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Sewage is ‘not a public friend’
Sewage is ‘not a public friend’

A broken sewerage pipe in the capital of Malawi has led to a successful claim for damages under the country’s consumer protection legislation. The pipe broke but when it was not initially fixed by the authorities, sewage found its way into the pipe that supplied clean water for drinking and other household use. Consumers then formed a neighbourhood action group to monitor the quality of the drinking water, and to bring legal action for compensation.

Court finds against ‘back door emergency’ in Malawi
Court finds against ‘back door emergency’ in Malawi

A constitutional court in Malawi has delivered an unequivocal condemnation of that country’s Covid-19 lockdown regulations. In its decision last week, the three judges found that the rules were unconstitutional as they were made in terms of a law that did not permit such rules to be made. They also criticised the government for imposing a lockdown without concern for the poor of Malawi who would not have access to food and other essentials if they could not leave their homes. The judge urged parliament to pass new legislation as soon as possible, that would allow the regulations needed in a national health emergency such as the current pandemic.

Kenya pressurised by big oil to backtrack on plastic ban
Kenya pressurised by big oil to backtrack on plastic ban

An alarming new series of reports in the international media claims that the US oil and petro-chemical lobby is putting considerable pressure on Kenya to roll back its environmental protections related to plastic waste. The report has led to strong reaction by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Kenya has played a leading anti-pollution role in Africa, for example with its 2017 ban on the manufacture, sale and distribution of plastic bags. Now the African Commission is urging Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta not to give into pressure that seeks to link the US trade deal he desires with freer access to Kenya by US plastics manufacturers.

Litigation in Lesotho as King declines to appoint judges
Litigation in Lesotho as King declines to appoint judges

Many people in the legal world will be aware of the looming constitutional crisis in Kenya where the President, Uhuru Kenyatta, has refused to appoint a number of judges whose names were presented to him by the Judicial Service Commission. Fewer, however, will have been aware that a similar problem has arisen in Lesotho and that litigation is now pending to test whether the King – Lesotho is a constitutional monarchy – may refuse to approve the appointment of candidates proposed by the commission.

SCA cases show up long delays in delivering judgments
SCA cases show up long delays in delivering judgments

Two new decisions by Malawi’s highest court show that at least some of the country’s judges are still not delivering decisions within a reasonable time. In one case a group of people convicted of murder and sentenced to 30 years in prison were still waiting to hear the outcome of an appeal heard more than five years before. In the other, a man convicted of robbery had still not heard the result of his appeal over 37 months later. The judge who heard applications for release on bail in both cases, said he had no idea when the judges involved in the appeal would hand down their decisions. He spoke of the ‘suffering’ of the appellants as they awaited the outcome, wondering if they would ultimately be imprisoned for longer than the appeal court would find they should spend in jail. The judge finally agreed to grant conditional bail in both cases. Two years ago the country’s Chief Justice, Andrew Nyirenda, undertook to ensure judgments were up to date on pain of disciplinary hearings at the Judicial Service Commission, but not all judges seem to have been caught in that net.

Change company law to allow virtual AGMs, Uganda high court urges
Change company law to allow virtual AGMs, Uganda high court urges

The high court in Uganda has urged that the government change the law to make it easier for businesses to hold their annual general meetings online, or via a mixture of a physical and electronic meeting. This is to take account of the restrictions on gatherings, due to Covid-19, imposed by the government on the one hand, and, on the other, the legal requirement that companies must hold AGMs. For the last few months in Uganda, individual companies have been coming to court asking for judicial authorisation to hold electronic meetings. Now, says the court, the time has come to change the law and make electronic meetings the new normal.

High Court grants bail to Zimbabwe opposition leader, journalist
High Court grants bail to Zimbabwe opposition leader, journalist

Two prisoners in one of Zimbabwe’s most notorious jails have been making international headlines as the courts repeatedly denied them bail. This week, however, as South Africa prepared to send a delegation to discuss the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe, and as the number of international political and legal statements critical of the continued imprisonment continued to grow, the two men were released on the orders of the high court.

For Kenya: celebration of its 10-year-old constitution, a growing crisis – and a forthright judge speaks
For Kenya: celebration of its 10-year-old constitution, a growing crisis – and a forthright judge speaks

As Kenya celebrated the 10 th  anniversary of its constitution, with virtual seminars, webinars and other discussions, one of the most serious challenges yet brought under the constitution is making its way through the courts. That problem is the failure of the country’s President, Uhuru Kenyatta, to appoint more than 40 judges nominated by the Judicial Service Commission. And, equally significant, his failure to abide by a court order that the judges be appointed.

'Judicial independence on trial’ in case involving Malawi’s Chief Justice
'Judicial independence on trial’ in case involving Malawi’s Chief Justice

Malawi’s high court has decided that attempts by the country’s former President, Peter Mutharika, to get rid of the Chief Justice and other senior judges by placing them on enforced leave pending retirement, were illegal and unconstitutional. The decision, delivered this week, followed major local and international support for the judiciary of Malawi, after the announcement of the former President’s steps against its leadership.

Victory for pregnant women after rethink by Constitutional Court
Victory for pregnant women after rethink by Constitutional Court

Uganda’s constitutional court has delivered a major victory for the health of pregnant women. The case was brought by the Centre for Health, Human Rights and Development, along with a health law expert and the relatives of two women who had died in childbirth because of Uganda’s inadequate maternal healthcare conditions. Five constitutional court judges found that the government was underfunding maternal healthcare to the extent that it was unconstitutional. To ensure that this improved, they ordered that the court had to be provided with an audit report on the status of maternal health in Uganda over the next two financial years. The judges further awarded general damages to two of the applicants, relatives of pregnant women who had died because of the violation of their rights to life and health. While the decision has been widely hailed for taking the rights of pregnant women seriously, and ensuring the issue has the protection of the constitution, it also shows that Uganda’s constitutional court is seeing its own role in a changing light: in 2012 the same case had come before the constitutional court but the court refused to hear it on the basis that it amounted to consideration of political issues, namely government allocation of funds to maternal health. However, an appeal to the Supreme Court – Uganda’s apex court – resulted in an order that the constitutional court should consider the issue. Back before a now-differently composed constitutional court, the matter fared rather better second time round.