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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 1990 |
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Court convicted juvenile accused of rape, finding child’s unsworn evidence corroborated by injuries, witnesses and accused’s flight.
Criminal law – Rape: ingredients and burden of proof; unsworn child evidence requires corroboration; corroboration may be provided by distressed condition, medical injuries and accused's flight; sentencing limits for offenders under 18 under the Trial on Indictment Decree (no death sentence).
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21 December 1990 |
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Amendment from murder to manslaughter allowed; accused convicted on plea and sentenced to eight years' imprisonment.
* Criminal law – Indictment amendment – Trial on Indictment Decree s.48(2) – amendment from murder to manslaughter permissible where no prejudice to accused.
* Criminal law – Plea of guilty – accused may still assert unlawfulness/justification despite plea to lesser offence.
* Sentencing – Manslaughter – mitigating factors (first offender, dependants, remand) balanced against aggravation (use of knife, fatal stabbing) – sentence reflects public disapproval rather than maximum deterrence.
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11 December 1990 |
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Where cause of death was unestablished and confessions followed torture, murder not proved; accused convicted only of common assault.
* Criminal law – Murder – burden of proof – prosecution must prove causation and malice aforethought beyond reasonable doubt; absence of post‑mortem weakens murder case. * Evidence – confessions obtained after assault/torture admissible under s29A Evidence Amendment Act (Decree 25/1971) but may be insufficient alone to establish murder. * Defence – alibi does not shift burden; prosecution must disprove alibi. * Mob justice – public beating of suspected thieves may complicate causation and culpability. * Conviction reduced to common assault where only assault proved.
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5 December 1990 |
| November 1990 |
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The accused acquitted where prosecution failed to prove causation and malice; no case to answer.
Criminal law – no case to answer – sufficiency of evidence to require accused to answer; Murder – elements (death, causation, malice aforethought); Autopsy corroborates death but does not prove perpetrator; Section 64 summary evidence – admissibility and evidential weight.
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30 November 1990 |
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A voluntary confession and charge‑and‑caution statement supported a manslaughter conviction despite no post‑mortem or weapon.
Criminal law – Manslaughter (s.182(1) Penal Code) – Admissibility and weight of confession to private person and charge‑and‑caution statement – Post‑mortem and weapon absence not necessarily fatal to prosecution – Conduct of accused as corroboration – Sentence balancing mitigation and deterrence.
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26 November 1990 |
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16 November 1990 |
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Convictions under the Witchcraft Act quashed due to insufficient evidence, highlighting the need for clear offence disclosure.
Criminal Law - Witchcraft Act - Possession of Articles for Witchcraft - Threatening Harm by Witchcraft - Insufficient Evidence for Conviction
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13 November 1990 |
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Conviction unsafe where night identification was unreliable, witness contradictions existed, and the accused’s alibi remained unrefuted.
* Criminal law – Attempted murder – burden of proof remains on prosecution. * Identification evidence – night-time identification, poor lighting, short observation, contradictions require special caution. * Evidence – effect of contradictions and inconsistencies; grave inconsistencies may undermine witness credibility. * Alibi – accused’s alibi supported by document not disproved; prosecution should seek adjournment to rebut an alibi.
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12 November 1990 |
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8 November 1990 |
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Acquittal where prosecution failed to prove cause of death, common intention or corroborate accomplice evidence.
* Criminal law – Murder – burden on prosecution to prove cause of death and malice aforethought beyond reasonable doubt; absence of postmortem undermines causation.
* Evidence – accomplice testimony – credibility and need for independent corroboration.
* Joint enterprise – common intention under s.22 Penal Code must be proved where multiple assailants are alleged.
* Defence – alibi not disproved; reasonable doubt requires acquittal; lesser offence (manslaughter) not established.
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8 November 1990 |
| October 1990 |
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Detinue is a continuing tort; ongoing wrongful detention gives fresh causes of action so the claim was not time-barred.
Detinue – wrongful detention and demand requirement – detinue is a continuing tort for limitation purposes – cause of action accrues de die dem – Limitation Act (six-year bar) – effect of failure to plead date of demand.
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30 October 1990 |
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An amended plaint filed in summary-procedure proceedings before leave to defend is heard is disallowed; affidavit for leave is not a defence.
Civil procedure – Summary procedure (Order 33 CPR) – Amendment of plaint – Order 6 r 19 inapplicable to summary-plaint before leave to defend heard; affidavit for leave not a written statement of defence; amended plaint disallowed; EACA authority binding on High Court on procedural matters.
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23 October 1990 |
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A plaint need not expressly allege jurisdiction if it pleads facts showing the cause occurred within the court's territory.
Civil Procedure – Order 7 r 1(f) CPR – Pleading facts showing jurisdiction – Mere assertion insufficient – Judicial notice of territorial boundaries – Failure to expressly aver jurisdiction not fatal where facts show cause arose within court’s territory.
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15 October 1990 |
| September 1990 |
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Civil Procedure
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28 September 1990 |
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Civil Procedure
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20 September 1990 |
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Revisional inspection found an unequivocal guilty plea and justified sentence; file returned to the magistrate's court.
