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Citation
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Judgment date
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| August 2021 |
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31 August 2021 |
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A purchaser’s written allocation notice can be sufficient; occupation after title registration constitutes trespass.
Land law – Notice of change of ownership – adequacy of purchaser’s written notice under pool-house sale; Proprietary rights – Town Council as trustee/possessor, not owner; Trespass – continued occupation after registration of title constitutes trespass; Burden of proof – party asserting title/possession must prove on balance of probabilities.
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18 August 2021 |
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A regulator acted ultra vires by adjudicating a dispute governed by an arbitration clause; its decision was quashed and injunctions granted.
Administrative law – Judicial review – Ultra vires acts – Regulatory body adjudicating matters subject to arbitration clause. Arbitration – Effect of arbitration clause in performance bonds – Court to refer disputes to arbitration where clause applies. Procedural law – Judicial review timeline – 90-day rule and justification for delay where interlocutory urgency intervenes. Evidence – Affidavits and annexures – argumentative paragraphs to be disregarded; unsealed annexures not fatal where uncontested. Exhaustion of remedies – appeal to non-existent statutory tribunal does not bar access to High Court.
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13 August 2021 |
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Leave to appeal granted where interlocutory execution ruling raised substantial procedural and legal issues.
Civil procedure — interlocutory appeals — Order 44 Rules 2 & 3 — leave to appeal where prima facie substantial questions of law (Sango Bay test); Execution — setting aside vs stay of execution; Execution procedure — contradictory bailiff returns on boundary marking; Procedural fairness — failure to rule on preliminary objection; Delay — notice of appeal timing and COVID-19 considerations.
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12 August 2021 |
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An unincorporated association lacked capacity to sue; later registration did not cure the nullity, so the suit was dismissed.
Company/Associations law – capacity to sue – An unincorporated association is not a legal person and cannot sue or be sued in its own name. Procedural law – effect of post-filing incorporation – Subsequent registration does not cure the defect of having been a non-existent plaintiff at the time of issuing the plaint. Civil procedure – representative actions – Members of an unincorporated body must sue personally or satisfy criteria for a representative action. Remedy – striking out/dismissal of proceedings instituted by a non-existent legal entity.
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10 August 2021 |
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State held vicariously liable for applicant’s torture and unlawful detention; specific officers not personally proven liable.
Human Rights Enforcement Act – applicability despite lack of Rules; Torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment – established while in police custody; Personal liability of officers – not proven though officers properly joined; State vicarious liability – established; Unlawful detention – detention beyond 48 hours; Remedies – compensation and costs awarded.
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9 August 2021 |
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Statutory transfer/unbundling fixed 30 March 2001 as the cut-off; entitlements must be computed to that date.
Employment law – transfer/unbundling of public enterprise – statutory transfer date and vesting instrument; cut-off date for service and computation of pension/terminal benefits; interaction between pension entitlements and NSSF contributions; interpretation of consent judgment for computation formula.
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6 August 2021 |
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6 August 2021 |
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Court grants extension to file judicial review, holding affidavit commissioning valid and res judicata inapplicable.
Judicial review — extension of time under Rule 5(1) Judicature (Judicial Review) Rules; res judicata — requirement of hearing and final determination on merits under Section 7 CPA; commissioning of affidavits — Section 4(1) Commissioner for Oaths (Advocates) Act; evidentiary reliance on the availability of signed board minutes and Auditor General report.
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6 August 2021 |
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Statutory transfer/unbundling fixed employment cut-off; entitlements computed to 30 March 2001, no double pension/NSSF claims.
Public enterprise unbundling; statutory transfer/vesting date; cut-off for employment and terminal benefits; interpretation of Electricity Act 1999 and Public Enterprise Reform and Divestiture Act; prohibition on double entitlement to pension and NSSF.
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6 August 2021 |
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Judicial review dismissed where applicants sued non-existent federation entities and failed to exhaust internal remedies.
Judicial review – private/domestic sports federation decisions – not amenable to prerogative remedies; Misnomer/non-existent defendant – plaint nullity; Exhaustion of internal remedies – arbitration/appeal under federation constitution required; Electoral committee – no separate legal status to be sued.
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6 August 2021 |
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Judicial review is inappropriate to resolve lease-based private law disputes over competing land titles.
Judicial review – amenability – public law remedy versus private law contractual disputes Statutory bodies – contracting and property dealings – when acts create private rights Lease disputes and competing titles – remedies by ordinary civil suit, not judicial review Judicial review – remedy of last resort; inappropriate where ordinary suit can resolve private law claims
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6 August 2021 |
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Minister lawfully suspended licence renewals for national security but breached applicant’s legitimate expectation; prior licences were issued illegally.
