|
Citation
|
Judgment date
|
| September 2020 |
|
|
Sentence for armed gang robbery upheld; sentencing court properly exercised discretion and appeal dismissed.
Criminal law — Robbery by armed gang — Sentence — Appeal against sentence — Whether sentence induces shock — Credit for guilty plea and first‑offender status — Consideration of aggravating and mitigating factors — Parity among co‑perpetrators — Standard for interference with sentencing discretion.
|
30 September 2020 |
| July 2020 |
|
|
Lawful purchaser may obtain ejectment and liquidated holding-over damages; s.74 protection against arbitrary eviction was inapplicable here.
Property law — Ejectment (rei vindicatio) — Constitutional protection against arbitrary eviction (s.74) inapplicable to judicially ordered eviction after lawful sale; Holding-over damages — can be liquidated and awarded in non landlord-tenant contexts; Summary judgment — appropriate where plaintiff shows liquidated claim and defendant raises no bona fide triable defence.
|
2 July 2020 |
|
Appeal dismissed: conviction and restitution upheld where owner’s lack of express authorisation was proven.
Criminal law – unauthorised use/borrowing of property (s116) – proof of lack of authority – credibility findings – accused's defence of assumed authorisation – burden of proof and requirement for corroboration – sentence and restitution assessment.
|
2 July 2020 |
|
Appeal struck off for incurably vague, non‑specific grounds of appeal; costs awarded on attorney‑and‑client scale.
Civil procedure — Appeals — Notice of appeal — Grounds must state concisely and specifically the findings of fact or rulings of law appealed against — Vague or rambling grounds incurably defective — Magistrates Court (Civil) Rules Order 31 — Consequence: appeal struck off the roll; costs attorney-and-client scale.
|
2 July 2020 |
| June 2020 |
|
|
Condonation for late appeal dismissed for inadequate explanation of delay and weak prospects of success.
Civil procedure – condonation for late filing of notice of appeal – adequacy of explanation for delay – requirement to provide specific dates and particulars – insufficiency of affidavit and heads of argument – prospects of success on appeal – boundary dispute better resolved by Ministry of Lands and Rural District Council – interdict upheld.
|
8 June 2020 |
| May 2020 |
|
|
Accused convicted of murder with constructive intent for fatal stab wounds; self‑defence and intoxication rejected; sentenced to 20 years.
Criminal law – Murder (s 47(1)(b)) – constructive intention inferred from repeated stabbing, lethal weapon and body part targeted; self‑defence rejected for disproportionality; voluntary intoxication not a defence; sentence 20 years imprisonment.
|
20 May 2020 |
| April 2020 |
|
|
|
4 April 2020 |
| March 2020 |
|
|
Circumstantial evidence and recent possession alone insufficient for robbery conviction where alibi was not disproved and other inferences remained reasonable.
Criminal law – Circumstantial evidence – Requirements for cogent, complete chain excluding other reasonable inferences; Recent possession – relevance but secondary to primary inference; Alibi – prosecution’s duty to investigate and disprove; Conviction unsafe where alternatives plausible.
|
28 March 2020 |
|
Appeal dismissed; cross-appeal partly allowed—contractual attorney-client costs, collection commission, US$500 service fee, and corrected 2013 commission awarded.
Contract law – contractual fees and interest – interpretation and application of agreed rates; Civil procedure – pleadings and effect of bare denials; Evidence – admission by failure to challenge particulars; Costs – enforceability of attorney-client costs clause; Collection commission – Law Society by-laws; Calculation error – correction of mathematical miscalculation of contractual commission.
|
19 March 2020 |
|
Disciplinary proceedings under the wrong employment statute are void; declaratur granted, no reinstatement or costs ordered.
Labour law — declaratory relief — res judicata — jurisdiction of High Court to grant declaratur — SI 15 of 2006 applicable only where no registered code exists — disciplinary proceedings conducted under wrong statute void ab initio — reinstatement and costs.
|
12 March 2020 |
|
Accused's self-defence rejected; convicted of murder for stabbing a police officer and sentenced to 25 years imprisonment.
Criminal law – Murder – Self-defence under s.253 Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act – mens rea (actual intent) – killing of police officer on duty – aggravating and mitigating factors in sentencing.
|
5 March 2020 |
|
Alleged provocation and psychological claims insufficient; accused convicted of intentional murder and sentenced to 18 years imprisonment.
Criminal law – Murder (s47) – intention inferred from weapon, targeted blows and circumstances; Provocation (s239) – partial defence requires sudden loss of self-control; Diminished responsibility – necessity of medical/scientific evidence to rebut presumption of sanity; Sentencing – domestic-violence seriousness weighed against youth and remorse.
|
4 March 2020 |
| February 2020 |
|
|
Appellate court substituted reckless-driving conviction for dangerous driving and reduced sentence to a fine plus two-year driving ban.
Road Traffic Act — conviction substituted from s 53(2) (reckless driving) to s 52(2) (dangerous driving); state concession under s 35 High Court Act; appellate substitution of conviction and fresh sentencing; driving prohibition period.
|
27 February 2020 |
|
Appeal upheld on sentence: conviction affirmed but custody reduced to suspended terms and community service conditioned on restitution.
