When women kill their babies – judges’ dilemma
WHEN a woman kills her baby for no serious reason, what’s an appropriate punishment? It’s a hard question for judges in Namibia where infanticide has become such a problem that a judge recently imposed 20 years as a deterrent. The case involved Sara Kamutushi, 28,...
Crime fiction vs reality: home truths in court
IT’S a standard of crime fiction – the deranged killer who tortures and kills street walkers and rent boys. Most readers would have the luxury of a detached consideration: was the story well-written; did we find it compelling? But for the last seven years, three...
Monty Python’s pet shop parrot in court
FEW people think of court decisions as inspiration for comedy. This would be a mistake. Especially if you are a lover of Norwegian Blue parrots, John Cleese and Michael Palin. I am thinking, on this occasion, of a new decision from the labour courts, in which a...
Investors ‘in droves’ if African courts free: Chief Justice
THOUGH beset by serious problems of his own, South Africa’s Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng has a lot of advice for judges in the rest of Africa. Speaking at Chatham House in London last month, the Chief Justice’s given topic was ‘The Rule of Law in South Africa:...
What’s the law to do when ‘she’ is ‘he’ in court papers – does it matter?
WHY does the law have such an obsession about gender? A stupid question perhaps, but one I found myself asking the other day as I read court papers in which – as usual – everyone identified themselves in their affidavits according to whether they were male or female....
Is this South Africa’s second worst family?
WHILE the sordid drama of the Mandelas grips the world, a second local clan has emerged to challenge them, nouveau pretenders to the title of the ultimate South African dysfunctional family, torn apart by money and power. Let me introduce the Knipes of the Northern...
When judges dissent …
WHEN judges dissent what does it mean for ordinary people? – Mostly very little. But there are occasions when a judgment spelling out why a judge disagrees with the majority can mean a great deal. Sometimes it’s hard for a non-lawyer to see the point in a dissent: it...
Smithfield’s Platteland Preview: the dream that came true
We were unmasked as country bumpkins even before the festival started. That moment of truth arrived when actor David Butler pitched a whole day before his first performance. We helped unpack the set from the top of his car, carefully carrying the four walls of the...
SA’s Constitutional Court deals blow to Zimbabwe government, saying Zim property in SA may be sold
THE government of Zimbabwe has been dealt a telling blow by South Africa’s highest court: in a unanimous decision delivered this morning, the South African Constitutional Court ruled that property owned by the Zimbabwean government in South Africa could be sold to...
Smithfield’s Platteland Preview festival breaks into radio!
Smithfield’s first arts festival, the Platteland Preview, runs from June 21 – 23, bringing choice fringe performers from Grahamstown’s National Arts Festival to the countryside. We’re still amazed that it’s all happening, but if you hear it on the radio it must be...