Major new decision by Eswatini’s highest court affirms human rights, democratic principles
In an extraordinary judgment, the highest court in Eswatini has come out strongly supporting human rights and against the kingdom’s police chief. The stance taken by the supreme court in this decision is almost unheard of in that country, particularly in the way that...
Triple headache for Uganda’s legal, human rights sectors
Legal and human rights circles in Uganda have been roiled by no fewer than three troubling developments in the last week. Over the weekend, the secretary of the Uganda Law Society purported to expel both the organisation’s newly-elected president, Isaac Ssemakadde,...
Uganda’s constitutional court petitioned over AG’s ‘judicial interference’
Uganda’s legal system is embroiled in yet another controversy over alleged political interference in judicial independence. This time, an official of the Attorney-General’s office wrote to the principal judge (roughly equivalent to a divisional judge president in...
Five SA counsel run up against Namibia’s immigration laws
No fewer than five South African advocates have found themselves on the wrong side of the immigration laws in Namibia over the last weeks. The first to experience the rough edge of Namibia’s immigration law or its regulations was Cape Town’s Theodorus Adam Barnard, on...
Major tax fraud case creates legal history in Uganda
A recently-delivered judgment from the high court in Uganda has made judicial history: the judge held that, under some circumstances, a company ‘dissolved’ as part of insolvency proceedings could be brought back to life, as it were, and the official dissolution set...
Court decision adds to woes of embattled Kenyan president
Already under severe criticism for his stance on new taxes and the brutal suppression by police of protests against the scheme, Kenya’s president William Ruto must now come to terms with yet another setback, this time from the courts. He had appointed a commission of...
Has something changed in Harare’s thinking about land grabs?
For some time, Zimbabwe’s courts have been regarded with great concern by human rights organisations because of their apparent lack of independence from government, and their tendency to deliver decisions that suit the needs of the ruling party. In fact, they are...
Anti-corruption ruling by Eswatini CJ wrongly interpreted for eight years – high court
Eswatini’s anti-corruption commission (ACC) has been in a state of virtual paralysis since 2016, following a decision by the chief justice, Bheki Maphalala. The commission interpreted the CJ’s comments that the wide-ranging powers given to the commission in terms of...
How Namibia’s apex court dealt with public opinion in its gay sex judgment
A major new judgment from a full bench of the high court in Namibia has set aside that country’s common law crimes of sodomy and unnatural sexual offences. The court found them both unconstitutional and invalid, and said they made unjustified inroads on the human...
Iconic Ugandan tree giants safe after legal victory
An important new victory from the high court in Uganda stresses the crucial role that courts can play in ensuring environmental rights. It also follows the trend in that country of courts writing decisions that respect environmental protections. Just as significant,...