Long wait in rare death penalty appeal case
After a cattle-rustling raid into Zambia by uniformed Angolan soldiers armed with assault rifles, a local man who was part of the group has been convicted and sentenced to death. It's an unusual case for several reasons. For one, it is rare for such raids to result in...
Local shooting club targets Namibian defence force
In a bizarre case, due to be heard in the Namibian courts next week, the country’s defence force is alleged to have taken over the premises of a private shooting club outside the town of Rehoboth just before Christmas. The club says the army changed the locks and...
Top Kenyan officials must pay Miguna damages personally – court
We start the new year with a sensational turn to the high-profile dispute between government and controversial political figure Miguna Miguna: the Nairobi court in Kenya has ordered that six top government and police officials must together personally pay his legal...
Judges lash magistrate for ‘mind-boggling’ behaviour
A provincial magistrate has come under fire from two judges of the high court in Zimbabwe for “conducting himself as a loose cannon” and for not telling the truth to an accused about what the judges had ordered in their review of the original trial court sentence. ...
On the case
The new commercial court in Gauteng, if it works as planned, could change the way corporate disputes are managed – to the benefit of all parties The next big litigation trend in 2019? – No doubt about it, the answer lies with the new commercial court in Gauteng. Its...
Why Zambian court found President Edgar Lungu eligible to serve another term
Zambia’s highest court has given the country’s president, Edgar Lungu, the go-ahead to serve a third term in office if he wishes. This judicial permission for the president to take a step regarded as contentious by many in Zambia, came by of a judgment that had at its...
SA’s Constitutional Court slates Zuma over SADC Tribunal’s demise
SA’s ex-president, Jacob Zuma, already in hot water with pending corruption charges and a court order that he must personally pay some of his massive legal costs, has again become the target of serious criticism from SA’s Constitutional Court. This time the country’s...
African Court awards compensation to Rwanda’s “Nelson Mandela”, Victoire Ingabire
When Victoire Ingabire was released from jail during September 2018, some of her many followers described her as the “Nelson Mandela” of Rwanda. She immediately called for other political prisoners to be freed in addition to those released with her. She said she was...
Ghana’s Supreme Court orders chief’s name reinstated
With Ghana’s constitution limiting the role of the courts in certain matters related to traditional leadership, judges are not always sure of when they may intervene to right wrongs. In the case of Nana Abor Yamoah II, and a dispute about his name being removed from...
Is admission of guilt payment a permanent criminal record?
YEARS after a roadside instant grass seller paid a R500 admission of guilt fine, he was refused a police clearance certificate because of his continuing criminal record. This lost Lloyd Madhinha his chance to become an Uber driver. But he then took action, asking the...