“Sincere belief” in witchcraft no bar to death penalty
Belief in witchcraft will no longer automatically keep the death penalty at bay in Zambian murder cases, according to a landmark new judgment of that country’s Supreme Court. Five judges of Zambia’s highest court, including the Chief Justice and the deputy Chief...
Lessons from Rwanda for SA
WHEN the government of Rwanda recently applied to the United Kingdom’s secretary of state for the extradition of five alleged genocidaires, it claimed a “sea change” had taken place in the way Rwanda’s courts operated. Concerns expressed by the UK courts in earlier...
When a judge goes rogue …
Ever since her appointment as Chief Justice of the Seychelles in 2015, Mathilda Twomey, the first woman to hold this position, has been a target of sexist behaviour and threats by a particular senior colleague on the Bench. But though this judge, Durai Karunakaran,...
This is home-grown graft – in any language
A SOUTH AFRICAN advocate and a firm of attorneys could be in serious trouble with their professional bodies after a high court judge said they had acted “unprofessionally or worse” and ordered that a copy of his judgment be given to the relevant bodies to consider...
Magistrate’s mistake means murderer, jailed for life, will walk free
Just read a decision delivered today from the full bench of the high court in Mthatha concerning Mzoxolo Dyantyi, an accused found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. But the regional magistrate sat alone and did not inform the accused that he was...
SA court battle puts international spotlight on Africa’s last colony
WORKERS’ Day, May 1, 2017 and unknown to virtually any South African enjoying the public holiday, something extraordinary was unfolding in Port Elizabeth. Something with far-reaching implications for international human rights and for international trade, a novel...
How a President ‘captured’ the judiciary
WHAT might a “captured” South African judiciary and judicial appointment system look like? While chilling stories from leaked emails suggest South Africa is no longer being run by its own president, that right having been bought by the wealthy Gupta family, many...
Hlophe in judicial hot water: “apprehension of bias”
Controversial Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe is back in the spotlight following his contested handling of a High Court matter involving allegations of a multi-million rand fraud. One side in the dispute claimed they had a ‘reasonable apprehension’ that the...
They saw … and they did nothing
NEXT time I read of a woman murdered by a relative, close friend or partner, I won’t Tweet my outrage or FB friends moaning about the “scourge” of femicide. Instead, I will think carefully about whether I might have looked away when intervening could have saved a...
Dealing with corrupt legal high fliers
IT’S New Year resolution season and if lawyers and judges are, like the rest of us, contemplating what improvements to make in 2017, I have a suggestion. Why doesn’t the South African legal community, from judges down, band together to ensure that over-reaching in...