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Supreme court rules on Nigerian attorney’s struggles to practice in Namibia
Supreme court rules on Nigerian attorney’s struggles to practice in Namibia

Imafon Fiona Akpabio is a Nigerian lawyer. Living legally in Namibia, she wants to practice there – but she’s been having problems getting her qualifications recognised. Eventually her conflict on the issue with the relevant authorities – the minister of justice and the board for legal education – landed up in Namibia’s apex court, and three judges of that court have now given their decision.

Refugees could lose host country’s protection if they visit ‘home’
Refugees could lose host country’s protection if they visit ‘home’

The issue of refugees going ‘home’ for a visit and their asylum status then being revoked in the host country isn’t a common problem for African courts. At least not yet, judging by the absence of reported cases dealing with that question. But it’s very much a problem in some other jurisdictions as Turkish refugee to Canada, Ismail Kaya, for example, has discovered.

Protection of asylum seekers and of children facing lifelong statelessness highlighted in two significant South African decisions – case note extracts
Protection of asylum seekers and of children facing lifelong statelessness highlighted in two significant South African decisions – case note extracts

Asylum seekers face huge obstacles trying to reach a country that can offer them refuge. One of their greatest challenges is the risk of detention on arrival because their entry to the country is unauthorised. Now a landmark judgment reinforces protection of asylum seekers and respect for their right to seek and enjoy asylum even if they are in the country unlawfully, while the state’s responsibility in cases of statelessness, another major problem for refugees, is considered in a second decision.

‘Once a refugee, always a refugee’: Uganda’s high court disagrees with passport control officer’s views
‘Once a refugee, always a refugee’: Uganda’s high court disagrees with passport control officer’s views

Uganda is Africa’s most generous refugee host and more than 1.5 million refugees and asylum seekers have been registered there. But despite this open-arms approach, there seem to be problems with local officials discriminating against refugees, as the case of Abucar v Attorney General illustrates. It was a matter brought by a group of plaintiffs who say they have met the requirements for citizenship, but that a senor passport official had issued a circular that effectively cancelled their right to citizenship status, thus making them permanent refugees.

Judges need a working knowledge of social media to handle certain refugee cases
Judges need a working knowledge of social media to handle certain refugee cases

When would-be refugees formally apply for asylum, it is standard in some countries for the authorities to examine the applicant’s social media record. There are possible benefits – and possible dangers – in doing so, and a new working paper from the International Association of Refugee and Migration Judges highlights some of these.

Dreadlocks may no longer prevent children from admission to Malawi’s schools – high court
Dreadlocks may no longer prevent children from admission to Malawi’s schools – high court

It has taken years to achieve, but the children of Malawi’s Rastafarian community may no longer be barred from going to state schools because of their dreadlocks. The new decision to this effect, written by high court judge Zione Ntaba, follows years of discrimination against children who have had to choose between obtaining education, or acting in a way that is contrary to their faith by cutting their hair. The judge found that a number of the children’s constitutional rights were infringed by a government policy – whether written or not – that learners would not be allowed to attend classes wearing dreadlocks.

Diplomatic immunity invoked in spat over collapsed Kampala wall
Diplomatic immunity invoked in spat over collapsed Kampala wall

From time to time, diplomats and other representatives of foreign governments become involved in legal disputes, both criminal and civil, in their host countries. At stake in all such cases is the important question of diplomatic or sovereign immunity, a principle that generally shields foreign diplomats and governments from legal action in their host country. The latest reported African judgment in which this issue has been raised comes from Uganda where the high court had been poised to hear a dispute over a collapsed neighbour’s wall, allegedly the result of repairs carried out by the British High Commission in Kampala to its own property. Now, however, thanks to a high court decision made last week, the question has become whether the action will be heard at all, rather than whose version of events is correct and whether the British High Commission must pay damages to its neighbour.

Namibia’s top court on recognising foreign same-sex marriage: what did it actually say?
Namibia’s top court on recognising foreign same-sex marriage: what did it actually say?

In a decision with wide-reaching implications for the country’s gay and lesbian community, Namibia’s apex supreme court has held that same-sex marriages, properly concluded in countries where such unions are permitted, must be regarded as valid in Namibia. The new decision, made despite the fact that same-sex marriage is not allowed in this Southern African nation, brings to an end long-running litigation involving two couples whose relationship had been refused recognition.

Seychelles and human trafficking: sinister new trend emerges from appeal
Seychelles and human trafficking: sinister new trend emerges from appeal

Seychelles is regarded as a state that is doing relatively well on the question of combatting human trafficking. It’s on the US state department’s global assessment register as at Tier 2: not fully meeting the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, but making significant efforts to do so. These efforts include establishing the country’s first anti-trafficking hotline and establishing a trafficking-specific shelter. Two recent appeal judgments, however, give a sense of the difficulty of the work that lies ahead. Both involved a worrying new development in human trafficking: the use of local men as ‘drug guarantees’. These are people trafficked to stand as hostages to ensure that money owed to drug suppliers will be paid.

Court orders more learning space for law students
Court orders more learning space for law students

Desperate law students at the University of Zambia have taken the council of the university to court: the students were distressed about the shortage of lecture halls and study space on campus due to an unprecedented number of students signed up after the government changed its policy on admissions. The court heard of students facing ‘near stampede circumstances’ in trying to attend lectures, with jostling for seats and many standing outside the lecture rooms.

