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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 2025 |
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Urgent review of municipal suspension struck from roll for want of urgency due to inadequate particularity and justification.
Urgent application — Rule 6(12) — applicant must establish and particularise urgency and inability to obtain substantial redress at a hearing in due course — failure to provide names, dates, examples or evidence of imminent harm — application struck from roll for want of urgency; costs awarded.
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18 December 2025 |
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Appeal allowed: pleaded oral agreement contradicted evidential record; parties only agreed to agree, no binding written contract.
Pleadings — requirement to plead material facts with precision (Rule 6(6)); cannot plead one case and lead another at trial — prejudice. Contract law — oral agreement alleged vs written requirement; agreement-to-agree unenforceable. Evidentiary issues — inconsistency between pleadings and emails; limits on relying on negotiation communications.
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4 December 2025 |
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Admissibility of entrapment-derived statements and recordings under s252A, s217 and RICA — appeal allowed.
Entrapment/undercover operations – s 252A admissibility; whether conduct went beyond providing opportunity; balancing public interest under s 252A(3); incriminating statements during entrapment not confessions – s 217 inapplicable; RICA (s 4/s 5) and s 47(2) NDPP authority – procedural prerequisite, not evidentiary ambush; s 310 appeal and adequacy of stated case.
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2 December 2025 |
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The applicant’s malicious‑prosecution claim failed, but the respondent was vicariously liable for defamatory posters by police members (R80,000).
Malicious prosecution — elements: setting law in motion, reasonable and probable cause, animus injuriandi, failure required; Defamation — publication, defamatory meaning, wrongful and intentional publication presumed; Vicarious liability — Rabie/K test for sufficient connection between employee’s wrongful act and employment; Republication principle — unauthorised republication generally does not attract liability.
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2 December 2025 |
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Plaintiff’s notice of bar was premature after amendment; second rule 23(1) notice valid under rule 28(8).
Civil procedure — Rule 23(1) notices to remove causes of complaint — Effect of amendment and rule 28(8) — Premature notice of bar set aside as irregular step — Costs: no attorney‑client costs; counsel’s fees allowed on scale A (rule 67A).
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2 December 2025 |
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Court finds the Highgate killings were premeditated murders likely executed by renegade Apartheid security elements; investigation marred by gross failures.
Inquest (Inquests Act s16(2)) – standard of proof in inquests – prima facie assessment (Padi/Lubowski approach) – mass shooting; evidence excludes APLA responsibility – loss and mishandling of forensic exhibits – systemic investigative and institutional failure – false‑flag operation by renegade Apartheid security elements suspected.
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1 December 2025 |
| November 2025 |
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Circumstantial evidence proved the accused stabbed the deceased; dolus eventualis established and intoxication did not excuse criminal capacity.
Criminal law – circumstantial evidence – application of R v Blom; dolus eventualis – intention inferred from weapon, wound and conduct; intoxication – not negating criminal capacity; s 174 discharge refused.
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28 November 2025 |
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Court departs from prescribed life sentence for domestic-violence murder due to intoxication, dolus eventualis, and personal circumstances.
Criminal law — Murder attracting prescribed life sentence under s 51(1) CLAA — Domestic-relationship physical abuse — Whether substantial and compelling circumstances exist — Voluntary intoxication and dolus eventualis as mitigating factors — Balancing societal denunciation and individual circumstances in sentencing.
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28 November 2025 |
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Whether exclusion from the 2025/2026 programme constituted contempt for failing to perform SLA obligations.
Contempt of court — requirements (existence of order, service/knowledge, non-compliance; wilfulness/mala fides after non-compliance). Interpretation of court orders and contractual documents — order speaks and must be read as a whole; extrinsic evidence only if ambiguous. Service Level Agreement — targets and budget tied to 2024/2025; extension requires amendment under main agreement. Self-created impossibility — a party may not rely on impossibility that is of its own making. Costs — Biowatch principles considered but ordinary costs rule applied (Scale B).
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25 November 2025 |
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Freely made police confession, corroborated by forensic and circumstantial evidence, led to conviction for murder.
Criminal law – Murder – Admissibility of confession – Section 217 CPA – Conviction on confession corroborated by independent proof under Section 209 CPA – Circumstantial and forensic evidence (ligature strangulation) – Credibility assessment of accused’s testimony.
