Tiny, remote Namibian clan claims world renowned Etosha National Park as ancestral land
Perhaps they didn’t realise it, but when eight members of Namibia’s Hai||om people went to court for what they claimed was their traditional land, they raised a number of other burning socio-political issues as well. The Hai||om live in a remote northern area of...
Environmental law in action: Jifa training course
When prominent global warming scientists hail a legal decision as a ‘watershed’ for climate change action, you know that judgment must, at the very least, make for good reading. But the judges attending last week’s environmental law training offered by the Judicial...
Conservation victory as Kenyan judge rules against ministers
One of Kenya’s fabled national parks and the most remote of them all, is allegedly under threat by the actions of two cabinet ministers and the neglect of the country’s wildlife service. That is according to claims made in litigation before the environmental and land...
Self-confessed poachers acquitted after prosecution’s mistake
Two Tanzanian poachers, who admitted they shot two animals in a national park, have been acquitted and set free on a second appeal. The country’s chief justice and two other appeal court judges found the prosecution had made crucial mistakes in the trial of the two...
Keen interest in Jifa’s first environmental law training course
Judges from across the African continent have been attending the first specialist course offered by the Judicial Institute for Africa (Jifa) on environmental law. The week-long course has brought together specialists in the field and already the participating judges...
Lesotho magistrates resolve on new deal for awaiting trial prisoners
Magistrates across Lesotho want a change in the way awaiting trial prisoners are treated. They are particularly concerned about conditions they believe impact negatively on the rule of law, judicial integrity and general confidence in the legal system. Now they have...
‘Hear the voices speaking on behalf of the dead’ – court
At the centre of most murder trials are two people: the attacker and the deceased. During evidence in mitigation of sentence, the court and the public hear something about the person on trial. But when, if ever, is the voice of the deceased person heard? Who speaks...
Kenya’s info woes: court finds minister in ‘constitutional breach’
Ensuring the independence of key communications bodies from political interference is a widespread concern, as a recent Kenyan ruling shows Read judgment IF you thought that the ongoing difficulties in appointing and keeping effective, independent boards for...
Daughters: ‘children of a lesser god’?
This case is the third in our Women’s Month series on how courts deal with matters involving women. The case includes 13 invisible daughters and a fraudulent attempt by the estate administrator to cut out all the other sons and direct family from inheriting. So when...
Out of gas
Nigeria is $9bn in hock to a gas-processing company after it was found to have reneged on the terms of a 20-year agreement. Read judgment Is Nigeria the villain or the victim in what has become a $9bn dispute between that state and a company specially formed for a gas...