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Citation
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Judgment date
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| March 2023 |
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Court of Appeal: judicial review cannot substitute statutory decision; irregularly convened company meetings produce no valid resolutions.
Company law — company meetings — requisition, notice and quorum — resolutions passed at irregularly convened meetings are void; Judicial review — scope — courts review decision-making process and may not substitute their own decision for statutory decision-makers; Administrative law — fair hearing — registrar afforded adequate hearing; Registration of Documents Act — registration does not cure defects under Companies Act; Procedural law — functus officio and extension of time; Company property — court cannot effect property transfers via orders arising from invalid meetings.
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13 March 2023 |
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13 March 2023 |
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Appeal allowed in part: dismissal unlawful upheld; interest and damages reduced and exemplary damages set aside.
Labour law – unfair/wrongful dismissal – procedural fairness in disciplinary hearings; successor liability on corporate transfer of assets; retrospective effect of Employment Act 2006; awards – interest, general and exemplary damages; appellate interference with damages.
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12 March 2023 |
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Notice of appeal struck out for failure to take essential steps to prosecute appeal and prolonged inaction; costs awarded to applicants.
Civil procedure – Appeal procedure – Court of Appeal Rules 82, 83, 84 – mandatory 60-day rule for lodging memorandum and record of appeal – extension only where written request for record served and Registrar certifies time – failure to take essential steps permits striking out notice of appeal – responsibility of appellant and counsel to follow up typed record.
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9 March 2023 |
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Appellant’s late service of appeal documents and dilatory conduct justified striking out the appeal; appeal dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure — striking out appeal — non-service of Notice and Memorandum of Appeal — essential procedural step — dilatory conduct — right to be heard — duties on trial court to transmit record of proceedings — first appellate court may consider merits where apparent on record.
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9 March 2023 |
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Court grants extension of time and/or leave to appeal out of time where prior counsel’s error constituted sufficient reason.
* Civil procedure – extension of time (Rule 5) – sufficient reason required for extension of appellate time.
* Civil procedure – withdrawal of appeal (Rule 94) – effect of withdrawal and requirements for service/objection.
* Legal representation – mistake or negligence of counsel may constitute sufficient reason for extension if the litigant is not dilatory.
* Constitutional principle – Article 28 fair hearing and adjudication on merits.
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9 March 2023 |
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Appellant’s challenge for lack of a typed, certified record fails; LCII judgment void for lack of jurisdiction.
Civil procedure — Record on appeal — No statutory requirement that appellate court await typed and certified record; original manuscript may suffice if authentic and legible.\nRes judicata — Jurisdiction — LC II determinations on land are null where Land Tribunals had assumed jurisdiction; judgments by courts lacking jurisdiction are void ab initio.
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3 March 2023 |
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Whether a moneylender could enforce a purported mortgage against a purchaser amid allegations of backdating, fraud, and unconscionable lending.
Moneylenders Act vs Mortgage Act – proper characterisation of lending transactions; Parol evidence rule – fraud exception and admissibility to invalidate written instruments; Burden of proof on plaintiff where competing versions equally probable; Consent judgments – limited effect on non‑parties; Unconscionable lending/excessive interest and limitation/time‑bar issues.
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3 March 2023 |
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Bank failed to prove full loan disbursement; mortgage sale was unlawful and set aside with damages and costs awarded.
Commercial law – loan facility and securities – bank failed to prove disbursement; breach of facility for non‑disbursement. Mortgage law – statutory formalities (RTA execution requirements) and equitable vs legal mortgage; foreclosure order required for equitable mortgages. Enforcement of mortgage – duty to obtain pre‑sale valuation, adequate advertisement, and to act in good faith; sale adjournment requires fresh advertisement. Power of Attorney – authority to sign must be proved; acts beyond or inconsistent with POA void. Fraud – allegations must be strictly proved; here particulars proved on balance of probabilities. Remedies – setting aside sale, reinstatement, mesne profits, general and exemplary damages, interest and costs.
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2 March 2023 |
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A validly entered plea-bargain sentence is binding unless shown to be illegal, coerced, or manifestly excessive.
* Criminal procedure – Plea bargaining – Judicature (Plea Bargain) Rules 2016 – requirement to place factual basis and voluntariness on record; plea-bargain agreements binding when validly entered into.* Sentencing – appellate interference limited – only for illegality, public policy or manifest excessiveness.* Judicial role in plea bargains limited to endorsing or rejecting agreed sentence.
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1 March 2023 |
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An appellate court upheld a 16-year murder sentence, finding it not manifestly excessive.
