Shock “advice” by international court on another forgotten African colony
For tourists and South African investors, Mauritius is often seen as a quiet paradise, politically stable and a model of both democracy and humane economic development. Now, thanks to a new advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, Mauritius –...
A bitter pill
Patients who lost money by investing in their doctor’s financial scheme will not get justice from the health professions council; at this stage at least, the case is beyond its jurisdiction Suppose a doctor were to give financial advice to patients, suggesting that...
Appeal court throws out one-sided racism case
Allegations of apartheid-style discrimination made by a group of doctors against an internationally-linked medical research institute have been questioned by Kenya’s court of appeal. The court overturned an earlier decision by the high court that found the Kenya...
Trial courts told to stop “cavalier” use of legal terms
Who would have thought that judges needed to be warned to watch their language! Supreme Court, Zambia Banda v Attorney General Some months before their contracts came to an end, the contracts of the two appellants were terminated. The trial court found these...
Challenging culture of impunity in Kenya
Three former university professors have brought a claim in Kenya’s high court asking for restitution for human rights infringements. They seem to me part of a trend to end the culture of impunity in Kenya. The three had been detained and tortured under a previous...
“We don’t need to sit in judgment over pots, chickens and turkeys” – judge
Maware v Chiware The couple in this case were separating after 31 years in an unregistered customary law union, and could not agree how to divide their assets. At a pre-trial conference, Judge Garainesu Mawadze of the high court in Harare, Zimbabwe, helped the...
Don’t use “constitution” as a “mantra”, warns Malawi’s Supreme Court
Malawi’s former agriculture minister, George Chaponda, was a key figure in that country’s “Maizegate” scandal around the importation of maize from Zambia to replenish stocks that had allegedly fallen low. Public criticism of apparent corruption led to a presidential...
What is the “canteen factor”? – Uganda’s Commercial Court explains
When a hacker found and used the password of bank employee Shakil Pathan Ismail he was short-paid for a year while police investigated. Then the bank went under and the financial institution that took over its assets and liabilities ended the staffer’s employment...
India wins contest for longest judicial sentence!
I know when I am beaten! A few days ago I posted what at least one person took as a real challenge: here was a lengthy sentence from a recent decision of the Supreme Court in Ghana, I said; could anyone best 144 words for a single sentence? Turns out that someone...
Longest judicial sentence of the year so far …
Mensah v Komfo This week’s award for the longest sentence in any judgment I have read so far in 2019, goes to the Supreme Court of Ghana, in the civil case of Mensah vs Komfo. The sentence which, read carefully, makes perfect sense, consists of no fewer than 144...