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19 November 2025 |
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Court departs from prescribed life for intimate-partner murder, imposing 20 years after finding substantial and compelling circumstances.
Criminal law — Murder — Domestic-relationship killing — Section 51(1) and Part 1 of Schedule 2 discretionary minimum life sentence — Substantial and compelling circumstances required to deviate (Malgas; Vilakazi) — Sentencing triad (Zinn) — Mitigation: youth, first offender, intoxication, cooperation — Aggravation: intimate-partner brutality — Sentence imposed: 20 years’ imprisonment.
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19 November 2025 |
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The appellant may be authorised under s 8(1)(a) APA to document inspections and gather evidence; magistrate’s restrictive order set aside.
Animals Protection Act s 8(1)(a) – scope of magistrate’s authorisation – purposive and contextual interpretation with SPCA Act – authorisations may include documentation, photography, videography and scanning for prosecution; statutory SPCA prosecutorial role; true discretion susceptible to appellate interference; public‑interest determination despite mootness.
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18 November 2025 |
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Lessee entitled to evict commercial occupiers; head lease not terminated, ESTA inapplicable, sub‑lease void and costs awarded.
Lease law – locus standi of lessee to evict occupiers; privity and sanctity of contract; rescission and waiver of contractual remedies; ESTA exclusion for commercial farming; sublease/cession void ab initio under lease prohibition; eviction under common law.
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18 November 2025 |
| October 2025 |
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Cumulative personal factors did not constitute substantial and compelling circumstances to avoid prescribed life sentences for child rape and murder.
Criminal law — Sentencing — Minimum sentences — Rape and murder of a child within Part I of Schedule 2 — Whether substantial and compelling circumstances exist to deviate from prescribed life imprisonment; intoxication, first‑offender status, pre‑trial detention and rehabilitation prospects considered cumulatively; entry on National Register for Sexual Offenders; firearm disqualification; section 299A parole‑representation rights.
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24 October 2025 |
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Condonation granted for late/non‑service of statutory notices where good cause shown and no unreasonable prejudice established.
Institution of Legal Proceedings Against Certain Organs of the State Act – condonation for late/non‑service of statutory notice; Prescription – whether claim extinguished by late notice; Good cause and prejudice – applicant’s unexplained delay, medical incapacity, ignorance of requirement; Purposive interpretation and access to courts (Minister of Police v Miya); Service requirements under State Liability Act (section 2(2)).
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23 October 2025 |
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Circumstantial evidence, forensic findings and witness credibility established the accused’s guilt for rape per anum and murder.
Criminal law — Circumstantial evidence — Application of R v Blom two‑cardinal‑rules to infer guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Evidence — Credibility and reliability of eyewitness and medico‑legal testimony; assessment of accused’s mendacious version. Forensic pathology — Fatal blunt and sharp force injuries; anal penetration by blunt object consistent with sexual assault. Procedure/public interest — Referral of judgment to provincial liquor authority re: regulation of licensed premises.
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22 October 2025 |
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Court finds substantial and compelling circumstances to depart from mandatory life, imposing 25 years for domestic‑violence murder.
Criminal law – Murder - dolus eventualis; Minimum Sentences Act s51(1) and Schedule 2(1)(g) – murder resulting from physical abuse in a domestic relationship; section 112(2) plea admissions; sentencing – intoxication and personal circumstances as substantial and compelling circumstances; proportionality principle; sentence of 25 years and firearm prohibition.
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16 October 2025 |
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Search and arrest were lawful on consent and s40(1)(a) grounds, but respondent liable for ~2.5 hours unlawful detention (R10,000).
Criminal procedure – search without warrant – informed consent and corroboration; Arrest without warrant – section 40(1)(a) CPA – offence committed in presence of peace officer; Exercise of police discretion to arrest – reasonableness standard; SAPS Standing Order G341 – substantial compliance and reasonableness, not absolute rule; Unlawful detention – liability for period after decision to release; Adverse inference – availability of witnesses must be established.
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15 October 2025 |
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Disconnection without notice for non-payment violates procedural fairness; tampering permits no-notice only on reasonable suspicion.
