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Citation
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Judgment date
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| April 2026 |
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Computer-authenticated GPS map, chain of custody, and seizure certificate upheld; conviction for illegal entry and weapon possession affirmed.
Wildlife offences – unlawful entry into game reserve and possession of weapon – authentication of computer-generated map and GPS coordinates – chain of custody and seizure certificate – omission to issue receipt not fatal where appellant signed certificate – sufficiency of prosecution proof beyond reasonable doubt
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14 April 2026 |
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DLHT lacked jurisdiction to restrain a Primary Court attachment; High Court set aside the DLHT temporary injunction order.
Land law – jurisdiction – DLHT’s authority to grant injunctions – limits where Primary Court has issued attachment and order of sale; Primary Court powers to attach, hear objections, rescind attachment and halt sale; Revisionary powers of High Court under Land Disputes Courts Act s.47 and s.48; temporary injunctions and procedural propriety
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13 April 2026 |
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Failure to file written submissions as ordered, without seeking extension, warrants dismissal of the appeal for want of prosecution.
Probate appeal; procedural compliance — failure to file written submissions as ordered; application for extension of time; want of prosecution; dismissal and costs
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13 April 2026 |
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Failure to allow cross‑examination and re‑examination of a prosecution witness vitiated the trial and required fresh testimony.
Evidence Act s.156(1) — order of examination of witnesses — failure to allow cross‑examination/re‑examination vitiates evidence; Right to fair trial (Article 13(6)(a)) — procedural lapse nullifies proceedings; Revisionary powers — remittal for fresh testimony; Criminal procedure — sexual offence trial: necessity to correct procedural defects before determining substantive complaints
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13 April 2026 |
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Failure to read admitted documents and deviation from pleadings can defeat a civil loan claim; appeal dismissed with costs.
Evidence — Documentary evidence — Mandatory reading of admitted exhibits; improper admission vitiates reliance on exhibits
Civil procedure — Parties bound by pleadings; material departure in testimony fatal to proof
Standard of proof — Claim must be proved on balance of probabilities
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13 April 2026 |
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Procedural failures in exhibit admission, denial of re-examination and unlawful closure of defence vitiated the trial; proceedings quashed and remitted.
Criminal procedure — Evidence — Tendering and admission of exhibits — failure to record who tendered exhibits; Accused responses as objections — trial Court duty to rule; Evidence Act — right to re-examine after cross-examination; Magistrates’ power — trial Court cannot close defence or prosecution case; Right to fair hearing — Article 13(6)(a) — procedural irregularities vitiating proceedings; Order for fresh commencement of prosecution and defence
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13 April 2026 |
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Failure to conduct mandatory age inquiry where the accused claims to be a child may nullify trial and sentence.
Juvenile law — Age inquiry under Law of the Child Act (ss.113/114) and Juvenile Rules r.12 — Failure to conduct mandatory age inquiry — Jurisdictional consequence — Nullity of trial and sentence if accused is a child — Remittal for age determination
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2 April 2026 |
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Consolidating separately tried criminal cases at judgment stage without hearing parties is improper and warrants quashing.
Criminal procedure — Consolidation/joinder of cases — s.137 Criminal Procedure Act — consolidation permissible only where offences arise in same transaction or specified categories — parties must be heard — consolidation at judgment stage improper
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2 April 2026 |
| March 2026 |
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Appellate reliance on an unpleaded ground without hearing the parties breaches natural justice and warrants retrial.
Civil procedure – appellate review – appellate court raising and relying on an unpleaded ground – right to be heard – breach of natural justice vitiates proceedings – retrial ordered
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27 March 2026 |
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A plea must be taken in a language the accused understands; failure to do so warrants quashing conviction and ordering retrial.
Criminal procedure – plea of guilty – section 245 CPA – charges and elements must be read in a language accused understands – right to interpreter – improperly recorded/equivocal plea – miscarriage of justice – conviction quashed; retrial ordered
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27 March 2026 |
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Court grants extension to file appeal despite 103‑day unexplained delay, citing peculiar prison transfer circumstances.