‘No judgment attains perfection’: Tanzania's top court, considering major wildlife crime
‘No judgment attains perfection’: Tanzania's top court, considering major wildlife crime

Two men, found guilty of being in possession of almost two tons of elephant tusks, have just lost a third challenge in their case. The matter was brought before Tanzania’s court of appeal for a second time, with counsel urging the court, on review, to change its earlier decision on sentence. But the judges weren’t persuaded. They called the review a disguised appeal against sentence. The accused claimed the original appeal decision showed a ‘manifest error’ resulting in a miscarriage of justice. Not so, said the judges. No judgment could be perfect, but the grounds the accused raised were fundamental and would require reconsidering the entire decision, something not permitted in a review.

Lesotho's CJ bemoans police impunity & its effect on rule of law
Lesotho's CJ bemoans police impunity & its effect on rule of law

The frustration of Lesotho’s Chief Justice Sakoane Sakoane at continuing police brutality against ordinary citizens of that country is plainly evident in a new decision. Just as disturbing for him is the fact that police mostly commit these acts with impunity – seldom are they investigated and prosecuted – and the attorney general often fights against complainants if they ever bring a claim for damages, even in the face of completed medical reports that put the matter beyond doubt. The CJ found the case of Kabelo Khabanyane against the police particularly egregious since Khabanyane is an elderly man who has a visual impairment. Thus, he was highly vulnerable to police assault. In addition, their assaults against him came at dawn, after police found him sleeping.

Unconstitutional for Uganda’s tax authority to demand banks supply sensitive information on every single client
Unconstitutional for Uganda’s tax authority to demand banks supply sensitive information on every single client

In March 2018, the Commissioner General of the Ugandan Revenue Authority (URA) sent notices to Uganda’s banks requiring them to supply key information about every single client. The banks in turn challenged whether this move was lawful, and the country’s constitutional court has now declared that it was not.

New Kenyan judgment shows difficulties for courts when adjudicating environmental matters
New Kenyan judgment shows difficulties for courts when adjudicating environmental matters

A cohort of judges has been carefully trained by Jifa to deal with environmental and climate change cases. But what if those who bring petitions to court, even those who may have a genuine case, don’t present evidence that measures up? The latest decision from Kenya’s environment and land court illustrates the problem.

Magistrate wins defamation case against accused
Magistrate wins defamation case against accused

A Namibian magistrate has been awarded damages of N$20 000 after an accused, appearing in court before her, handed up a document in which he defamed her. Among other claims, the document, hand-written by the accused, said she was paid by the family of the complainant in the criminal case before her. The magistrate then brought a defamation action in the high court. Now she has won her case and the judge who heard the matter ordered that if the man who defamed her didn’t make her a written apology, the damages award would jump to N$30 000.

Overhaul essential elements of Malawi’s adoption laws, high court urges
Overhaul essential elements of Malawi’s adoption laws, high court urges

The Malawian judge who some years ago authorised singer Madonna’s adoption of two girls has now delivered a thorough-going critique of the legislation surrounding adoptions in that country, with strong recommendations for parliament about changes that should be made urgently, to protect the many vulnerable babies who need new homes and families through the adoption process.

Funeral business loses bid to enforce contract, claim damages, from Zim mining group
Funeral business loses bid to enforce contract, claim damages, from Zim mining group

Doves Funeral Assurance hoped to persuade the high court in Harare that it had a valid agreement with Zimplats to provide an employee funeral scheme, and that after Zimplats cancelled, it should pay the funeral company more than US $4m in damages for lost profit. But Judge Amy Tsanga wasn’t convinced.

Former payment officer sued after Namibian national student funds go missing
Former payment officer sued after Namibian national student funds go missing

When money in a Namibian national student assistant fund went missing, siphoned off into the bank accounts of someone who was not registered as a beneficiary of the fund, alarm bells rang. An internal investigation pointed to a payments officer being responsible for the fraud, but he resigned before a disciplinary hearing could be finalised. The fund then sued the former employee and this case has begun in the high court, Namibia. However, when the fund closed its case after two witnesses had given evidence, the former employee applied for absolution from the instance – but the judge, Boas Usiku, wasn’t persuaded.

Death penalty confirmed by Zambia’s court of appeal days before capital punishment scrapped. What happens now?
Death penalty confirmed by Zambia’s court of appeal days before capital punishment scrapped. What happens now?

Zambia’s court of appeal has dealt with a sensational murder and arson case in a recent decision that highlights two problems. First, the court’s judgment of 16 December 2022 upheld the death penalty imposed on a woman accused of murdering her gym instructor boyfriend by setting him alight. Just days after the appeal court’s decision, however, Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema finally abolished the death penalty, leading the justice minister to comment that from now on, no court could impose the death penalty. The new appeal judgment thus highlights the problem of death row convicts whose sentences must be reconsidered now that the death penalty has been scrapped. The second issue relates to when a mandatory life sentence may be imposed for arson. In this case, the appeal court used the opportunity to explain to other courts the circumstances under which such a sentence may be imposed. The appeal court said this was the first time an appellate court had interpreted this section, and it had thus deliberately analysed the provisions to provide guidance to trial courts for the future. Apart from these technical issues, the judgment also laid to rest the claim of the woman convicted of murder in the case – namely, that her boyfriend had set himself alight, angry over her refusal to end a pregnancy that medical tests subsequently showed did not exist.

Huge corruption challenge for sub-Saharan Africa - latest Transparency International index
Huge corruption challenge for sub-Saharan Africa - latest Transparency International index

The 2022 report from Transparency International, ranking the world’s states according to their perceived levels of corruption, has a few surprises. This latest index from TI lists Denmark as the least corrupt country in the world – but several states in Western Europe have scored markedly worse than before. In Sub-Saharan Africa, Seychelles once again tops the score-sheet for the region, while Somalia scores the lowest not just in the region, but in the world. Apart from its index, the report also discusses the role that factors such as conflict play in a country’s level of corruption.

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