Municipal electricity — Disconnection without notice — Distinction between non-payment and illegal connection/tampering — PAJA and s33(1) rights to procedurally fair administrative action — Burden on municipality to prove tampering — Reasonable suspicion and factual basis required for no-notice disconnection — Unconstitutional to disconnect for non-payment without prior notice (paras 7.5, 7.7, 20).
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14 October 2025 |
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Conviction and sentence set aside where accused’s s112 statement omitted essential possession element and sentence relied on flawed report.
Criminal procedure – s112(2) plea statements must set out factual admissions of every essential element; legal conclusions are insufficient – where a s112(2) statement fails to show personal and direct possession, conviction must be set aside. Sentencing – reliance on inaccurate pre-sentence report and failure to apply Zinn triad renders sentence reviewable; duty on defence and prosecution to correct manifest inaccuracies. Review/remittal – s312 discretionary; remittal may be refused where it would produce injustice.
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10 October 2025 |
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Business rescue dismissed for lack of reasonable prospect; provisional winding‑up made final and costs awarded to the bank.
Companies Act – business rescue (s131(4)) – requirement of financial distress and a reasonable prospect of rescue; burden on applicant to lay objective factual foundation; related‑party rescue plans susceptible to suspicion where supporting entities are itself insolvent; sale after provisional winding‑up and section 341(2); provisional winding‑up made final where rescue prospect not shown.
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9 October 2025 |
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Authenticated foreign originals or certified translations satisfy s9(3); interpreter competence properly established; appeal dismissed.
Extradition — admissibility and authentication of foreign documents under s9(3) Extradition Act; interpretation of requirement for sworn translations; interplay with European Convention on Extradition; jurisdictional facts for committal under s10(1); magistrate’s duty to establish interpreter competence under s6(2) Magistrates' Courts Act and court rules.
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7 October 2025 |
| September 2025 |
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Failure to provide Rule 49(13) security justified striking the appeal; Registrar to fix adequate security; appellants ordered to pay costs.
Rule 49(13) – security for costs of appeal – peremptory obligation on appellant to enter into good and sufficient security before lodging record; where parties cannot agree on quantum Registrar to fix amount under 49(13)(b); filing a bond does not automatically cure non‑compliance if quantum is contested; failure to provide security is an irregular step and may justify striking appeal from roll; respondent may raise objection in heads or from the bar; condonation discretionary, not automatic; costs for wasted enrolment awarded against appellant.
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26 September 2025 |
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Applicant’s arrest and detention during a strike were lawful under section 40(1)(a) and (j); claim dismissed.
Criminal procedure – arrest without warrant – s 40(1)(a) and (j) CPA – jurisdictional facts: peace officer, offence in presence, wilful obstruction. Credibility and identification – assessment under Martell. Exercise of discretion – rationality standard (Zweni; Sekhoto). Detention – s 50 CPA timing and rights; unlawfulness not established where charged and brought to court at first court day. Pleadings – unpleaded allegations (cell conditions) not considered.
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23 September 2025 |
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Restoration of wrongly lost title is restitution, not an MFMA s14 disposal; leave to appeal refused.
Municipal Finance Management Act s14 – disposal/transfer of capital assets – scope limited to ordinary disposals requiring council decision, consideration of fair market value and supply chain compliance. Restitution/restoration of title by cancelling a sale and resuscitating a deed (Deeds Registries Act s6) is not a disposal under s14 of the MFMA. Leave to appeal (Superior Courts Act s17) – appellant must show reasonable prospects of success or compelling reasons (Ramakatsa test).
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23 September 2025 |
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A restitutionary settlement restoring an applicant's title is not a 'disposal' under MFMA s14; leave to appeal refused.
Municipal Finance Management Act s14 – disposal/transfer of capital assets – council must consider fair market value and comply with supply chain management when disposing of assets. Distinction between disposal of a capital asset and restitution/restoration of wrongly lost ownership (status quo ante) – section 14 not engaged by restitutionary settlements. Leave to appeal – Superior Courts Act s17(1)(a) – appeal must have reasonable prospects of success or some other compelling reason; application of Ramakatsa test.
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23 September 2025 |
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An interim interdict cannot halt essential municipal water-maintenance contracts where public-service continuity outweighs bidder prejudice.