Administrative law – Judicial review – Illegality where licences were issued by an officer not designated by statute; need for law reform. Public law – Legitimate expectation – failure to give adequate notice or consultation before adverse policy change. National security – Executive policy change suspending renewals of explosives licences justified by public interest. Remedies – Breach of legitimate expectation not automatically entitling applicant to relief where prior administrative illegality and public interest prevail.
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6 August 2021 |
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Minister’s suspension of explosives import licences lawful for national security, but prior licensing process was illegal and notice was unfair.
Explosives regulation – administrative law – ultra vires and illegality of licences issued by officer not provided for in statute; legitimate expectation and fairness in change of public policy; Ministerial incidental powers and national security overriding private interests.
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6 August 2021 |
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Judicial review is inappropriate for disputes over an expired lease and contractual damages; ordinary civil remedies apply.
Judicial review – Amenability – distinction between public law and private/contractual disputes – leases granted by statutory bodies may give rise to private law rights enforceable in ordinary suit. Legitimate expectation – inapplicable to disputes arising purely from concluded contracts. Remedies – contractual damages and enforcement should be sought by ordinary civil proceedings; judicial review is a last resort.
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6 August 2021 |
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Application to vary interlocutory injunction dismissed for lack of sufficient cause and unproven breach.
Civil procedure — Interlocutory injunction — Variation or discharge under Order 41 r 4 — Requirement of sufficient cause; status quo injunctions; contempt allegations and burden of proof.
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5 August 2021 |
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Applicant’s title restored after court finds respondent’s registration procured by fraud; cancellation, re-registration, damages and injunctions ordered.
Land law – registration of title – fraudulently procured transfer – prior criminal conviction for concealing deed and obtaining registration by fraud – effect of fraud under the Registration of Titles Act – cancellation of entry and restitution of registered proprietor – damages and injunctions.
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5 August 2021 |
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Matrimonial home passed to surviving spouse and then to her children; appellant held only caretaker status.
• Succession law – matrimonial home – surviving spouse’s proprietary interest; devolution by descent on spouse’s death.• Testamentary disposition – validity and limits – cannot beget title in respect of property one does not own.• Pleadings – parties bound by their pleadings; new case cannot be raised on appeal.• Caretaker versus owner – factual distinction and effect on proprietary rights.
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5 August 2021 |
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Court set aside taxation award for lack of adequate reasons and restored the applicant's original bill of costs.
Advocates Act s.62 – Taxation of costs – Court’s limited supervisory role – taxing officer’s discretion – requirement to give adequate reasons – service and attendance at taxation – representation immaterial where parties unrepresented at trial.
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5 August 2021 |
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A land fraud claim was dismissed as barred by res judicata because the same issues were decided in an earlier suit.
Civil procedure – res judicata – Section 7 Civil Procedure Act – requirements: same parties or privies, final decision on merits by competent court, same subject matter. Land law – title and lease disputes – allegation of fraud in land allocation and acquisition – whether fraud was previously pleaded and decided. Procedural law – effect of adding a new party where the core dispute and transaction have been adjudicated.
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5 August 2021 |
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Grade I Magistrate lacked jurisdiction to cancel a registered title; trial judgment set aside as a nullity.
Jurisdiction – Magistrate Grade I – pecuniary limits – Section 207 MCA – unlimited jurisdiction only where cause governed solely by civil customary law; Registered title – cancellation applications engage Registration of Titles Act and remove matter from being governed exclusively by customary law; Exercise of jurisdiction beyond limit renders decision a nullity.
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4 August 2021 |
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Extension of time to appeal granted where appeal was meritorious despite procedural errors by prior counsel.
Civil Procedure – Extension of time to file appeal – Whether sufficient cause shown to enlarge time – Mistakes of counsel and wrong procedure – when they constitute sufficient cause. Civil Procedure – Affidavit requirements – Whether an affidavit sworn by one applicant binds co‑applicants absent written authority. Order 17 r.4 CPR – Dismissal deemed a decision on the merits – Appropriate remedy is appeal; merits may justify extension of time to appeal.
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3 August 2021 |
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The appellant failed to prove a mere mortgage or incapacity; the sale was upheld and the appeal dismissed.
Civil appeal; evaluation of evidence on appeal; appellate duty to re-appraise credibility; burden of proof (Evidence Act ss.102–103); mortgage versus sale of land; mental incapacity allegations require corroboration; procedural non-compliance and court's discretion (Article 126(2)(e)).
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2 August 2021 |
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Appeal against dismissal for non-payment of ordered security for costs was incompetent and dismissal was lawfully upheld.
Civil procedure; dismissal for non-payment of security for costs (O.26 r.2(1)); remedy to set aside dismissal (O.26 r.2(2)); competency of appeal; discretion to order security for costs; automatic dismissal on non-compliance.
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2 August 2021 |