper, not member
— Tribunal composition
9 March 2020
An execution order that finally determines a matter is appealable, but the appellant’s appeal was time-barred under the 45-day limit.
Civil procedure — execution orders — appealability: execution orders that finally determine the suit are appealable under s.74(2) CPC
Civil procedure — limitation
— Appeal struck out as time-barred
— where no specific appeal period prescribed, 45-day limit under the Law of Limitation Act applies
9 March 2020
An omnibus, conflicted, and time‑barred application to set aside an arbitral award was struck out.
Labour law
— Conflict of interest — Advocate/solicitor acting against former client/employer — Notaries Public and Commissioner for Oaths Act s 7
— Omnibus application — Combining unrelated reliefs under different statutes renders application incompetent — Labour Court Rules and Civil Procedure Code (Order XXI)
— limitation — computation of six‑week period under s.91(1)(a) ELRA — Employment and Labour Relations Act s.91(1)(a)
6 March 2020
Whether the applicant proved title by showing a court-ordered execution sale and a taxed bill of costs.
Civil procedure — Evidence and appellate review — concurrent findings of fact
Land law — proof of ownership — Proof of acquisition by court-ordered auction/execution — Requirement to produce court order and taxed bill of costs
2 March 2020
February 2020
Recording a party settlement restoring membership does not automatically reinstate council seats; non-parties cannot block its recording.
Civil procedure — Settlement — Recording deed of settlement as court decree
Land law — Local government law — Councillorship vacancies — Whether party retraction reinstates council seats automatically
20 February 2020
District Court has jurisdiction over commercial disputes under s.40(3); written sale agreements determine liability.
Civil procedure — jurisdiction — Commercial case — District Court jurisdiction under s.40(3) Magistrates Courts Act — No minimum pecuniary threshold despite Primary Court cap
Evidence — Documentary evidence — registered documents are conclusive and cannot be contradicted by oral evidence — Evidence Act s.100: written contract prevails over oral assertions
19 February 2020
January 2020
Allocation by local authority and long occupation upheld respondent's title; appeal dismissed with costs.
Land law — title by allocation
— first appeal obligation to re-hear evidence
— insufficiency of mere payment receipts to prove ownership
— letter of offer and payment of land rent as evidence of allocation
— long occupation and improvements as supporting possession
— probative value of historic tax/ground rent receipts not linked to specific surveyed plot
27 January 2020