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Citation
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Judgment date
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| November 2025 |
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Failure by a primary court magistrate to certify/sign witness testimony vitiates matrimonial proceedings and linked revisional orders.
• Family law – Divorce proceedings – Mandatory procedural prerequisites for competency: Conciliation Board certificate to be annexed and tendered as evidence; • Evidence and procedure – Primary Courts (GN No. 310 of 1964 & GN No. 119 of 1983) Rule 46(3) – Magistrate must record, read back, correct and certify each witness's evidence; omission to sign invalidates proceedings; • Appellate consequence – Proceedings founded on an uncertified record are nullified and consequent revisional orders set aside.
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5 November 2025 |
| October 2025 |
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An appeal was struck out as incompetent because party description was altered without court leave.
* Civil procedure – competence of appeal – consistency of party description across proceedings; alteration of party designation without leave renders appeal incompetent.
* Representation – Power of Attorney – representative as agent, not a substituted party, absent court leave.
* Court records – authenticity and continuity of party titles; material changes require formal application and court sanction.
* Remedy – striking out appeal for procedural defect.
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28 October 2025 |
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Whether a conviction may be overturned for an alleged clerical time error and disputed identification of cattle.
Criminal law – damage to property – identification of livestock – appellate review of factual findings – alleged clerical time discrepancy – proof beyond reasonable doubt.
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28 October 2025 |
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Second appeal dismissed: first appellate court properly re-evaluated evidence; new grounds barred; respondent's evidence upheld.
* Civil procedure – second appeal – jurisdictional limit: new grounds raised for the first time on second appeal are not entertainable; * Evidence – re-evaluation on appeal – appellate court may re-evaluate but will not disturb concurrent findings absent misdirection or miscarriage of justice; * Evidence – credibility: contradictions in witnesses’ testimony may discredit delivery claims; documentary proof (contract, bank statement) supports claimant; * Procedure – failure to file ordered written submissions amounts to waiver of right to be heard.
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24 October 2025 |
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Conviction quashed due to inconsistent prosecution evidence and failure to call crucial medical and police witnesses.
Criminal procedure – preliminary hearing (s.192 CPA) – substantial compliance; Evidence – contradictions and inconsistencies in prosecution testimony; Failure to call material witnesses (examining doctor/PF3, police officer, witness Rehema) – adverse inference; Reasonable doubt – benefit to accused in sexual offences.
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21 October 2025 |
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Accused convicted of murder: eyewitness, post-mortem, confession and weapon evidence proved malice; provocation and self-defence rejected.
* Criminal law – Murder – Elements: death, unlawfulness, causation and malice aforethought. * Evidence – Eyewitness accounts, post-mortem report and weapon recovery corroborating each other. * Evidence – Extra-judicial confession admissible and corroborative. * Evidence – Chain of custody of weapon and exhibits properly established. * Defence – Cumulative provocation (last straw doctrine) and self-defence examined and rejected.
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17 October 2025 |
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Accused acquitted where DNA-linked weapon and fingerprints did not exclude reasonable doubt about his guilt.
* Criminal law – Murder – Elements: death, unlawfulness, participation, malice aforethought.
* Circumstantial evidence – requirements for conviction; necessity of an unbroken chain excluding reasonable alternative hypotheses.
* Forensic evidence – DNA linking blood on weapon to deceased; fingerprint evidence admissible but timing/persistence can undermine conclusiveness.
* Burden of proof – prosecution must establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt; any reasonable doubt benefits the accused.
* Acquittal where forensic and circumstantial evidence fail to exclude reasonable hypothesis of innocence.
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17 October 2025 |
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15 October 2025 |
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Primary court lacks probate jurisdiction if deceased's fixed place of abode was elsewhere; remission to incompetent court invalid.
* Probate jurisdiction – Primary courts – Fifth Schedule, s.19(1)(c) Magistrates' Courts Act – "fixed place of abode" means permanent residence.
* Territorial jurisdiction – proceedings in court lacking jurisdiction are nullities.
