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...
Zimbabwe after Mugabe
The bloodless transition to a post-Mugabe era brought hope that the country could emerge as a democracy governed by the rule of law. The elections at the end of July 2018 suggest otherwise. Since the elections on 30 July, when Zimbabwe’s ruling party, Zimbabwe African...
Bitter blow to bosses
WHEN Zimbabwe’s supreme court interpreted the law to mean that companies could dismiss workers with just three months’ notice, without offering any packages or even following any specific retrenchment procedures, the decision lit a fuse. Job security throughout the...
Blatant workplace sexual harassment – but no policy to deal with it
A WOMAN security guard working in a Nairobi shopping mall has been awarded damages after the bosses told her colleagues that she had been caught on tape, “having sex at work, with a stranger”, though they later retracted, saying they made a mistake, she still lost her...
Judge removed for corruption loses reinstatement appeal
ONE of the most painful periods in Kenya’s judicial history has been re-opened, with an appeal by former judge Tom Mbaluto against his 2008 dismissal from the bench for corruption. The former judge was dismissed after a tribunal sat to hear allegations against him and...