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Citation
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Judgment date
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| March 2021 |
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A revision application is incompetent without production of the duly certified lower court ruling.
Civil procedure – Revision (Order 52 r.1; Section 98 CPA) – Necessity of certified subordinate court decision as subject of revision – Incompetence of revision without certified ruling – Requirement to specify magistrate and date of impugned ruling.
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31 March 2021 |
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An earlier judgment does not bar a later suit when material facts or a new cause of action were not decided.
Civil procedure — Res judicata — Section 7 Civil Procedure Act — Identity of subject matter and cause of action — Mixed question of law and fact — Ex parte earlier judgment — New claim of fraud not pleaded earlier — Where material facts are not discernible from pleadings/judgment res judicata does not bar trial.
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31 March 2021 |
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Registered title upheld; respondent failed to prove fraud, court granted survey, injunction, damages and costs to the applicant.
Land law – registered title – impeachment of title requires strict proof of fraud attributable to transferee; evidence of title, transfer forms and surveyor corroboration uphold registration; remedies include survey, injunction, damages and costs.
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31 March 2021 |
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Applicant failed to prove change in land status or value to justify transfer; application dismissed.
Land transfer—section 218(1)(b)(i) MCA; requirement to prove change in land status/pecuniary value; lease offer vs. title; sparing exercise of High Court withdrawal power; inadmissibility of resolving collateral survey disputes in transfer applications.
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31 March 2021 |
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Civil suit challenging title is not barred by res judicata where prior proceedings involved different parties and did not decide ownership.
Civil Procedure – Res judicata under section 7 Civil Procedure Act – Requirement of identity of parties and identity of issues; Prior proceedings authorizing registration and duplicate title do not necessarily decide substantive ownership; Application to strike out dismissed where former suit did not finally determine same matter.
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31 March 2021 |
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Application dismissed where applicant sued a known deceased and improperly joined the deceased’s law firm; Administrator General route suggested.
Practice — Proceedings against deceased persons — Improper to prosecute motion against a known deceased defendant; Procedure — Parties — Law firm as legal representative not proper respondent; Succession — Administrator General’s Act (Cap 157) s.4(5)(a) — letters of administration as appropriate remedy for claims against estate.
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31 March 2021 |
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Fraudulently obtained land title via forged documents justified cancellation, reinstatement of proprietor, damages and costs.
Land law – fraud on title – fraudulent procurement of special certificate and transfer by forged signatures. Evidence – weight of unchallenged ex parte evidence and forensic document examination in proving fraud. Registration of Titles Act s.177 – cancellation of certificate of title and reinstatement of proprietor as remedy. Remedies – cancellation of title, reinstatement, general damages and costs.
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31 March 2021 |
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Plaintiffs lacked locus standi after lease expiry; suit dismissed and defendants awarded 40% of costs.
Locus standi – leasehold interest expiry extinguishes beneficiary’s standing to sue; amendment of plaint – improper widening without leave; delay and counsel negligence may affect relief and costs.
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31 March 2021 |
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Plaintiff proven owner of pleaded parcel, but failed to prove trespass or coercion; each party to bear own costs.
Land law – identification of suit land versus unpleaded expansion; proof of title by purchase; trespass to land – need for particulars and corroboration; coercion/confiscation allegations – burden of proof and delay; value of locus in quo inspection in resolving boundary and possession disputes.
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31 March 2021 |
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A land claim rooted in a 2001 registration was time‑barred and frivolous and the suit was dismissed with costs.
Limitation of actions – Limitation Act s.5 – action to recover land accrual date; time‑bar applies where cause of action accrued more than 12 years earlier; Civil procedure – Order 7 r.11(d),(e) CPR – rejection of plaint where suit appears barred by law or is frivolous/vexatious; Pleadings – necessity of proper cause of action and supporting annexures when seeking cancellation of title; Administrators and estates – claims relating to acts of deceased registered proprietor should target appropriate party.
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31 March 2021 |
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Respondents held in civil contempt for blocking applicants' access to court‑allocated shops; injunction, fine and committal ordered.
Civil contempt – failure to comply with decree ordering reallocation of commercial premises – elements: existence of order, knowledge, non‑compliance. Locus – beneficiary status required for contempt application. Remedies – mandatory injunction, fine, and alternate committal for non‑compliance.
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31 March 2021 |
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The marriage-gift sale by the widow was valid; the sale by a non-owner was void and reverts to the mother’s estate.
Land law - customary tenure; marriage gift as proprietary interest; widow’s right to sell marriage gift; succession law - distribution deed and requirement to file inventory after grant of Letters of Administration (Succession Act s.278); contract capacity and consent - sale by person without title or lacking capacity invalid; remedy - nullification of unlawful sale and reversion to estate; costs - each party to bear own costs.
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31 March 2021 |
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Revision application dismissed as abuse of process after applicant misrepresented the lower court record; costs awarded to respondent.
Civil Procedure Act s.83 – High Court power to call for and revise subordinate court records; jurisdictional error, illegality or material irregularity. Civil revision – requirement to produce certified record of proceedings corresponding to the matter under review. Abuse of court process – misrepresentation of court records and deceit in support of revision application. Court administration – direction to Registrar to refer apparent record irregularities to Inspectorate of Courts.
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31 March 2021 |
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30 March 2021 |
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30 March 2021 |
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A self‑represented litigant cannot recover advocate professional fees; taxation set aside and remitted for fresh assessment.
Taxation of costs – Self-represented litigant – entitlement to advocate professional/instruction fees – Advocates Remuneration Rules apply only to retained counsel – Improper taxation set aside and remitted for fresh taxation.
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29 March 2021 |
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26 March 2021 |
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Court imposes constructive trust where registered proprietor held land for deceased's family; land to be divided among beneficiaries.
Land law – customary interests (bibanjas) and registered title – constructive trust where registered proprietor acquired title for family benefit; withholding of original documents and admissibility of secondary/oral evidence; remedies – declaration of beneficial interest, trustee duty, compulsory division or sale.
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26 March 2021 |
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24 March 2021 |
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18 March 2021 |
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15 March 2021 |
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12 March 2021 |
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12 March 2021 |
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10 March 2021 |
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Appellant failed to prove breach of a land sale agreement; trial court’s evaluation and hearing were fair.
Contract – sale of land – payment of instalments – whether purchaser breached time-limited payment clause; estoppel and waiver of strict compliance. Evidence – burden of proof on balance of probabilities; quality over quantity; adverse inference where a party withholds material testimony. Civil procedure – right to fair hearing – parties choose whether to testify; court not obliged to compel a party to give oral evidence.
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4 March 2021 |
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2 March 2021 |
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1 March 2021 |
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A co‑defendant may cross‑examine a fellow defendant's witness where interests conflict; applicant's challenge on costs failed.
Civil Procedure – Revision under s.83 CPA – scope limited to jurisdictional errors, illegal acts or material irregularity. Evidence/Procedure – Co‑defendant entitled to cross‑examine another defendant's witness where inter‑se interests conflict. Affidavit practice – Deponent swearing in personal capacity requires no written authority; failure of other applicants to file affidavits may render them outside the application. Costs – Condemnation to costs of the day under O.17 r3 CPR is a discretionary power and not automatically irregular.
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1 March 2021 |