Minimum mandatory sentences for certain crimes like stock theft are a fact of life. Sometimes they do work against common sense because in the real world there is nothing like a one-size-fits all approach to sentencing. By their very nature, mandatory sentences purposefully take away the inherent discretion of the law courts to assess such penalties as may be appropriate in any given situation. More
The accused was arraigned before this court on a charge of murder as defined in s 47 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, [Chapter 9:23] More
This murder case was set down on 25 September 2017 for trial. The case was at the instance of counsel postponed to today. The reason given for the postponement was that the counsel had discussed the evidence and wanted to be granted an opportunity to prepare and file a statement of agreed facts in order to curtail the duration of the trial. Counsel also wanted to plea bargain in the light of agreed facts. As the reason for the postponement had merit, the court convened and witnesses were advised of the developments. State counsel also requested the court to formally... More
The four accused pleaded not guilty to the murder of their own father.
The events leading to the charge of murder can be set out as follows.
There were trials and tribulations in the Chigayi family. That family in issue being the nuclear family headed by the now late Sam Chigayi. More
When I got seized with this matter for review, I conferred with my brother Judge and with his concurrence I instructed my then clerk to arrange for the immediate release of the accused. The following are the reasons which informed my decision. More
The accused persons were convicted of contravening s 368 (1) as read with s 368 (4) of the Mines and Minerals Act [Chapter 21:05]. They were sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment which was wholly suspended for 3 years on condition of good behavior. More
