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Citation
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Judgment date
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| February 2026 |
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Appeal struck out where decree’s case number differed from judgment; tribunal may correct clerical errors under section 106.
Civil Procedure — Decree must agree with judgment (Order XX r.8(1)) — Discrepancy in case numbers renders appeal incompetent — Clerical or arithmetical mistakes curable under Section 106 — Distinguishing Mantrac — Appropriate remedy: strike out appeal and remit to tribunal for correction.
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10 February 2026 |
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Failure to afford parties a hearing in a suo motu revision vitiated the decision; retrial ordered.
Magistrates' Courts Act s.22(1) - Revisional jurisdiction - suo motu revision on complaint - right to be heard / natural justice - failure to summon parties vitiates proceedings - remittal for retrial.
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4 February 2026 |
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A land tribunal lacks jurisdiction to determine ownership of estate property while probate proceedings remain pending.
Jurisdiction – Probate v. land tribunal – Ownership of property forming part of a deceased’s estate – Pending probate bars land tribunal jurisdiction – Proceedings held nullity.
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3 February 2026 |
| January 2026 |
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Whether a Mareva injunction is appropriate pending a 90‑day notice in a disputed land ownership and farming rights case.
Interim relief — Mareva/interim injunction — land ownership dispute — prima facie/triable issue — irreparable loss (loss of crops/livelihood) — balance of convenience — maintenance of status quo pending 90‑day notice.
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23 January 2026 |
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Whether an urgent status-quo order can be granted against unserved respondents without a formal preliminary objection.
Land procedure – Urgent interim injunction – Maintenance of status quo – Service of process – Duty of urgency and diligence – Competence objections and non-joinder to be raised by formal preliminary objection.
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20 January 2026 |
| December 2025 |
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Conviction for smuggling migrants quashed due to material variance and failure to prove essential elements beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Smuggling of migrants – Proof of essential elements; cautioned statement recorded beyond statutory time – expungement and evidential value; material variance between charge particulars and prosecution evidence; non-production of alleged vehicle and non-calling of co-accused as corroborating witnesses; appellate re-evaluation of evidence.
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31 December 2025 |
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Acquittal upheld because prosecution failed to prove deceptive text messages and link them to the respondent.
Criminal law — Obtaining goods by false pretence — Elements: false representation, intent to defraud, inducement — Necessity of proving communications constituting the pretence (e.g., text messages) and linking them to accused — Proof of vehicle ownership and restoration on acquittal.
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31 December 2025 |
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Land tribunal has jurisdiction; suit not time-barred; ownership proved; compensation and interest orders quashed.
Land law – Jurisdiction of land tribunal vs Probate Court – Recovery of land of deceased – Limitation (LLA s.9(1), s.24) – Burden of proof in civil cases – Failure to call material witnesses and non-production of valuation report – Reliefs not claimed: compensation and interest quashed.
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30 December 2025 |
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Compensation claim held time-barred: cause of action accrued on payment, starting the twelve-month limitation period.
Limitation of actions — accrual of cause of action for compensation — preliminary objection as pure point of law — pleadings and annexures may determine limitation — payment/receipt of compensation (27/07/2017) triggers twelve-month period — post-payment negotiations do not suspend limitation.
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29 December 2025 |
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High Court nullified improperly recorded cross-examination and ordered the defective proceedings to be re-conducted.
Criminal procedure — Revisionary jurisdiction under s.372(1) CPA — Competence without final order; Evidence — Proper recording of cross-examination — Failure to record questions and answers vitiates proceedings; Procedural fairness — Alleged judicial bias and restriction of cross-examination assessed on record; Recusal — To be raised at trial.
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29 December 2025 |
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Appeal allowed: prosecution failed to prove identity, produce stolen items, and resolve material discrepancies, so convictions quashed.
Criminal law – burden of proof – identity and direct evidence – material variance between charge and evidence – duplicity of counts – non-production/identification of stolen property – inconsistencies in PF3 – acquittal where prosecution fails to prove essential ingredients beyond reasonable doubt.
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29 December 2025 |
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Application to pierce corporate veil and commit directors to civil prison dismissed for lack of evidence of concealment or directorship.
Civil procedure – Execution – Lifting/piercing corporate veil – Requirement of affirmative evidence of abuse, fraudulent concealment or use of company as façade – Dormant bank account or unsuccessful execution alone insufficient – Need for MEMART/BRELA/company records to prove directorship/shareholding – Committal to civil prison as exceptional remedy.