Procurement/tender review; interim interdict requirements; pacta de contrahendo (standing offer) in public contracts; balance of convenience where essential municipal water and sanitation services are at risk; role of consultant advice and bid elimination for unrealistic pricing.
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23 September 2025 |
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16 September 2025 |
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16 September 2025 |
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Accident caused plaintiff’s left hip fractures; TB excluded; plaintiff entitled to s17(4)(a) undertaking and R750,000 general damages.
Road Accident Fund – causation – but‑for test – post‑traumatic acetabular and femoral‑head fractures shown on CT – tuberculosis excluded by radiology and orthopaedic reasoning; entitlement to section 17(4)(a) undertaking for future medical expenses; quantum of general damages assessed at R750,000.
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16 September 2025 |
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Blank RAF medical form with accompanying records and no 60‑day objection constitutes substantial compliance; claim not prescribed.
Road Accident Fund – prescription under regulation 2(1) – section 17(1)(b) claims where driver/owner unknown – requirement to lodge claim within two years. Section 24 – prescribed RAF claim form and medical report – substantial compliance with form requirements assessed objectively. Section 24(5) – deemed validity where Fund does not object within 60 days. Interpretation of social legislation in favour of third parties – reliance on Pithey and Busuku.
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10 September 2025 |
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Lessee entitled to evict occupants; sublease void ab initio and ESTA inapplicable where use is commercial farming.
Lease law – privity and sanctity of contract – lessee’s locus standi to evict; unauthorised subletting/cession void ab initio under lease clause; waiver/election not to rescind by lessor; ESTA inapplicable where occupation is for commercial farming; eviction under common law.
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4 September 2025 |
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Where police acted with malice and without reasonable cause, arrest and detention were held to be unlawful and damages awarded.
Delict – Unlawful arrest and detention – Malicious arrest – Reasonable suspicion – Malice – Quantum of damages – Incorrect assessment of evidence by magistrate – Police conduct and justification for arrest under section 40(1)(b) of the Criminal Procedure Act.
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2 September 2025 |
| August 2025 |
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Condonation granted; arrest and ensuing detention found unlawful; R120,000 damages and costs awarded against the State.
Criminal procedure – arrest without warrant – section 40(1)(a) and (b) CPA – requirement of reasonable grounds to suspect a Schedule 1 offence (dangerous wound) – objective assessment of facts; Civil damages for unlawful arrest and detention – police duty to bring arrestee to court/enable bail promptly (s35/s50 Constitution and CPA); Procedural law – condonation and reinstatement of appeal – factors: delay, explanation, prospects, importance; Judicial practice – need for reasoned judgments and credibility findings.
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28 August 2025 |
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The court granted urgent interim relief preserving an estate’s assets and rental income, restraining their dissipation before executor appointment.
Estate law – interim interdict – preservation of estate assets pending appointment of executor – trust and company property – urgency – prima facie right – irreparable harm – administration of deceased estates – trust property – account and transparency duties in estate administration.
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26 August 2025 |
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A High Court cannot grant a Rule 43 maintenance order pending a divorce in another division unless exceptional and urgent circumstances are proven.
Family law – Jurisdiction of High Courts – Rule 43 interim maintenance where main divorce action is pending in another division – Requirements for intervention under common law and Children’s Act – Nullity and rescission of court orders for lack of jurisdiction – Contempt of court – Variation of agreed school fees order – Costs in matrimonial proceedings.
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21 August 2025 |
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A payroll administrator acting as agent on behalf of clients is not liable as 'employer' for SDL or VAT on wages paid.
Tax law – Employer status for SDL and VAT – Payroll administration – Agency relationship – Parol evidence rule – Interpretation of employment contract – Tax avoidance – Burden of proof in tax appeals.
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21 August 2025 |
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Applicants lacked locus standi to sue; only the estate executor may litigate over estate property; application dismissed with costs.
Deceased estates – locus standi – executor is sole legal representative for estate litigation; non-joinder and lack of authority fatal to claim; Rule 6(9) Master’s report not required where executor’s locus standi disposes of matter; s 52 Administration of Estates Act – no delegation of executor’s powers.
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14 August 2025 |
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A widow married out of community of property was awarded 65% of her late spouse’s estate under an equitable redistribution order.
