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Fairness at divorce
Fairness at divorce

Two new judgments from the courts in Kenya and Zimbabwe underline changing judicial views about the role of women in building up a family home and the contribution that women, as wives and mothers, may be said, on divorce, to have made. One stresses with new urgency that women who work in the home should stand up for their rights and, at divorce, be prepared to give evidence in court about the significance of their contribution to the home. The other notes that despite progressive decisions by the courts, at divorce most men still undervalue the contribution of women and are unwilling to agree to an equal share in the matrimonial property.

Charged and found guilty of ‘being pregnant’, school learners now awarded damages in compensation
Charged and found guilty of ‘being pregnant’, school learners now awarded damages in compensation

A group of pregnant school learners, the boyfriends by whom they were pregnant, and the parents of some of them, have been awarded damages for their ‘arrest’ and conviction under community by-laws. Sentenced to pay fines, they were kept in police cells until the fines were paid in full. Now, however, the fines must be repaid, along with damages. The exact amount of damages due was finalised last week by the assistant high court registrar who also warned that community by-laws did not amount to formal law. They could thus not be enforced through the formal legal system which did not, in any event, recognise pregnancy as an ‘offence’.

Long struggle for justice after failed Kenya coup
Long struggle for justice after failed Kenya coup

Reverberations from Kenya’s 1982 coup attempt were felt once again last week, this time in a high court case brought by former members of the armed forces, tortured in the wake of the failed coup. The plotters had tried to get rid of the then president, Daniel Moi. After being held for more than a year, one of the former members of the armed forces involved in the litigation was subsequently let go without any charges. The others pleaded guilty to coup-related offences and served time, but now claim that they were forced into the guilty pleas by threats of continued torture. The high court declared all ten officers had been victims of unconstitutional treatment and they were awarded damages plus legal costs and interest.

The Forum at Mosi-oa-Tunya: Judiciaries and the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Africa
The Forum at Mosi-oa-Tunya: Judiciaries and the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Africa

Just like the inevitable thunder of the "smoke" of the Zambezi at Victoria Falls, where this year's Southern African Chief Justices Forum conference took place, so is the flood of the Fourth Industrial Revolution engulfing the African justice sector. The theme of the conference was The Judiciary and Technology in Africa. In my presentation to the Forum, I proposed that African judiciaries have an opportunity to engage with the technologies shaping the Fourth Industrial Revolution now. This engagement should focus on formulating policies and practices that support equitable development of new technologies in the justice sector and in a way that ensures respect for human rights, transparency, efficiency and enhanced access to justice. In addition, judiciaries should invest in programmes to train judges and equip the judicial administration with the necessary interdisciplinary skills and knowledge to fully engage with this new reality.

Doing well, but could do better: the judiciary and technology in Africa
Doing well, but could do better: the judiciary and technology in Africa

The theme of the 2021 Southern African Chief Justices’ Forum conference was ‘The judiciary and technology in Africa’. As readers might expect, there was considerable focus on the switch, in many jurisdictions, to virtual court hearings because of Covid-19. But that’s not all that was on the agenda.

Court finds Kenya’s new tax law unconstitutional; calls government’s ‘vaccine’ for ‘virus’ of non- tax payments, ‘inappropriate’
Court finds Kenya’s new tax law unconstitutional; calls government’s ‘vaccine’ for ‘virus’ of non- tax payments, ‘inappropriate’

Kenya’s high court has declared a controversial new tax law unconstitutional. The proposed new law would have seen taxpayers paying tax on gross turnover when they declared a loss or not enough profit to be billed for income tax. The government wanted the new law providing for a minimum tax to help state finances after Covid-19’s incursions on the fiscus. The decision is to go on appeal, but in the meantime the new tax cannot be levied.

Election case thrown out over advocate's expired practice certificate
Election case thrown out over advocate's expired practice certificate

When is an advocate not an advocate? The question has been raised in an application heard by the high court, Uganda, in a dispute related to elections held in that country earlier this year. The advocate concerned had commissioned an affidavit that formed the basis of the litigation, but the other side questioned whether the advocate was entitled to do so. It all came down to whether the advocate had renewed her annual practice certificate in time. If not, would the affidavit – and thus the petition – be valid?

Not all a bed of roses in Kenya’s flower export industry
Not all a bed of roses in Kenya’s flower export industry

A newcomer to Kenya’s trade union scene has been trying to have a more established trade union elbowed out of the way by the high court. The Kenya Export, Floriculture, Horticulture and Allied Workers Union says it should be the only union recognised by management. As a result, it said, the court should order that the cabinet secretary for labour must approve no further collective bargaining agreements related to floriculture and horticulture between the employer association and the established union.

Namibia’s apex court ‘seriously censures’ police officers for malicious arrest and acting as though ‘beyond any level of accountability’
Namibia’s apex court ‘seriously censures’ police officers for malicious arrest and acting as though ‘beyond any level of accountability’

Namibia’s highest court has sternly reproved elements of the country’s police service for seriously abusing their power and acting ‘as if they were beyond any level of accountability’. In its official summary of the case, the supreme court wrote that the ‘highhanded conduct of the police officers called for serious censure by this court.’ The case concerns Bernhardt Lazarus who runs a bar in Windhoek and who was terrorised by some members of the police who repeatedly arrested him, without warrant or cause.

Uganda’s anti-corruption court sentences international gold scammers
Uganda’s anti-corruption court sentences international gold scammers

Uganda’s anti-corruption court has been hearing an incredible story about a gang of scammers, headed by Lawrence Lual Malong of South Sudan, a high-living playboy, sometimes photographed lying in pools of US dollars and wearing shoes, clothes and watches worth a fortune. Malong and two co-accused were convicted of fraud in that they extracted huge sums from two Ethiopian businessmen, living in South Africa, for gold that did not exist. Malong has been named in a variety of articles and reports including one from movie star and activist George Clooney’s anti-corruption outfit, The Sentry. A 2016 report by The Sentry, “War Crimes Shouldn’t Pay”, says Malong junior creates the impression of having ‘immense wealth’, and as benefitting from close family connections to the enormously rich and powerful in South Sudan.