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24 December 2025 |
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Appeal allowed: child’s testimony was procedurally defective and prosecution’s case contained unresolved doubts.
Criminal law — Sexual offences — Rape of a child under ten — Proof of age, penetration and identity — Child witness testimony — Evidence Act s.127(2) compliance (promise to tell truth) — Procedural irregularity rendering testimony inadmissible — Medical evidence (PF3) inconclusive — Delay and inconsistencies affecting credibility — First appeal re‑evaluation.
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24 December 2025 |
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Leave to bring a representative land suit refused for failure to prove clear consent of persons to be represented.
Representative suits — Order I, Rule 8 CPC — prerequisites: numerosity, common interest, leave and proof of consent — thumbprints valid as signatures but affidavit must show clear authorization — insufficiency of list/annexure A-1 — leave refused.
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24 December 2025 |
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Appeal dismissed: prosecution failed to prove rape beyond reasonable doubt due to credibility issues and contradictions.
Criminal law – Rape – Elements: penetration, age, identity – Victim under 18 – Consent immaterial – Victim's testimony as primary evidence – Requirement of credibility, cogency and probability – Delay in reporting and contradictions with medical evidence may vitiate prosecution case – Appeal as rehearing – Acquittal upheld due to reasonable doubt.
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24 December 2025 |
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22 December 2025 |
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22 December 2025 |
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Court adopts parties’ Deed of Settlement as enforceable consent judgment, permitting execution on default.
Consent judgment – Deed of Settlement adopted as court decree; National Social Security Fund contributions – reconciliation and instalment settlement; enforceability and execution on default; summary procedure (Order XXXV).
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19 December 2025 |
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The applicant's guilty plea was equivocal because the chemist's report proving the drugs' nature was tendered after the plea.
Criminal procedure — plea of guilty — equivocal plea — narcotic trafficking — essential element: nature of substance — Government Chemist's/analyst's report must be tendered when narrating facts — tendering expert report after plea undermines plea — conviction quashed — retrial ordered.
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19 December 2025 |
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Appellant's long, uninterrupted possession established adverse possession; appeal allowed and appellant declared lawful owner.
Land law – title and proof of ownership – burden of proof and root of title; adverse possession – elements and application where occupier remained in uninterrupted possession for statutory period; evidential weight of documents – admission vs. probative value; locus standi – intermeddling with estate as basis to sue or be sued; limitation period in land claims.
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16 December 2025 |
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A defective, late-produced chain of title and absent transferee displaced presumption of regularity; appellant proved ownership.
Land law – Chain of title – Alleged surrender to private surveyor; evidential sufficiency of documents transferring land; admissibility and weight of late-introduced documents; hearsay and witness absence; burden of proof and displacement of presumption of regularity of title.
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15 December 2025 |
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Extension of time granted where erroneous registry/e-filing date caused a technical delay, not applicant's negligence.
Civil procedure — Extension of time — Computation of limitation period — Manual filing vs electronic case management system — Technical/registry error as sufficient cause — Preliminary objection conceded on erroneous filing date — Application of Lyamuya principles.
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12 December 2025 |
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Registered title upheld: purchase by lawful set-off; surrender obtained under coercion was voidable.
Land law – ownership dispute arising from privatization sale; set-off of terminal benefits as payment; validity of transfers during liquidation; voluntariness and coercion in surrender agreements; liquidator's statutory authority; adverse inference for non-production of supervisory records.
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12 December 2025 |
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Plaintiff allowed to withdraw suit simpliciter; leave to refile refused despite locus standi dispute.
Civil Procedure — Order XXIII, Rule 1(1) & (2)(b) CPC — withdrawal of suit; withdrawal with leave discretionary; "sufficient grounds" — locus standi challenge in separate proceedings can justify withdrawal; discovery/interrogatories and viva‑voce cross‑examination do not bar withdrawal; costs follow the event.
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12 December 2025 |
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12 December 2025 |
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Court found dismissal procedurally and substantively unfair, employer liable for occupational illness, and reduced excessive general damages.
Labour law – unfair termination – procedural fairness — failure to tender disciplinary code and to serve investigation report; Occupational health – admissibility and sufficiency of radiological/clinical evidence to establish occupational disease; Tort liability of employer for occupational illness; Implied contractual term arising from consistent workplace practice (stock counts); Revisionary reduction of excessive general damages.
