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Citation
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Judgment date
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| January 2022 |
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Summary judgment for ejectment upheld: requesting particulars and minor name variance did not constitute a bona fide defence.
Civil procedure — Summary judgment (Order 15) — Appearance to defend — Bona fide defence required to resist summary judgment — Further particulars (Orders 12, 14) do not bar summary judgment — Citation/name discrepancy — party sufficiently identified
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27 January 2022 |
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Whether by‑election proclamation valid after applicants' recalls were set aside and if Constitutional Court confirmation was required.
Constitutional and electoral law — recall of Members of Parliament under s129(1)(k) — validity of presidential proclamation for by‑elections where recalls set aside — urgency and chamber application procedure — distinction between Speaker’s administrative role and conduct of Parliament — s175(1) confirmation not required where judgment did not declare parliamentary conduct invalid
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25 January 2022 |
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Non‑compliance with mandatory s 271(3) requirements when accepting guilty pleas vitiates convictions; retrial permitted with credit for time served.
Criminal procedure – guilty pleas – mandatory requirements of s 271(3) Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act – failure to record explanation and accused’s response vitiates convictions – review power – quashing of convictions and sentences – retrial and credit for time served.
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24 January 2022 |
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A magistrate may lawfully impose both a fine and imprisonment under s 157(1)(a); only the sentence wording required correction.
Criminal law – Unlawful possession of dangerous drugs (s 157(1)(a)) – Sentencing – Fine and imprisonment may be imposed together – Activation of suspended sentence – Procedural/grammatical correction only.
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24 January 2022 |
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Failure to record the explanation of the charge under s271(3) vitiates guilty-plea convictions and warrants quashing.
Criminal procedure – Guilty plea under s 271(2)(b) – Mandatory requirement of s 271(3) to explain charge and record explanation – Non-compliance vitiates proceedings – Convictions and sentences quashed – Retrial permitted; time served to count.
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24 January 2022 |
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Failure to record the statutory explanation of charge vitiated guilty-plea convictions; proceedings quashed and retrial permitted.
Criminal procedure — Guilty plea — s 271(2)(b) and s 271(3)(a) CPEA — requirement to explain charge and record explanation — failure to record vitiates proceedings; sentencing calculation errors noted.
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24 January 2022 |
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Arbitral award set aside for ignoring binding precedent and misreading contract, thus conflicting with public policy.
Arbitration — setting aside award — public policy — Maposa test — failure to apply mind — ignored binding judicial precedent — contractual currency clause — SI 33/2019.
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20 January 2022 |
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Whether a corrected arbitral award confirming breach, cancellation and ejectment could be registered despite objections alleging improper cancellation and public policy.
Arbitration — registration of arbitral award under Article 35 — limited grounds to resist registration under Article 36 — public policy construed narrowly — cancellation of contract and factual findings of breach — courts not to reappraise arbitral findings or rewrite contracts.
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20 January 2022 |
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Court permits custodial parent to enroll children in boarding school absent evidence the choice prejudices their best interests.
Family law – Custodial parent’s authority to determine child’s education – Interference only where decision is unreasonable or prejudicial to child’s best interests – Boarding versus home schooling – Access arrangements where children attend boarding school
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19 January 2022 |
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Alleged unilateral alteration did not prove fraud; applicant's counsel signed in error and rescission was refused, application dismissed with costs.
Contract law — Settlement agreements — Alleged fraudulent misrepresentation by unilateral alteration of draft settlement — Requirement to prove inducement — Mistake versus fraud — Evidential onus — Formalities and effect of agent’s signature (caveat subscriptor) — Affidavit practice under High Court rules
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19 January 2022 |
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Whether management fees are deductible and whether factory canteen meals are taxable benefits, and whether the 2010 assessment was time-barred.
Income tax — Re-opening of assessments (s47) — misrepresentation waiving prescription; Management fees — deductibility — service-level agreements and invoices insufficient to prove services rendered or cost build-up; Employer-provided canteen meals — employer-business-purpose test — not a taxable benefit; Penalty — reduction for absence of tax-evading intention
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19 January 2022 |
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Arbitral awards under the Labour Act are treated as judgments for prescription; incorrect party citation and absence of tax directive require correction before registration.
Labour law – registration of arbitral award – prescription of awards – whether arbitral awards are judgment debts or ordinary debts; civil procedure – registration requires parties named in award to match application; taxation – tax directive/clearance required before registration and enforcement
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19 January 2022 |
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Written lease prevails over a council resolution absent required contractual or statutory termination procedures; eviction upheld.
