Principle Archive

A tainted witness is a person who is either an accomplice or who on the evidence may be regarded as having some purpose of his/her own…

Although leave is necessary at the trial court to sue in a representative capacity, an appellate court will not upset the judgment merely because such leave…

Any member of a family whose interest is threatened by wrongful alienation or interference with family property can sue to protect his interest, whether with or…

The appellate jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal is to hear and determine appeals from the High Courts. If a finding or decision of a trial…

For causing death by dangerous driving, the prosecution must establish: (a) the accused's manner of driving was reckless or dangerous; (b) the dangerous driving was the…

A party will only be permitted to call evidence to support his pleadings. Evidence adduced that is contrary to his pleadings must be expunged when considering…

In interpreting a document or judgment, the document or judgment must be read as a whole and interpreted in that light, with effort made to achieve…

The Supreme Court will not interfere with concurrent findings of fact made by the trial court and the Court of Appeal unless such findings are perverse,…

In criminal cases, the burden of proof remains always with the prosecution and never shifts except in certain exceptional cases like insanity.

There are five ways of establishing ownership of land: (a) traditional evidence; (b) acts of ownership extending over sufficient length of time; (c) long possession and…

A confession made by an accused person is irrelevant in a criminal proceeding if its making appears to the court to have been caused by any…

Where a witness's evidence is materially contradictory to his earlier police statement, the witness should be regarded as unreliable and his evidence ignored. Such evidence can…