* Evidence – trial court record and issue estoppel prevent contradicting unchallenged findings on place of abode.
* Remission – appellate court cannot remit to an incompetent court.
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15 October 2025 |
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Murder not proved as malice aforethought absent; killing occurred in intoxication and provocation, conviction substituted to manslaughter.
Criminal law – Homicide – proof of death and unlawful causation; participation in fatal act; malice aforethought – factors for inference (weapon, force, part targeted, number of blows, conduct before/after); intoxication and provocation as negating intent; substitution of murder with manslaughter.
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15 October 2025 |
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Circumstantial evidence and voluntary confession established accused's guilt for murder by suffocation.
Criminal law – Murder – Elements: death, unlawful killing, participation, malice aforethought; Circumstantial evidence – complete chain; Confession – discovery rule and voluntariness; Admissibility contested by torture allegations.
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15 October 2025 |
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A plea is equivocal and unsafe if the accused is not given opportunity to respond to prosecution’s narrated facts.
Criminal procedure – Plea-taking procedure – Compliance with s.245(1)&(2) – Unequivocal plea required; guilty-plea appeals generally barred by s.381(1) but exceptions where plea is equivocal, involuntary or facts do not disclose an offence – Conviction unsafe where accused not afforded chance to respond to prosecution’s facts.
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9 October 2025 |
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Appeal allowed: conviction quashed due to unreliable identification, credibility issues and procedural shortcomings.
Criminal law – Statutory rape – sufficiency of charge sheet; proof of age and penetration; recognition/identification in intra‑familial settings; corroboration by PF3; failure to call material witnesses; unexplained prosecutorial delay; proper evaluation of defence and standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt.
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9 October 2025 |
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Taxing officer’s award of instruction fees upheld; fees assessed by subject matter, not multiplied per co‑litigant.
Costs – Taxation – instruction fees – discretion of Taxing Officer – limits of appellate interference; instruction fees pegged to subject matter not number of co‑litigants; relevance of stage of proceedings in assessing fees; proportionality and reasonableness in taxation.
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8 October 2025 |
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High Court lacks jurisdiction to revise interlocutory DLHT orders; revision struck out as incompetent.
• Land revision – interlocutory orders – nature of order test – whether order finally disposes rights; • Civil Procedure – section 79(2)/89(2) Cap 33 – bar on revision of interlocutory or preliminary orders; • Supervisory/revisional jurisdiction – limits where interlocutory orders are involved; • Pleadings – signature requirement and consequences; • Jurisdictional objections – alleged lack of Ward Tribunal mediation certificate does not convert interlocutory order into final order.
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8 October 2025 |
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Acquittal upheld where penetration was shown but identity not proved due to missing witnesses and delayed medical corroboration.
Sexual offences – proof of rape requires penetration, age and identity; Identification evidence – reliability of identification parade; Failure to call material witnesses – adverse inference; Delayed medical examination – limits on corroboration; Standard of proof – reasonable doubt and cumulative evidential weaknesses. |
3 October 2025 |
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High Court lacks jurisdiction to set aside decisions by resident magistrates exercising extended jurisdiction after statutory revocation; matter to continue before that magistrate.
* Judicial review and jurisdiction – effect of revocation of extension orders (GN Nos. 542 & 565 of 2025) – continuity clause preserves proceedings before Resident Magistrates with extended jurisdiction.
* Magistrates’ Courts – Resident Magistrate exercising extended appellate/revisional jurisdiction is deemed to sit as a High Court Judge for decisions made under that extension.
* Jurisdiction – ordinary High Court is divested of jurisdiction to set aside decisions lawfully made by Resident Magistrates with extended jurisdiction; remedies lie before the Resident Magistrate or the Court of Appeal as provided.
* Procedure – application struck out for want of jurisdiction; matter to proceed before the Resident Magistrate vested with extended jurisdiction.
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2 October 2025 |
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Representative-suit leave refused where claimants lacked a common interest and authentic, statutory consent.
