Harare High Court - 2023

517 judgments
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517 judgments
Citation
Judgment date
May 2023
17 May 2023
17 May 2023
16 May 2023
Leave to execute pending appeal granted where appeal lacked prospects and balance of convenience favoured the property owner.
Civil procedure — Leave to execute judgment pending appeal — Discretionary factors (irreparable harm, prospects of success, balance of convenience) — Admissibility of affidavits/annexures — Onus to prove selective issuance of eviction notices in resisting rei vindicatio
15 May 2023
15 May 2023
15 May 2023
15 May 2023
15 May 2023
15 May 2023
15 May 2023
15 May 2023
Court postponed trial pending ancillary applications to amend pleadings, awarding attorney‑client costs against defendant applicants.
Civil procedure — Postponement (removal from roll) — Amendment of pleadings under rules 41(10), 38(1) and 50(8) — Discretionary indulgence; bona fides and prejudice to be weighed — Practice Direction 3 of 2013 case management — Costs (attorney–client) for late/dilatory conduct
12 May 2023
12 May 2023
12 May 2023
12 May 2023
12 May 2023
12 May 2023
A declarator cannot be used to undo a municipal lease cancellation; review proceedings are the appropriate remedy.
Administrative law — municipal lease cancellation — City and Finance & Development Committee as administrative authorities — administrative action under Administrative Justice Act — declarator inappropriate where effect is to set aside administrative decision — review is proper remedy — High Court Act s14 discretion
11 May 2023
11 May 2023
11 May 2023
11 May 2023
Unexplained delay and acquiescence defeated occupants' spoliation claim for restoration of fenced private land.
Spoliation — urgent possessory remedy; delay and acquiescence defeat restoration; locus standi of alleged occupiers; res judicata in related proceedings; sufficiency of supporting affidavits; material disputes of fact
10 May 2023
10 May 2023
10 May 2023
10 May 2023
10 May 2023
10 May 2023
Registered arbitral award became judgment debt on registration; SI33/2019 conversion inapplicable, Sheriff’s upliftment set aside.
Arbitration awards – registration as High Court order – judgment debt arises on registration; Statutory Instrument 33/2019 – scope limited to liabilities existing before 22 Feb 2019; Conversion of US$ liabilities into RTGS – not applicable to debts arising after effective date; Execution – Sheriff’s duties and limits; Judicial review – irrational upliftment of attachment and mandatory interdict
9 May 2023
8 May 2023
8 May 2023
8 May 2023
Leave to execute a High Court judgment pending appeal granted where urgency, minimal harm to respondent and weak appeal prospects justified enforcement.
Civil procedure — Execution pending appeal — Leave to execute a High Court judgment notwithstanding appeal — Urgency and validity of certificate of urgency — South Cape factors applied — Disputes of fact, prescription and contractual admissions considered — Attorney-client costs
5 May 2023
5 May 2023
5 May 2023
Whether statutory cancellation was permissible despite applicant's contractual remedy of serviced stands.
Property law – Instalment sale of land – Contractual clauses limiting remedies – Contractual Penalties Act (s.2, s.3, s.8) – Transfer only after full payment – Impossibility of specific performance – Cancellation valid
4 May 2023
4 May 2023
4 May 2023
4 May 2023
4 May 2023
4 May 2023
Court refused absolution; church removed as party for lack of authorisation proof; disputed bishop election to be decided at trial.
Civil procedure – representation of corporate/universitas entities – person purporting to represent entity must prove authority (board resolution) when challenged; Civil procedure – absolution from the instance – plaintiff must show prima facie case (Mazibuko test); Ecclesiastical/associational disputes – contested AGM elections and conflicting minutes require full hearing to resolve credibility and legality; Lis pendens/spoliation objections do not automatically preclude trial on election dispute
3 May 2023
Court set aside withdrawal of a land offer after respondent was procedurally barred and conceded lack of merit.
Administrative law — Judicial review of withdrawal of land offer — Procedural bars for non-compliance with High Court Rules — Upliftment of bar (oral or chamber) — Court’s discretion to consider merits when uplifting — Natural justice (adequacy of reasons and right to be heard)
3 May 2023
3 May 2023
April 2023
An estate cannot inherit an outstanding land offer; lease terminates on death and statutory remedies must be exhausted first.
Succession and land allocation – Offer/lease issued to a natural person terminates on death – succession requires application by rightful heir under Land Reform conditions – estate distinct from deceased – exhaustion of statutory/administrative remedies (Zimbabwe Lands Commission) before court relief – declaratur/interdict require existing right
27 April 2023
27 April 2023
27 April 2023
27 April 2023
27 April 2023
Appellate court upheld magistrate's credibility findings and respondent's proof of initial allocation; appeal dismissed with costs.
Customary land — ownership/allocation — credibility of witnesses, including traditional leaders — inspection in loco — appeal against findings of fact — balance of probabilities
26 April 2023
26 April 2023