Matrimonial Property – Marriage out of community of property without accrual – Redistribution order after death – Constitutional Court development permitting claim by surviving spouse – Application of s 7(3), (4), and (5) of Divorce Act to estates – Contributions by spouses – Equitable redistribution – Finality of non-joinder objections – Costs de bonis propriis for unreasonable executor conduct.
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12 August 2025 |
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Acquittal on rape and trafficking charges where accused reasonably, though mistakenly, believed in complainant’s consent.
Criminal law – rape – consent – bona fide mistake of fact – evidentiary standard for single witness – trafficking in persons – relationship between sexual exploitation and predicate sexual offence – reasonable doubt – mens rea – acquittal where State fails to prove accused’s knowledge of non-consent.
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11 August 2025 |
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A legal practitioner's rewriting of a judgment without disclosure rendered her unfit to practise and resulted in her being struck from the roll.
Legal profession – Attorneys – Misconduct – Rewriting of judicial judgment by legal practitioner – Usurpation of judicial function – Professional ethics – Fit and proper person – Striking from roll – Persistent denial of wrongdoing – Dishonesty and absence of genuine remorse – Public protection and integrity of the profession.
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5 August 2025 |
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The court imposed life imprisonment for aggravated rape within a domestic relationship, finding no circumstances justifying a lesser sentence.
Criminal law – sentencing – rape with aggravating circumstances – minimum sentence legislation – substantial and compelling circumstances – gender-based violence – domestic relationship – interests of society – concurrent sentences.
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1 August 2025 |
| July 2025 |
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The court convicted the accused for kidnapping and multiple rapes, finding the complainant credible and the accused’s version improbable.
Criminal law – Kidnapping – Rape – Evidence of single witness – Credibility – Multiple acts of penetration – Grievous bodily harm – Burden and standard of proof – Contradictory versions – Forensic medical evidence – Application of SORMA.
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31 July 2025 |
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An applicant owner may obtain interim attachment of a vehicle pending action where clear right and risk of harm are shown.
Interim relief – vindicatory and quasi-vindicatory remedies – instalment sale agreement – proprietary rights – clear right – irreparable harm presumed – balance of convenience – National Credit Act non-applicability – delay in bringing application – attachment of movable property pending action.
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29 July 2025 |
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Application for rescission of default judgment under rule 42(1)(a) dismissed where service and statutory compliance were established and no bona fide defence shown.
Civil procedure – rescission of default judgment – Uniform Rule 42(1)(a) – service of process – domicilium citandi et executandi – section 129 notice under National Credit Act – requirements for valid service – bona fide defence – reckless lending allegations – statutory compliance by credit provider.
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29 July 2025 |
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An appeal challenging convictions for possession of Mandrax and assault by threat was dismissed due to sufficient corroborated evidence.
Criminal law – appeal – conviction – principles governing appellate review – evaluation of evidence – sufficiency of State’s case – corroboration of witness testimony – findings of fact – threshold for interference by appeal court – threats and possession crimes.
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29 July 2025 |
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A child accused's conviction for murder set aside where plea procedure, criminal capacity proof, and fair trial rights were fatally irregular.
Criminal law – Children – Child Justice Act – Child under 14 – Necessity of State proving criminal capacity – Gross irregularity where magistrate rejects plea to competent verdict accepted by State – Duty of presiding officer under section 63(3) Child Justice Act to explain rights and allegations to the child – Proceedings set aside for procedural and substantive defects.
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22 July 2025 |
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Vehicle confiscation justified by police; applicant failed to prove lawful ownership or right to possession.
Property law – Spoliation – Requirements not met for return of vehicle – Police action justified under Criminal Procedure Act.
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15 July 2025 |
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Rape of an 11-year-old child leads to dismissal of appeal against a life sentence due to insufficient mitigating circumstances.
Criminal law – Sentencing – Minimum sentences for rape of a minor – Evaluation of substantial and compelling circumstances on appeal.
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15 July 2025 |
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Appeal dismissed challenging liability and damages for police misconduct, maintaining interpretation of pleadings holistically.
Civil procedure – Pleadings – Liability for damages – Unlawful arrest, detention, and assault – Interpretation of pleadings as a whole.
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15 July 2025 |