Representative actions – Order I r.8(1) CPC – conditions: numerosity, same/common interest, and authentic consent; necessity for existence and mandate of represented persons; minutes must be duly signed and identify attendees; statutory notice against the Government must identify claimants per s.6(2) Government Proceedings Act, Cap.5 R.E.2023; parallel distinct land claims across multiple villages do not constitute the "same interest."
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1 October 2025 |
| September 2025 |
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Defective service by an unauthorised tribunal staffer vitiated ex parte proceedings; matter remitted for fresh inter partes hearing.
Land procedure – service of summons – Regulation 6 of GN No. 174/2003 and GN No. 363/2017 – competence of process server – staff member/night watchman not authorised – defective service vitiates ex parte proceedings – remittal for fresh inter partes hearing.
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30 September 2025 |
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A third party can object to execution despite an appeal; substitution of "declare" for "affirm" is a curable formality.
* Oaths and Statutory Declarations Act, s.4 – form of jurat – declaration versus affirmation – formal irregularity not necessarily fatal.
* Affidavit formalities – jurat and signature present; absence of prejudice/fraud renders defect curable.
* Execution proceedings – third‑party objection under Order XXI Rules 59–60 and s.48(1)(e) Civil Procedure Code – executing court retains jurisdiction to hear third‑party proprietary claims.
* Functus officio – pending appeal on substantive judgment does not automatically oust executing court from adjudicating execution/third‑party objections.
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30 September 2025 |
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A mixed factual/argumentative counter-affidavit need not be struck out; offending parts may be expunged and verification in representative capacity upheld.
Civil Procedure – Affidavits – Order XIX Rule 3(1)&(2) CPC – affidavits confined to facts; statements of belief must state grounds – mixed factual and argumentative paragraphs to be expunged not necessarily struck out – verification by representative not fatally defective where knowledge or belief is present.
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30 September 2025 |
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Marriage certificate accepted; property status unresolved—attachment only on fresh execution with land search and proof of non‑residence.
* Civil Procedure – Execution – Protection of matrimonial home – Application of section 54(1)(e) (formerly 48(1)(e)) prohibiting sale of residential house occupied by judgment debtor, wife and dependent children.
* Evidence – Documentary evidence – Marriage certificate with accompanying affidavit sufficient unless rebutted by cogent evidence.
* Execution procedure – Duty of executing officers/decree holders to verify attachability; requirement for fresh execution supported by land search and proof of non-residential use.
* Appellate procedure – Existence of pending appeal before Court of Appeal noted; directions made subject to appeal.
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30 September 2025 |
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Delivery of a reserved ruling must proceed despite a party’s death; appointment of an administrator does not suspend delivery.
Civil procedure – delivery of reserved judgment – effect of death of a party – section 34 CPC (timely delivery) – Order XXII Rule 6 CPC (deliver as if party alive) – rejoinder filed after death does not prevent delivery.
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30 September 2025 |
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Failure to annex the tribunal’s decree to a DLHT appeal is fatal; appeal struck out despite correct petition form.
* Civil procedure – Preliminary objection – pure point of law – competence of appeal.
* Appellate procedure – Land Disputes Courts Act v Civil Procedure Code – specific statute prevails; CPC applies where lacuna exists.
* Appeal requirements – petition of appeal from DLHT; necessity to annex decree/order to petition under Order XXXIX Rule 1(1) CPC.
* Effect of non‑compliance – omission to attach decree is fatal; appeal incompetent and struck out.
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30 September 2025 |
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Appeal struck out as time-barred for failure to prove when the corrected decree was availed.
* Civil procedure – Limitation and competence – Appeal after striking out – leave to refile within 30 days of obtaining corrected decree – when time begins to run determined by tribunal records. * Preliminary objection – point of law – limitation affects jurisdiction. * Evidence – tribunal’s official record required to prove date decree was availed; advocate’s office stamp insufficient. * Result: appeal struck out as time-barred; costs awarded to respondent.
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29 September 2025 |
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A child accused tried in an ordinary court: proceedings nullified and conviction quashed for lack of juvenile jurisdiction.
