Kenya’s Covid19 restrictions invalid because they criminalise poverty – law society
Kenya’s law society has launched a court application challenging the validity of the country’s Covid-19 restrictions because they have not been approved by parliament. The law society also claims they are invalid because they discriminate against the poor, in that...
Malawian law students lose their challenge to Covid19 university closure
A group of four students studying law in Malawi have lost their high court case challenging the validity of the President's Covid-19-related directives. They also lost their challenge to the closure of their university in terms of those directives. But it was not all...
As ‘moral Covid19’ infects Namibia, even legal profession touched by ‘Fishrot’ bribery scandal
The ‘Fishrot’ corruption scandal engulfing Namibia seems set to choke the country’s legal profession as well: while the Law Society of Namibia tries to access the records of one of its prominent members, suspected of being involved in the scandal and to have used his...
‘Deplorable conduct’ from chambers of Malawi’s AG – judge
In Their Own Words: Read judgment in Mponda v President Judge Zione Ntaba, High Court, Malawi This case dealt with an application by four law students who challenged the validity of Malawi’s Covid-19-related restrictions and asked that these restrictions, and the...
Costs order a lesson about ‘frivolous’ Covid-19 claims – labour court
The first case testing whether sufficient protection was available for medical staff working on the front line against the coronavirus in South Africa, has resulted in an ignominious conclusion for the union that brought the legal action. Read judgment The National...
Controversial Lesotho PM prorogues parliament, gets taken to court
Lesotho’s Prime Minister, Tom Thabane, has signed papers suspending parliament for three months. He cited the coronavirus pandemic to explain his decision. Ironically, a full-on legal application contesting the validity of his COVID-19-based decision was heard in a...
Government sets up a massive national system using mobile phones to track and trace COVID-19 suspects
The South African government has introduced new, wide-reaching regulations that will allow it to track the whereabouts of anyone on a national database that is being developed, and that will list people who have come into contact with individuals confirmed to be...
New government regulations allow mourners to cross provincial borders for funerals – but only under strict conditions
Strict Government COVID-19 regulations have been slightly relaxed to allow bereaved family members to cross provincial boundaries if this is necessary to attend a funeral. The new regulations, contained in today’s official Government Gazette, are clearly a response to...
Human rights fightback as security forces take abusive action under cover of COVID-19 regulations
As the security forces of some African countries take abusive action against people under cover of COVID-19 lockdown regulations, human rights groups have begun to fight back. Prompted by complaints of serious constitutional rights' violations – beatings, torture and...
No protection in Zim for pangolin, alleged trigger of world’s coronavirus pandemic
Scientists increasingly believe that pangolin meat might have been part of the trigger for the deadly coronavirus. In this case the pangolin would have been bought in a typical Chinese market where illegally obtained wildlife has been an everyday element. But though...