* Criminal procedure – Revision under section 339 – Court inspection of magistrate's record; plea of guilty – sufficiency and effect; sentencing – adequacy of reasons (frequency of offence); no further revisional intervention required.
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7 September 1990 |
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Fraudulent Mailo titles superimposed on registered freehold land were void; plaintiff entitled to eviction, injunction, title correction and damages.
Land law – Freehold v Mailo tenure – fraudulent creation of Mailo titles superimposed on registered Freehold – effect of fraud committed outside the register – bona fide purchasers and protection – remedies: eviction, injunction, cancellation/correction of titles, damages.
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4 September 1990 |
| August 1990 |
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30 August 1990 |
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The accused convicted: court accepted single-witness identification and rejected insanity defence, convicting for manslaughter and arson.
Criminal law – Identification by single witness – reliability where witness knew accused and had close-range view amid fire illumination; Insanity defence – burden on accused to prove mental incapacity sufficient to negate responsibility; Manslaughter distinguished from murder where intent to kill not proved; Arson – wilful setting of dwelling houses and destruction of property; Sentencing – concurrent terms balancing deterrence and mitigation.
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20 August 1990 |
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Criminal law
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16 August 1990 |
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Circumstantial evidence and possession three weeks later did not prove robbery or murder; conviction for receiving stolen property upheld.
Criminal law – circumstantial evidence and the doctrine of recent possession – whether possession of stolen goods weeks after a theft establishes guilt as a perpetrator – admissibility of information leading to discovery (s.29a Evidence Amendment Decree) despite allegations of torture – alternative conviction for receiving stolen property (s.298(1) Penal Code).
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10 August 1990 |
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Contradictory dying declarations and evidential gaps defeated prosecution; accused acquitted of manslaughter.
Criminal law – manslaughter (s.182 Penal Code); dying declarations – admissibility and weight (Evidence Act s.30); contradictions in dying statements vitiating prosecution case; accident defence (s.9 Penal Code); burden of proof (Woolmington); gaps in chain of custody and failure to call material witnesses undermining prosecution evidence.
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7 August 1990 |
| July 1990 |
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17 July 1990 |
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Conviction on circumstantial evidence and 24-month sentence for office breaking and theft confirmed.
Criminal law – Circumstantial evidence – conviction proper where facts are incompatible with innocence and exclude reasonable alternative hypotheses; Confirmation of sentence under s.167 Magistrates Court Act; Evaluation of credibility and rejection of accused's explanation.
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13 July 1990 |
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Criminal law
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6 July 1990 |
| June 1990 |
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Criminal law|Evidence Law
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15 June 1990 |
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Court ordered reparation for contract breach; specific performance or financial equivalent, with damages and costs awarded.
Contract Law – Breach of contract – Specific performance – Exemplary damages – Business profit loss – Interest awards.
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8 June 1990 |
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Default judgment upheld; plaintiff awarded compensation and damages for wrongful eviction, detinue and breach of tenancy.
Tenancy and landlord‑tenant relations – breach by wrongful eviction; Detinue/trespass – wrongful removal and conversion of tenant’s household effects; Civil procedure – default judgment under Order 9 r.6; validity of late filing of defence and consent given by unauthorised person; assessment of damages where specific valuation evidence is incomplete.
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8 June 1990 |
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Civil Procedure
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1 June 1990 |
| May 1990 |
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Civil Procedure
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14 May 1990 |
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14 May 1990 |
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Court upholds the validity of a contested will and grants probate to the rightful executors.
Succession law - Validity of wills - Capacity of the testator - Grant of probate to appointed executors.
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9 May 1990 |
| April 1990 |
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Acquittal where death proven but no medical evidence or admissible admissions established accused caused it.
Criminal law – murder – causation – necessity of medical/post-mortem evidence to establish cause of death; Evidence – exhibits identified but not tendered at trial are excluded; Confessions/admissions to chiefs acting as police after arrest inadmissible; Circumstantial evidence insufficient without medical proof of lethal injury; Customary law – discipline of children – customs inconsistent with written law and repugnant to natural justice unenforceable.
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27 April 1990 |
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19 April 1990 |
| March 1990 |
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27 March 1990 |
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Civil Procedure|Human Rights|Substantive rights
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16 March 1990 |
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14 March 1990 |
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14 March 1990 |
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Criminal law
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12 March 1990 |
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Convictions quashed where magistrate failed to put narrated facts to the applicant, particulars were vague and prior conviction unproven.
Criminal procedure — Plea of guilty — prosecutor must narrate facts and court must put facts to accused to admit/deny; Particulars of offence — must be certain; Pleas — must be clear and unambiguous; Previous conviction — proof required under s.91 before being treated as habitual; Revision — power to quash convictions for procedural irregularities.
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7 March 1990 |
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Conviction unsafe where facts were not put to the accused, particulars vague, and prior conviction unproven.
Criminal procedure – plea of guilty – requirement that prosecutor narrate facts and court put them to accused for admission or denial – particulars must be clear – previous convictions relied on for sentencing must be proved under section 91 PUA’70 – failure to comply renders conviction unsafe.
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7 March 1990 |
| February 1990 |
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Civil Procedure
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20 February 1990 |