Law of the Child Act – age determination – medical certificate under s.114(3) as sufficient evidence; juvenile jurisdiction – s.98(1)(a) exclusive; proceedings in ordinary court against a child are nullity; quashing of conviction and sentence; discretionary refusal to remit for retrial where custody time and interests of justice warrant release.
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29 September 2025 |
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An equivocal guilty plea that fails to admit essential elements (victim's age) renders the conviction unsafe and is quashed.
* Criminal procedure – guilty plea – requirement that plea be unequivocal, voluntary and informed – exceptions permitting appellate interference where plea ambiguous, mistaken, or facts admitted do not disclose offence. * Statutory rape – age of victim is an essential element that must be admitted or proved. * Trial court duty – ensure accused admits all ingredients of offence before convicting on plea. |
25 September 2025 |
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25 September 2025 |
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Whether a brief meeting satisfied statutory consultation requirements for fair retrenchment under section 38 ELRA.
Labour law – Retrenchment – Section 38 ELRA – Meaningful consultation; burden of proof on employer but applicant must particularise breaches; procedural compliance; limitation; Rule 43(1) representation formalities.
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23 September 2025 |
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18 September 2025 |
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18 September 2025 |
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The plaintiff's fresh suit was dismissed as barred by res judicata because a prior suit on the same mortgage and guarantee had been finally dismissed.
* Civil Procedure – Res judicata (s.9 Civil Procedure Code) – requirements: same matter, same parties or privies, same title, heard and finally decided – applicability where prior suit dismissed for want of prosecution and appeal pending.
* Property law – mortgage and guarantee – validity of security agreements and challenge in successive suits.
* Procedural law – dismissal for want of prosecution constitutes a final decision precluding fresh suit on same cause of action.
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17 September 2025 |
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12 September 2025 |
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11 September 2025 |
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8 September 2025 |
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A conviction based on an imperfect or equivocal plea of guilty is invalid and cannot lawfully sustain a sentence.
Criminal procedure – Plea of guilty – Requirements for an unequivocal plea – Consequences of an imperfect or equivocal plea – Procedural irregularities in plea-taking and admission of evidence – Setting aside conviction and sentence on appeal.
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4 September 2025 |
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2 September 2025 |
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2 September 2025 |
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A trial and appellate court's failure to adhere to appellate directions and to ensure parties' right to be heard renders proceedings void.
Matrimonial proceedings – appellate jurisdiction – adherence to appellate directives – right to be heard – raising and determining issues suo motu – nullity of proceedings for procedural irregularity – scope of rehearing limited by superior court order.
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1 September 2025 |
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A suit was struck out for failure to adequately describe the disputed property as required under civil procedure rules.
Civil procedure – preliminary objection – land suits – sufficiency of property description – mandatory pre-suit government notice – Order VII, Rule 3 Civil Procedure Code – Government Proceedings Act section 6(2) – striking out for procedural defects
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1 September 2025 |
| August 2025 |
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Grant of letters of administration where statutory requirements and unanimous nomination by heirs were satisfied without objection.
Probate and administration – Letters of administration – intestate succession – statutory compliance – publication of citation – nomination by heirs – absence of caveat – appointment of administratrix.
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29 August 2025 |
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Court appointed the petitioner as administrator of the deceased's estate following full compliance with probate procedural requirements.
Probate and administration – application for letters of administration – compliance with citation and consent procedures – withdrawal of caveats – appointment of administrator – duties of administrator regarding inventory and accounts.
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29 August 2025 |
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22 August 2025 |
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22 August 2025 |
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22 August 2025 |
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21 August 2025 |
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21 August 2025 |
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Failure to comply with procedural safeguards after closing the prosecution's case fatally vitiates all subsequent proceedings.
Criminal procedure – requirement for trial court to make ruling on prima facie case and inform accused of rights after prosecution closes its case – non-compliance – fatal irregularity vitiates subsequent proceedings – nullification and remittal for retrial.
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19 August 2025 |
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18 August 2025 |
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18 August 2025 |