Criminal law – Sentencing – Appellate interference with discretionary sentence; criteria for interference: wrong principle, overlooked material factor, or manifest excess; consideration of mitigating factors (youth, first offender, time on remand); relevance of sentencing precedents in murder cases.
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1 March 2023 |
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Appellate court set aside a trial judge’s unilateral enhancement of a plea-bargain sentence and resentenced to the agreed term.
Plea-bargain procedure – Judicature (Plea Bargain) Rules, 2016 – court may reject but not unilaterally increase agreed sentence; irregular alterations on plea record invalidate enhanced sentence; appellate resentencing to agreed term less remand time.
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1 March 2023 |
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A voluntary plea-bargain sentence will not be disturbed absent illegality, manifest excess or fundamental procedural unfairness.
Criminal law – Plea bargain – Role of court in plea-bargain negotiations – Rule 8(2) Judicature (Plea Bargain) Rules 2016 – Duty of accused/counsel to inform and consult court – Appellate interference with plea-bargain sentences only when illegal or manifestly excessive – Distinction where plea-bargain procedurally defective or rights not waived with representation.
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1 March 2023 |
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Single-witness identification supported by familiarity and corroborative circumstantial evidence justified conviction; life sentence upheld.
Criminal law – murder – single eyewitness identification: familiarity, distance and lighting can render identification reliable; caution required. Criminal law – circumstantial evidence: unexplained disappearance can corroborate guilt. Sentencing – life imprisonment: appellate interference only if wrong principle, material omission or manifest excess; trial court’s discretion respected.
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1 March 2023 |
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Plea bargain improperly recorded vitiates conviction; conviction quashed and matter remitted to record plea properly before another judge.
* Criminal procedure – Plea bargains – Requirement to follow Judicature (Plea Bargain) Rules, 2016 (Rule 12) when recording pleas; failure to inform accused of constitutional rights and to obtain signed confirmation vitiates plea proceedings.
* Appeal – Role of first appellate court – rehearing and fresh scrutiny of evidence and proceedings.
* Sentencing – appellate interference where sentence is manifestly excessive or where trial court ignored material matters (credit for remand; sentence commencement under s.106(2) TIA).
* Plea bargains – agreement survives defective recording and may be properly recorded before another judge to avoid retrial.
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1 March 2023 |
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Conviction for rape upheld on reliable identification and corroboration; sentence reduced as manifestly excessive.
* Criminal law – Rape – Identification evidence – single identifying witness – caution and factors (time, distance, light, familiarity) – corroboration by footprints and injuries.
* Criminal procedure – Conviction without medical evidence where direct and cogent corroborative circumstances exist.
* Sentencing – Appellate interference where sentence is manifestly excessive, or trial judge acted on wrong principle or overlooked material factors.
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1 March 2023 |
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Appellant’s murder conviction based on combined circumstantial evidence and sniffer dog corroboration upheld; life sentence affirmed.
Criminal law – circumstantial evidence – sufficiency and Simon Musoke test; sniffer dog evidence admissibility and caution as corroboration; dying declaration to be treated with caution; prior threats and post-offence conduct as corroborative evidence; sentencing discretion – life imprisonment not manifestly excessive.
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1 March 2023 |
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Appellate court reduced a manifestly excessive 26‑year sentence for aggravated defilement to 15½ years after remand credit.
Criminal law – Aggravated defilement; sentencing principles – appellate interference where sentence is manifestly excessive, wrong in principle or material factors overlooked; sentencing guidelines versus appellate precedents; HIV as aggravating factor; credit for time on remand.
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1 March 2023 |
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Guilty plea and conviction upheld despite defective plea-bargain recording; sentence set aside and lawfully recalculated to deduct remand.
* Criminal procedure – Plea bargains – Requirement to present, record and endorse plea bargain before the court under Judicature (Plea Bargain) Rules, 2016 – Failure may vitiate proceedings. * Plea-taking – Necessity to explain ingredients of the offence (Adan procedure) – omission may be cured by other processes. * Sentencing – Remand periods must be deducted under Article 23(8) of the Constitution – failure renders sentence illegal. * Appellate powers – Court may set aside illegal sentence and re-sentence under s.11 Judicature Act.
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1 March 2023 |
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Appellants' challenge to a 16-year sentence for aggravated robbery of a police officer was dismissed as not excessive.
Criminal law – Sentencing – Aggravated robbery involving robbery of a police officer's firearm and use of a panga causing grievous harm; appellate interference with sentencing discretion only where wrong principle, material factor overlooked, or sentence manifestly excessive; remand credit deductible from final sentence; precedents uphold sentences in 15–20 year range for comparable aggravated robbery facts.
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1 March 2023 |