Extension of time; good cause; accounting for each day of delay; prison transfer; lack of substantiation; judicial discretion; filing notice within 21 days
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23 March 2026 |
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An equivocal, insufficiently recorded plea and failure to explain the charge in a language understood vitiated the conviction and warranted quashing and release.
Criminal procedure – plea-taking under section 245 CPA – requirement to read and explain charge in language understood – equivocal plea (‘Ni kweli’) insufficient; improperly recorded plea as exception to non-appealability of guilty pleas – miscarriage of justice – quashing of conviction and related appellate proceedings
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20 March 2026 |
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Appellant’s weapons possession conviction upheld; trophy charge failed due to material contradictions in prosecution evidence.
National Parks Act – unlawful possession of weapons; Wildlife and Conservation Act – government trophy; evidentiary contradictions (zebra vs wildebeest) undermining proof; appellate re-evaluation of evidence; retrial not allowed to fill prosecution gaps.
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18 March 2026 |
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Appeal struck out for being filed out of time; appellant may apply for extension of time.
Criminal procedure — time limit for appeals — section 382(1)(b) CPA — exclusion for time to obtain copies requires record of receipt — failure to apply for extension — appeal filed out of time struck out.
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17 March 2026 |
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An ambiguous conviction and undifferentiated sentence must be set aside and remitted for proper conviction and sentencing per count.
Criminal law – Conviction particulars – Mandatory specification of offence and section – Sentencing on each count and indication of concurrency – Ambiguous trial judgment vitiates appeal – Remittance for proper conviction and sentence; Drugs possession (Cannabis).
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17 March 2026 |
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Conviction and sentence set aside where trial court failed to specify counts, the offence, and to sentence each count separately.
Criminal procedure — conviction must be clearly entered specifying count and penal section — judgment must specify offence and section (s.331(2) CPA) — conviction before sentence (s.252(1) CPA) — sentence on each count; indicate concurrency or consecutiveness — remittal for proper conviction and sentencing.
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17 March 2026 |
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Appeal dismissed: prosecution proved appellant's unlawful possession of weapons and government trophies beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – unlawful possession of weapons and government trophies – burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt – caution statement not mandatory – disposal of trophies under Wildlife Conservation Act (s101) – admissibility and chain of custody.
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10 March 2026 |
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The applicant's appeal dismissed; prosecution proved unlawful possession of weapons and government trophies beyond reasonable doubt.
Wildlife offences – unlawful possession of weapons and government trophies – proof beyond reasonable doubt – caution statement not mandatory – disposal of perishable trophies under section 101 – chain of custody and valuation evidence.
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10 March 2026 |
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Unsworn medical testimony vitiated the conviction; record remitted for proper re-taking of evidence and fresh judgment.
Criminal procedure — Oath/Affirmation requirement — Evidence taken without oath is invalid and vitiates proceedings; remedy — expungement and remittal to trial court to properly record evidence; rape — necessity to prove penetration; victim incapacity to testify.
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9 March 2026 |
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Appeal dismissed: prosecution proved unlawful possession of a government trophy, seizure and disposal properly evidenced.
Wildlife Conservation Act — unlawful possession of government trophy — certificate of seizure and inventory/disposal — evidentiary sufficiency — burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt
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9 March 2026 |
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3 March 2026 |
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Court held inventory/disposition lawful for perishable trophies and affirmed unlawful possession proven beyond reasonable doubt.
Wildlife Conservation Act s.101 — disposal of perishable trophies; inventory as sufficient proof; Certificate of seizure — admissibility; GPS/map evidence for location; Burden of proof — prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt; Chain of custody and valuation evidence.
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3 March 2026 |
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Appellant’s challenge to inventory admission and seizure proof failed; convictions for unlawful possession of trophies and weapons upheld.
Wildlife law – unlawful possession of weapons and government trophies – admissibility of inventory/disposition under section 101 – certificate of seizure – proof beyond reasonable doubt – chain of custody.
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3 March 2026 |