Foreigner’s health issues fail to halt deportation
How bad must a country's medical facilities be before the UK courts bar the return of an illegal foreigner? It is a question UK judges are increasingly having to grapple with, most recently in the case of 'PF', a Nigerian with a lengthy criminal record for which the...
Protect judicial officers – Judge President Hlophe
Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe has urged that judicial officers should be given greater security as their lives are often at risk. Speaking last night at the opening function of the African bloc of the International Association of Judges (IAJ) meeting taking...
High-ranking accused fail in bid to remove foreign judges
When Judge Charles Hungwe from Zimbabwe arrived in Lesotho earlier this year to start work on a series of controversial trials, he was given a warm reception in the local media. But matters have changed since then with the accused in some of the cases over which he...
Malawi police will be investigated for suspect’s torture death
The Malawi Human Rights Commission has released a report finding police responsible for the death, by torture, of a man unlawfully arrested on suspicion of being involved in the abduction and killing of a child with albinism. This is just the latest development in the...
Death sentence for ‘devilish’, ‘primitive’ murder of man with albinism
The last court-imposed execution was carried out in Malawi during 1992. Some 15 people were on death row at the end of 2017, and though the number has increased since then there have been no further hangings. However, the question of whether the death penalty will...
Bank ‘secrecy’ ruling a blow for transparency, media freedom
The High Court of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) has upheld and defended the secrecy surrounding that country's central bank. The court had been asked by the governor of the central bank for an interdict preventing a local newspaper from reporting on a leaked...
Afro-soul food has its day in court
In this case, from the High Court, Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, Golden Fried Chicken wanted to restrain Oh My Soul Café from using certain of its trademarks. What complicated matters is that while Golden Fried Chicken trades in cooked meat, Oh My Soul deals in vegan...
Why judges like to wear wigs and gowns
This unusual explanation for why judges in some countries want to hold on to the colonial practice of wearing wigs and gowns in court came from a judge in Malawi as part of a recent decision. Judge Zione Ntaba of the high court, Malawi, was delivering judgment in the...
Welcome judicial sensitivity in domestic dispute ruling
Three High Court judges, sitting in Johannesburg, South Africa, as an Appeal Bench, have found an agreement between a now-estranged couple is invalid because the woman signed due to the 'undue influence' of her then partner. The agreement would have given the man half...
“Iron fist” for fight against poaching, smuggling – court
Despite the scourge of wildlife poaching across Africa, the courts seldom see either poachers or smugglers in the dock. A recent trial followed by an appeal, however, has given members of the judiciary in Namibia a chance to express their concern about these crimes...