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12 December 2025 |
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Failure to seek leave after substituted service under Order XXXV leads to summary judgment for unpaid NSSF contributions.
NSSF Act s.79(2) – Recovery of contributions by summary suit; Civil Procedure Code Order XXXV Rule 2(1),(2) – substituted service by publication; failure to obtain leave to defend deemed admission; summary judgment; interest and costs awarded.
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11 December 2025 |
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Proceedings and judgment nullified for failure to properly describe disputed immovable property; fresh suit required.
Land law — description of immovable property — Order VII rule 3 Civil Procedure Code — insufficient plaint description prevents evaluation of evidence — failure to describe land renders proceedings incompetent and requires nullification and refiling.
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11 December 2025 |
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Conviction based on unreliable visual identification and a contaminated identification parade was unsafe and quashed.
Criminal law – Visual identification – reliability where victim is a child and illumination claim is first made at trial; Identification parade – prior familiarity and contamination of recognition; Unexplained investigative delay undermining prosecutorial case; Proof beyond reasonable doubt in identification‑dependent rape cases.
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11 December 2025 |
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The applicant's conviction based on unreliable visual ID and a contaminated parade was quashed.
Criminal law — Visual identification — Late disclosure of torchlight and absence of prior description; identification parade contaminated by post‑incident familiarity and unexplained delay; conviction unsafe.
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11 December 2025 |
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Whether joint administrators pendente lite should be appointed to protect estate assets and prevent accruing bank interest.
Probate law – Appointment of administrators pendente lite – Section 38 Cap 352 – Rule 50 Probate Rules – Urgency to prevent accrual of bank interest – Use of matured fixed deposit to satisfy estate debt – Limits on administrators pendente lite.
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10 December 2025 |
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Appeal dismissed: court upheld record's accuracy, required strict proof for special damages, and confirmed interest is discretionary.
Civil procedure — court record presumed accurate; irregularity must occasion prejudice to vitiate proceedings; Special damages — must be specifically pleaded and strictly proved (documentary/financial proof required); Interest — discretionary under s.35 Civil Procedure Code; general damages do not attract interest unless expressly awarded.
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10 December 2025 |
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Identification doubts overcame by corroborative eyewitness and medical evidence; rape conviction and sentence upheld.
Criminal law – Rape – Visual identification in poor lighting – identification evidence to be treated with caution; corroboration by contemporaneous eyewitness testimony and physical evidence (bite wound, fresh blood) and medical evidence of vaginal bruising can sustain conviction; proof of penetration however slight; appeal dismissed.
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10 December 2025 |
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Appellant failed to prove lawful village allocation or abandonment; land found part of registered estate and parties were licensees; appeal dismissed.
Village Land Act — Part IV-B allocation requirements — proof of application and village council/assembly minutes; Abandonment — section 45 — burden to prove registered owner abandoned land; Registered land vs village land — village authority lacks power to allocate registered estate land; Occupation — permissive/licensee use does not confer customary right of occupancy; Costs — discretionary award and appellate review.
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10 December 2025 |
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Re-survey and reallocation lawful; private sale without Commissioner’s consent did not pass title; Diocese declared lawful owner.
Land law – Right of occupancy – renewal and revocation – non-payment of land rent and failure to develop – re-survey and reallocation – dispositions of registered land require Commissioner’s prior consent (Forms) – private sale without consent creates only protective interest – locus to challenge administrative decision limited to the holder.
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10 December 2025 |
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Court nullified tribunal proceedings due to inconsistent records and failure to identify the impugned order, restoring parties to post-dismissal position.
Civil procedure – Appeal competence – Order XXXIX Rule 1 CPC – requirement to attach impugned order; Land disputes – dismissal for non-appearance – affidavit reasons; Record irregularities – inconsistent case references and typographical errors – nullification of proceedings.
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5 December 2025 |
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Summary judgment for unpaid NSSF penalties granted due to defendant's failure to apply for leave to defend.
Civil procedure – Summary suit (Order XXXV) – Failure to apply for leave to defend results in deemed admission under Order XXXV Rule 2(2); Recovery of NSSF contributions and statutory penalties – s.79(2) NSSF Act; Awards of interest and costs in summary judgment.
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5 December 2025 |
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Extension of time granted where alleged denial of right to be heard in ex parte taxation constituted illegality apparent on the record.