Property/lease law – written lease vs council resolution – termination requires compliance with contractual and statutory procedures; eviction proper where lessee holds valid lease; administrative remedies for internal council actions
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19 January 2022 |
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A private voluntary organization can be a charitable trust administered by the Minister, qualifying donations for tax deduction.
Tax law – charitable donation deduction – meaning of "trust" where undefined in Income Tax Act – private voluntary organizations may constitute trusts – interpretation of fiscal statutes – in dubio contra fiscum – administration by Minister under PVOA
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19 January 2022 |
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Owner's vindication granted; prior curator appointment and psychiatric reports did not invalidate the sale or transfer.
Property law – rei vindicatio; proof of ownership and lack of consent; curator ad litem – limited scope; mental capacity to contract; reliability of psychiatric evidence; validity of transfer.
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19 January 2022 |
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A lessee with a proved lease may evict an occupier lacking a lease; holding-over damages require proof of obligation to pay rent.
Property law — eviction — leasehold — privity of contract — statutory tenancy — holding-over damages — burden of proof — inadmissible new facts on appeal.
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19 January 2022 |
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Convictions upheld; restitution order converted to RTGS 10,000 per Finance Act and sentence varied.
Criminal law – theft of trust property; fraud – restitution; Finance (No.2) Act 2019 and SI 33/19 – conversion of pre-effective-date USD liabilities to RTGS at par; appellate deference to trial credibility findings.
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19 January 2022 |
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Stay of execution granted pending rescission where appeal judgment allegedly contained a patent error affecting maintenance order.
Civil procedure — Stay of execution — Inherent power of court to control execution — Stay where real and substantial justice requires — Rescission for patent error under r 29(1)(b) High Court Rules, 2021 — Urgency and preliminary points in limine — Maintenance orders and enforcement consequences
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14 January 2022 |
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High Court may grant execution pending appeal where appeal appears vexatious and enforcement is necessary to prevent irreparable harm.
Civil procedure — Execution pending appeal — High Court may permit execution where appeal is frivolous or bought to delay enforcement; Netone Cellular factors apply
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13 January 2022 |
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Interim restoration of possession granted pending estate finalisation; costs awarded on ordinary scale, not attorney-and-client scale.
Civil procedure — Interim relief — Restoration of possession pending administration of estate; Costs — judicial discretion whether to award attorney-and-client costs; Conduct of parties and relatives relevant to costs assessment
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13 January 2022 |
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Contempt found where respondents wilfully disobeyed an eviction order; committal to 90 days' imprisonment and costs awarded.
Civil contempt – Failure to comply with eviction order – Wilful disobedience – Onus shifts to contemnor to rebut wilfulness – Evictee must remove persons and goods – Committal to prison and costs.
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13 January 2022 |
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13 January 2022 |
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Applicant entitled to spoliation relief where respondent executed access after appeal service, rendering occupation unlawful.
Spoliation — requirements for restoration of peaceful and undisturbed possession — effect of noting appeal on execution of magistrates' court orders (s 40(3) Magistrates Court Act) — urgency of proceedings — competent relief versus disguised appeal
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12 January 2022 |
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Special plea of prescription dismissed where factual dispute about timing of cause of action requires oral evidence.
Prescription — cause of action — continuous occupation vs fresh acts — interruption by prior proceedings — special plea inappropriate where factual dispute requires viva voce evidence — costs ordinary scale
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12 January 2022 |
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Whether a former employee may lawfully retain an employer’s vehicle pending a challenge to dismissal and resist rei vindicatio.
Property law – rei vindicatio – proof of ownership and possession; Employment law – former employee’s right to retain employer property pending dismissal challenge; Locus standi; Enforcement – Sheriff may enlist police; Committal for non-disclosure
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12 January 2022 |
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Review refused for challenging magistrate’s prima facie finding at close of State case; appeal is the proper remedy.
Criminal procedure – discharge at close of State case – prima facie case test (Tsvangirai) – s198(3) CP&E Act; Review of unterminated proceedings – exceptional circumstances required; Appeal vs review – substantive challenges are for appeal; Onus and placement on defence
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12 January 2022 |
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Applicant failed to show a clear right to transfer after payment was made outside the sheriff’s stipulated period; application dismissed with costs.
