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Citation
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Judgment date
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| May 2021 |
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Conviction for abstracting electricity quashed where the State failed to prove guilt and drew unsupported factual inferences.
Criminal law – abstraction/diversion of electricity (s 60A(1)(a) Electricity Act) – onus of proof – improper shifting of burden to accused – circumstantial inferences – failure to call key witness – benefit of doubt – conviction quashed and acquittal entered.
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27 May 2021 |
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Bail denied where strong evidence, risk of abscondment and witness interference outweigh presumption of liberty.
Bail pending trial – murder – strength of state case and likelihood of severe sentence – risk of abscondment – risk of witness interference – porous international border – s50 Constitution – s117 Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act.
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27 May 2021 |
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An employee was personally liable for unpaid goods under a private storage agreement; appeal dismissed.
Contract/obligation – private storage agreement – employee’s personal liability; vicarious liability – not engaged where act outside scope of employment; civil claim versus criminal theft; evidential weight of acknowledgement of debt and partial payments.
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20 May 2021 |
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Appellate court upheld eviction where traditional leaders' evidence established applicant's customary ownership and lower court erred in ignoring it.
Communal land; actio rei vindicatio; customary succession; traditional leaders' letters as evidence; prescription (30 years) not to be raised mero motu; improvement lien/right of retention; duty to translate vernacular documents.
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20 May 2021 |
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Security guard’s assault during a theft showed legal intention to kill; conviction for murder and 26 years imprisonment.
Criminal law — Murder — Legal/constructive intention (s 47(1)(b)) — Assault to neck and chest causing pneumothorax and tracheal trauma — Intrusion during theft by a security guard — 26 years’ imprisonment.
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20 May 2021 |
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Applicants denied bail where strong identification, recovered getaway vehicle and pending similar charges risked administration of justice.
Criminal procedure — Bail pending trial — Presumption of innocence vs administration of justice — Compelling reasons required to deny bail — Factors: seriousness of offence, strength of State case (identification parade, recovered getaway vehicle), likely sentence, and pending similar charges; CPEA ss 116–117A; Constitution s 50.
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13 May 2021 |
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Jealous assault with an okapi knife; self-defence rejected and accused convicted of murder with actual intent, sentenced to 18 years.
Criminal law – murder – self-defence rejected where accused was aggressor; stabbing to stomach with a sharp knife satisfies awareness of real risk of death – conviction for murder with actual intent; sentencing: youth and mitigation balanced against gratuitous use of lethal weapon.
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13 May 2021 |
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Bail denied where strong murder evidence and substantial flight risk would jeopardise administration of justice.
Bail pending trial; murder; presumption of innocence vs administration of justice; compelling reasons to deny bail; risk of abscondment; strength of State case; concealment of body; ss 50, 70 Constitution; ss 116–117 Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act.
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13 May 2021 |