Criminal law – Fraud – Conviction on single-witness evidence and credibility assessment – Sentence review – Excessive custodial sentence reduced to suspended terms and community service – Restitution condition.
|
27 February 2020 |
|
Accused convicted of murder for repeatedly striking deceased with heavy logs; self-defence rejected; sentenced to 18 years imprisonment.
Criminal law – Murder (s47) – actual intent and mens rea – self-defence raised – weight of eyewitness testimony and post-mortem evidence – use of lethal weapons (logs) – sentencing of youthful first offender.
|
20 February 2020 |
|
Belated alibi and cumulative circumstantial evidence upheld conviction for stock theft; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – stock theft – circumstantial evidence and identity – alibi raised belatedly – burden of proof – admissions/indications – recovery of exhibits (pliers, hide) – ecocash payment as corroborative evidence – evaluation of witness credibility.
|
19 February 2020 |
|
Court convicts step‑mother of culpable homicide after assault causing fatal blunt head injuries; not guilty of murder.
Criminal law – culpable homicide vs murder – sufficiency of State case at close – assessment of single eyewitness and circumstantial evidence alongside post‑mortem medical opinion.
|
19 February 2020 |
|
Urgent stay of criminal trial denied as not urgent due to inordinate delay and available alternative remedies.
Civil procedure — Urgent chamber application — Stay of criminal proceedings pending review — Urgency must be genuine and not self-created — Inordinate delay from March 2019 — Certificate of urgency must show proper legal analysis — Alternative remedies (appeal) may preclude urgent intervention.
|
17 February 2020 |
|
Whether a later‑formed church seceded and thereby forfeited any claim to the original church’s leased shrine.
Church law — schism and secession — constitution and governance changes as evidence of new universitas — property rights of religious associations — lease registration and custodianship of shrine — court cannot judicially declare place 'sacred'.
|
14 February 2020 |
|
Family members convicted of culpable homicide for negligently killing an 18-year-old during a violent assault over ZW$30.
Criminal law – Culpable homicide (s49(a)) – Gross negligence causing death – Domestic violence – Sentencing: custodial sentence with partially suspended term – Guilty plea and youth as mitigatory factors.
|
11 February 2020 |
|
Appeal against rape conviction dismissed: complainant credible, intercourse non-consensual, report voluntary.
Criminal law — Rape (s 65) — Consent — Complainant credibility — Voluntariness of complaint — Delay in reporting — Sufficiency of evidence.
|
5 February 2020 |
| January 2020 |
|
|
Two accused convicted as co-perpetrators of an aggravated robbery-murder; both sentenced to life imprisonment.
Criminal law — Murder with actual intent (s47(1)(a)) — Joint enterprise/co-perpetration (s196A) — Admissibility of confirmed warned and cautioned statement (s256(2)) — Alibi assessed against call records and recovered property — Aggravated murder during robbery — Life imprisonment.
|
31 January 2020 |
|
Accused convicted of murder for repeatedly striking victim’s head with pick-handle; self-defence rejected; sentenced to 20 years.
Criminal law – Murder – Blunt force trauma to the head – Actual intent established by targeting a vulnerable part – Self-defence rejected; corroboration by post‑mortem and witness evidence – Sentence imposed 20 years imprisonment.
|
29 January 2020 |
|
Municipal cancellation of a sale was set aside for lack of fair hearing and absence of proven grounds; agreement declared valid.
Administrative law – municipal contract cancellation – failure to afford hearing (audi alteram partem) – alleged fraud unproven – joinder not required where developer seeks payment only – punitive costs against public entity.
|
27 January 2020 |
|
Eviction application dismissed as premature where competing allocation documents and pending Administrative Court proceedings remain unresolved.
Eviction — competing allocation/occupation documents — administrative review and jurisdiction — prematurity of ejectment pending Administrative Court proceedings — interlocutory relief and interdict restraining execution.
|
27 January 2020 |
|
No causal link between the accused's assault and fatal head injuries; acquitted of murder, convicted of assault.
Criminal law – Murder – causation and intervening events – medical evidence excluding assault as cause of death – intention to kill – assault conviction – suspended sentence.
|
23 January 2020 |
|
Appeal dismissed: accomplice warning unnecessary; circumstantial evidence sufficient; no special circumstances to avoid mandatory sentence.
Criminal law – Theft of telecommunications cable; accomplice witness – warning not required where witness is not an accomplice; circumstantial evidence – sufficiency and reasonable inference; search and seizure – ground abandoned on appeal; sentencing – mandatory statutory sentence and special circumstances.
|
22 January 2020 |
|
Brief forcible detention and attempted confinement of a child constituted kidnapping; conviction and custodial sentence upheld.
Criminal law – kidnapping/unlawful detention (s 93(1)(b)) – de minimis principle inapplicable to brief forcible detention of a child – payment of fine at police not a bar (autrefois convict) – intoxication mitigatory not exculpatory – appellate review of sentence; custodial sentence appropriate.
|
22 January 2020 |