Fight over defence fees in controversial Lesotho trial
The Zimbabwean judge due to preside in Lesotho over a series of high-profile murder and attempted murder cases, has begun to stamp his authority on the matter. This week, Judge Charles Hungwe showed his patience was running out with the constant delays preventing the...
Seychelles appoints leading Ugandan judge to its apex court
The Court of Appeal in Seychelles, that country’s highest judicial forum, has been joined by one of the continent’s leading judges who is also a prominent academic writer on the issues of gender-based violence. Judge Lillian Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza of Uganda’s apex...
‘Neglect, dereliction of duty’ by prosecution – and father convicted of child rape goes free
Three judges of Zambia’s supreme court have set free a father who was convicted of raping his young daughter and sentenced to 35 years with hard labour. How did it happen that what appeared a secure conviction was set aside? How will the three judges feel about their...
Concern over impact of Botswana’s appeal decision on ‘refugees’
When Botswana’s Court of Appeal delivered its recent decision on 709 people from Caprivi, living in the Dukwi refugee camp, deep in Botswana and close to the border with Zimbabwe, the judgment came as a serious blow to the hopes of the refugees. It has also raised...
Help yourself please
What is an employer to do if a medical condition precludes a staffer from fulfilling her responsibilities? If a staff member has a medical problem and can’t carry out her duties as before, what are the obligations of her employer? Is the employer obliged to ensure she...
What sentence when brother kills brother?
Republic v Alfred Kipkemoi Yator [2019] eKLR Muriithi, J Kenya's Judge Edward Muriithi presided in a trial where one brother was charged with killing another brother by shooting him with a bow and arrow during a fight. He pleaded guilty and was convicted of...
The law that refused to die
S v Mafudza (CR 63/2019) [2019] NAHCMD 323 (05 September 2019) Judge President Damaseb and Acting Judge Sibeya The two judges were considering a magistrate’s conviction and sentence and were astonished to find that the accused had been charged and fined for a...
Husband’s right to ‘rule over his wife’ – it’s gone!
Women’s month may be over for 2019, but there is one new judgment that cannot be left out of consideration. It comes from Eswatini where a full bench of the high court - Principal Judge Qinqisele Mabuza with Judges Titus Mlangeni and N J Hlophe – has handed down a...
Appeal blocks far-reaching environmental ruling
Intrigues, illegalities and pollution involved in a sugar milling operation whose poisonous effluent eventually flows in Lake Victoria have been highlighted by Kenya’s environment and land court. In a far-reaching judgment, the court gave the company 120 days to sort...
Tiny, remote Namibian clan claims world renowned Etosha National Park as ancestral land
Perhaps they didn’t realise it, but when eight members of Namibia’s Hai||om people went to court for what they claimed was their traditional land, they raised a number of other burning socio-political issues as well. The Hai||om live in a remote northern area of...