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Citation
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Judgment date
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| April 2021 |
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Appellate court upheld kidnapping and forgery convictions but reduced several excessive sentences for the first appellant.
* Criminal law – Kidnap with intent to confine – kidnapping by deceit to facilitate fraud and dispossession of property.
* Criminal law – Forgery and uttering forged documents – proofs, document expert evidence and denials by official custodians.
* Criminal procedure – Appellate review – duty of first appellate court to re-evaluate evidence and draw independent conclusions.
* Criminal law – Giving false information to a public officer – conviction where sufficient evidence supports falsity.
* Sentencing – appellate interference where sentence is manifestly excessive; concurrency of sentences.
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29 April 2021 |
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Applicant indicted for murder granted bail subject to cash bail, non-cash bonds and monthly reporting.
Criminal procedure – Bail for indicted persons – Trial on Indictments Act ss.14–15 and judicial discretion; Article 23(6)(a) right to apply for bail; presumption of innocence; adequacy of sureties and reporting conditions.
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28 April 2021 |
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Court granted bail for aggravated robbery charge exercising discretion despite no proven "exceptional circumstances."
Criminal procedure – Bail pending trial – Aggravated robbery – Court discretion under Trial on Indictments Act to grant bail even absent proven "exceptional circumstances"; fixed abode and substantial sureties mitigating flight risk; bail conditions (cash deposit and surety bonds).
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27 April 2021 |
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Appellant found to have participated in land‑title forgery; convictions upheld but sentences revised and remand deducted.
* Criminal law – evaluation of evidence – appellate duty to review evidence as a whole and assess credibility.* Criminal law – burden of proof – prosecution must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt; no improper shift to accused.* Forgery and uttering – possession and production of forged land titles as key evidence of participation.* Personation and conspiracy – joint enterprise where each role facilitates large‑scale deception in land fraud.* Sentencing – appellate revision where trial sentence disproportionate and remand time to be deducted.
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18 April 2021 |
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Appeal against convictions for land title forgery and related offences dismissed; sentences revised and remand credited.
Criminal law – Forgery and uttering of land titles; personation and obtaining money by false pretence; appellate review of evidence; burden of proof; sentence revision for land title forgery.
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18 April 2021 |
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Appellate court affirmed convictions for false pretence, personation, forgery and uttering and dismissed appeal; remand time was considered.
Criminal law – Obtaining by false pretence; personation; forgery and uttering false documents – Proof of intent to defraud; possession of forged documents as inference of guilt – Burden of proof remains on prosecution – Sentencing: remand credit; appellate review of convictions and sentence.
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18 April 2021 |
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Appeal dismissed: prosecution proved false pretence, personation, forgery and uttering; remand credited; duress unproven.
* Criminal law – Obtaining money by false pretence – elements and proof beyond reasonable doubt; personation; forgery and uttering false documents. * Evidence – identification, possession of forged documents, and probative value of Registrar of Titles’ evidence. * Burden of proof – rests on prosecution; conviction cannot rest on weakness of defence. * Sentencing – remand period must be taken into account (Article 23(8)). * Duress – allegation requires evidential support.
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18 April 2021 |
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High Court cannot review its own first‑appellate conviction; the proper remedy is a second appeal.
* Jurisdiction – whether High Court may review its own first‑appellate judgment; * Criminal procedure – available remedy is a second appeal, not review by the same court; * Inherent powers/Article 126(2)(e)/Section 33 – cannot displace statutory remedies; * Functus officio – finality of appellate judgments; * Alleged denial of fair hearing/service – not remedied by review where specific appeal route exists.
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14 April 2021 |
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High Court cannot review its own first-appeal conviction; aggrieved party’s remedy is a second appeal to the Court of Appeal.
* Criminal procedure – jurisdiction – review of a High Court judgment delivered as first appellate court – functus officio. * Judicial powers – inherent powers and Article 126(2)(e)/Section 33 Judicature Act – limitations where statutory remedies exist. * Appeals – remedy against first appellate decisions is by second appeal to the Court of Appeal.
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14 April 2021 |
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Section 129A is procedural only; aggravated defilement must be tried by the High Court.
Penal law – defilement; section 129 – substantive offence; section 129A – procedural provision for child offenders (no new offence); constitutional principle nulla poena sine lege; jurisdiction – aggravated defilement triable only by High Court.
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14 April 2021 |
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Court granted bail where accused had fixed abode, substantial sureties and unexplained delay in committal despite serious charge.
* Constitutional law – presumption of innocence – right to bail pending trial under Article 28(3).
* Criminal procedure – Trial on Indictments Act (s.14(1), s.15) – discretionary grant of bail; exceptional circumstances not invariably required.
* Bail requirements – fixed place of abode, substantial sureties, unexplained delay in committal; appropriate bail conditions.
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9 April 2021 |
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Bail denied where applicant’s age/health claims unproven, residence and sureties doubtful, and risk to witnesses existed.
* Criminal procedure – Bail pending trial – Discretion under Sections 14 and 15 of the Trial on Indictments Act and Article 28(3) – Exceptional circumstances (advanced age, grave illness) require proof but are not mandatory for bail. * Bail – Fixed place of abode and sound sureties within jurisdiction – essential to guarantee compliance. * Refugee status and undocumented residence – impact on ability to control movements and risk of absconding. * Witness protection – familial relationship with victim strengthens risk of interference and supports refusal of bail.
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8 April 2021 |
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Court granted bail for an accused charged with aggravated robbery, exercising discretion without requiring exceptional circumstances, subject to specified deposit and sureties.
Bail — Presumption of innocence and personal liberty — Discretion under s.14(1) Trial on Indictments Act — Exceptional circumstances not mandatory — Sufficiency and verification of sureties — Conditions: cash deposit, non-cash surety bonds, monthly reporting.
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7 April 2021 |
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A criminal conviction based on a land ownership dispute and hearsay was quashed; honest claim of right requires civil resolution.
Criminal law – land dispute – honest claim of right; criminalisation of civil matters; appellate re-evaluation of evidence; hearsay evidence inadmissibility; conviction quashed and acquittal substituted.
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7 April 2021 |
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Bail denied for aggravated defilement due to gravity of the offence and risk to a vulnerable child witness.
Criminal procedure – Bail pending trial – Discretion under Sections 14 and 15 of the Trial on Indictments Act; Constitutional right to bail and presumption of innocence (Article 28(3)); Factors: fixed abode and sureties versus gravity of offence and protection of vulnerable child witness; Risk of intimidation and public interest in refusing bail.
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6 April 2021 |
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Bail refused due to an unreliable surety, seriousness of the alleged offence, and risk to complainant despite presumption of innocence.
Bail — constitutional presumption of innocence vs discretionary denial; Criteria under s.14(1) and s.15 Trial on Indictments Act; sufficiency and proximity of sureties; seriousness of alleged offence and complainant safety; identity issues.
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1 April 2021 |