Controversial land inquiry warned on infringing judicial independence
Tension between Uganda’s judiciary and a commission of inquiry headed by one of the judiciary’s own members has heightened following a new Court of Appeal decision. The appeal judgment refused to stay a huge, court-ordered payout to a local pastor and land broker, as...
Princess not considered for traditional throne because of her gender
For all its constitutional commitment to the equality of women, South Africa still experiences difficulties when it comes to matters of traditional leadership. That’s because these are often resolved at the local level in a way that assumes women are ineligible for...
Death sentence of seven years for the same offence? – Kenya’s conflicted penal code
When a death row prisoner has his date with the executioner commuted and starts a lifelong relationship with the inside of a prison instead, he will usually continue to explore every avenue to escape a prolonged life behind bars. Those explorations seldom amount to...
Lesson in democracy for Namibia’s intelligence services
Namibia's top court has delivered a decision giving notice to the country's intelligence services that they, too, fall under the aegis of a constitutional democracy. The case concerned material collected by an investigative journalist that appeared to show the Namibia...
Zambian farmers head to UK courts to fight with international company over polluted water
Thousands of Zambian farmers, wanting to claim against a multinational giant for allegedly polluting their water with copper mining effluent, will have their day in court – in the United Kingdom. The UK’s Supreme Court this week ruled that the farmers could sue...
Malawi’s national broadcaster refused permission for “live” coverage of major trial: here’s why
Malawi's high court judge Zione Jane Veronica Ntaba is no stranger to controversy. Among her decisions she found her country's Chief Justice, Andrew Nyirenda and the whole of the Malawi Judicial Service Commission had acted irregularly, illegally and...
‘Demeaning’ to portray counsellor as HIV-positive sex worker? – court rules
A specialised network of organisations responding to the issues of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis in Kenya has come in for some unwelcome publicity. This after it used a photograph of one of its own staff on its website, with a caption that identified her as "an HIV...
Two judges, two very different sentences on two women who killed abusive husbands
As women's month comes to a close, take a look at these two decisions illustrating how very differently courts deal with matters of domestic violence. In both cases a woman killed her husband; in both cases the husband had a history of domestic violence towards the...
“You forged your salary increase letter” – now court awards damages for this allegation
The case of Evans Mukolwe will not give much encouragement to anyone considering a job with Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). For a start, would you want to beg for your promised salary? And, like Mukolwe, I certainly would not appreciate being accused of forging the...
UK court hands “Africa’s last colony” an unexpected win
While two rival meetings were being held in Africa this week on the disputed future of Western Sahara, the territory – often referred to as Africa’s last colony – won an unexpected victory in court. Read judgment At opposite ends of Africa, the disputed future of...