Execution sales – requirements for purchaser’s entitlement to transfer – compliance with sheriff’s conditions of sale (seven‑day payment rule); mortgage bond/letter of undertaking and validity period; final interdict requirements (clear right, irreparable harm, no alternative remedy); effect of late payment and subsequent resale to third party.
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12 January 2022 |
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Applicant failed to prove a binding contract and improperly relied on answering affidavits, so specific performance was refused.
Contract formation — proof of offer and acceptance; Specific performance — equitable remedy requiring a valid contract and substantial performance by applicant; Civil procedure — motion proceedings require full case in founding affidavit; Misdescription of party — minor errors not fatal; Effect of SI 33/2019 on deposited balances considered but not determinative.
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12 January 2022 |
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Arbitral termination without affording the claimant a chance to show cause breached natural justice; award set aside under article 34.
Arbitration — termination under art 25(a) — failure to file statement of claim — audi alteram partem/natural justice breach — setting aside arbitral award under art 34 — referral to new arbitrator — costs each party.
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12 January 2022 |
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Master’s determination set aside; customary-marriage evidence established two surviving spouses; each party to bear own costs.
Administration of estates – determination of surviving spouse – jurisdiction of magistrate post-1997 amendments – Master’s powers – procedural fairness at edict meetings – customary marriage evidence (tsvakirai kuno; mbonano; gupuro) – review and setting aside of Master’s determination.
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12 January 2022 |
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Condonation granted for late review application where reasonable explanation and arguable grounds to set aside taxed bill existed.
Civil procedure — condonation for late review application — Order 38 Rule 314 — delay, explanation, prospects of success, prejudice; Taxation of costs — party-to-party vs legal practitioner and client scale; Currency of taxed costs — application of SI 33 of 2019.
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12 January 2022 |
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12 January 2022 |
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An applicant lacks locus under s85(1)(d) to challenge a statutory instrument if affected parties can litigate themselves.
Constitutional law – standing under s85(1)(d) – public-interest litigation – locus standi must appear on the papers – applicant cannot sue for economically capable, non-marginalised parties; procedural: respondents not opposing where no affidavit or notice filed.
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12 January 2022 |
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Leave granted to execute interim order suspending a circular directors’ resolution pending appeal to prevent continuation of prima facie invalid corporate rescue.
Companies law – directors’ written consent under s196(1) – validity of circular directors’ resolution – locus standi of a director to challenge resolution – interlocutory relief and execution pending appeal – balance of convenience where acts may be founded on prima facie invalid resolution.
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12 January 2022 |
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Superior court will not set aside under‑termined proceedings absent exceptional injustice; alleged rendition without proof does not defeat jurisdiction.
Judicial review — unterminated magistrates’ proceedings — exceptional intervention only for gross injustice; alleged extraterritorial abduction does not automatically oust jurisdiction; one‑stop border/no‑man’s‑land factual limits; burden to prove persecution and unlawful rendition; submission to jurisdiction by seeking bail.
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11 January 2022 |
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Interconnection and roaming fees qualify as taxable technical fees in Zimbabwe; the Mauritius DTA does not preclude taxation.
Income tax — Non-residents' tax on fees — definition of "fees" (technical, managerial, administrative, consultative) — interconnection and roaming services taxable; DTA (Mauritius) Article 22(3) — items not expressly dealt with taxable in source state; penalty under Seventeenth Schedule para 6(1)(b)
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6 January 2022 |
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Services to donor organisations with local offices are not zero-rated; bona fide belief justified penalty remission.
VAT — zero-rating s10(2)(l) — "supply for the benefit of and contractually to a person who is not a resident" — definition of "resident" s2 (deeming provision: fixed or permanent place in Zimbabwe) — penalty under s39 — remission where bona fide belief and no intent to evade (s39(5))
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6 January 2022 |
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Applicant declared a per stirpes beneficiary based on corroborative circumstantial evidence despite lack of DNA testing.
Succession — declarator of paternity/beneficiary per stirpes — circumstantial evidence and corroboration — DNA testing of adults and non-cooperation — costs borne by executor from estate.
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6 January 2022 |
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Whether cancellation for unpaid development levies was valid and a later purchaser with possession and improvements prevails.
Contract law – sale agreements – development levies as contractual obligation – proof of payment (receipts v bank deposits) – validity of notice of breach and cancellation – double sale doctrine – first purchaser’s priority v special circumstances favouring later purchaser (possession, improvements, bona fide purchaser).
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4 January 2022 |