Civil procedure — Extension of time — Rule 8 Advocates Remuneration Order and section 95 CPC — Alleged illegality (denial of right to be heard/lack of service) — Illegality apparent on face of record can justify extension despite inordinate delay — Ex parte taxation proceedings.
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5 December 2025 |
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Failure to properly describe unregistered land defeats the claim; declaring ownership requires a counterclaim.
Land law – description of suit property – Order VII r.3 CPC and Reg 3(2)(b) GN No.174/2003 – inadequate description of unregistered land; inconsistent boundary evidence; locus quo visit insufficient to cure defective pleadings; declaration of ownership requires counterclaim.
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5 December 2025 |
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Unauthorized alterations to a charge without court leave are nullities; record expunged and remitted for trial to continue.
Criminal procedure — Amendment of charge — Section 251(1) CPA — Prior leave of court required — Amendments beyond leave are nullities — Right to fair hearing (Article 13(6)(a)) — Expungement and remittal as appropriate remedy.
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5 December 2025 |
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Extension of time refused for unpleaded illegality and unproven financial hardship, applicants failed to account for delay.
Land law — Extension of time — Section 41(2) Land Disputes Courts Act — Requirements under Lyamuya: account for delay, diligence, non-inordinate delay — Illegality must be pleaded and apparent on face of record — Financial hardship may suffice only if exceptional and evidenced.
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5 December 2025 |
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Failure to join the estate administrator-vendor rendered the suit incompetent; appeal allowed, no orders as to costs.
Land law — sale of estate property by administrator — necessity to join vendor as party — non-joinder renders proceedings incompetent; probate and administration context.
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5 December 2025 |
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Applicant who paid over 50% of claimed NSSF contributions granted leave to defend the summary suit.
Civil Procedure — Order XXXV Rule 3(3) — Summary suit for recovery of social security contributions — Mandatory deposit or security equal to 50% of contributions claimed (GN No. 569 of 2025) — Compliance permits leave to appear and defend where triable issue exists.
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4 December 2025 |
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Appellant failed to prove estate title; village allocation and respondent’s registration upheld; appeal dismissed with costs.
Land law – proof of title and burden of proof; village land allocation – validity of village authority allocations; evidentiary weight of registration documents (certificate, minutes, receipts); ex-parte proceedings – Order VIII Rule 14(2) Civil Procedure Code; delay/afterthought in challenging long-standing occupation.
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4 December 2025 |
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Sale void where respondent lacked title; purchaser entitled to refund but not compensation absent vendor’s wrongdoing.
Land law – Sale of land – Vendor without title – Sale void ab initio – Bona fide purchaser cannot acquire better title – Remedy of restitution/refund of purchase price – Compensation for demolished improvements requires proof of vendor’s involvement – Admissibility/efficacy of oral proof of power of attorney where document not formally tendered.
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4 December 2025 |
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Non-joinder of a necessary vendor-party rendered proceedings incompetent despite compliance with s.13(4) mediation requirement.
Land Disputes Courts Act s.13(4) – Ward Tribunal mediation – failed mediation certificate – letters evidencing inactivity; Necessary party and non-joinder – vendor’s interest – incompetence and remittal to Ward Tribunal.
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4 December 2025 |
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Summary judgment granted for unpaid social security contributions after defendant failed to obtain leave to defend.
Civil procedure – Order XXXV summary judgment – Inclusion of social security contributions under amended Order XXXV (G.N. 569 of 2025) – Failure to obtain leave to defend – Allegations deemed admitted – Summary judgment for unpaid contributions, penalties and interest.
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3 December 2025 |
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High Court lacks s102 jurisdiction where land revocation was done by the President, not the Registrar.
Land Registration Act s102(1) – jurisdiction to appeal – appeal lies only against Registrar of Titles' decision – revocation by President not a Registrar decision – remedy by suit or judicial review – preliminary objection upheld.
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3 December 2025 |
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Failure to apply to set aside a DLHT dismissal makes a High Court appeal premature and incompetent.
Land Disputes Courts Regulations 2023 (GN No.174/2023) – Regulation 11(1)(b): dismissal for non‑appearance – Regulation 11(2): requirement to apply to set aside dismissal within 30 days before appealing – failure to exhaust Tribunal remedies renders High Court appeal premature.
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3 December 2025 |
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2 December 2025 |