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Quotes of the Week
'Everyone's going to vote, it's going to be a celebration of democracy. The Congolese people are going to take the second step in the consolidation of their democracy. We have kept our promise.'
– DRC election commission chief Daniel Ngoy Mulunda
'Mr Tsvangirai recognises that the nation needs to know, he will communicate at an appropriate time his marital status and plans.'
– Jameson Timba, Minister of State in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's office on conflicting reports over whether Tsvangirai has married his pregnant lover
'It becomes worse and satanic when you get a prime minister like Cameron saying countries that want British aid should accept homos exuality.'
– Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe responds to British Prime Minister David Cameron's comment that countries who want British aid should accept homos exuality
'We never thought we would come here dressed in black to witness the Constitution of our country being betrayed by those who built it.'
– SA National Editors' Forum chair Mondli Makhanya on the National Assembly's vote in favour of the Protection of State Information Bill
'The National Council of Provinces should delay it; we need another six months, we need a lot more consultation and we need that people, the public, should read the damn thing.'
– African National Congress MP Ben Turok reportedly told the SABC on the Protection of State Information Bill
'It is insulting to all South Africans to be asked to stomach legislation that could be used to outlaw whistle-blowing and investigative journalism... and that makes the State answerable only to the State.'
– Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu on the Protection of State Information Bill
'I have not been involved in corruption, bribery or broken any law.'
– Presidential spokesperson Mac Maharaj after the Sunday Times reported that he and his wife Zarina received millions of rands in kickbacks from a company bidding for a contract while he was Transport Minister
'In a nutshell, we are not going to hand him over.'
– Interim Justice Minister Mohammed al-Allagui said when asked about Saif al-Islam, who was captured in Libya's far-flung Saharan south after three months on the run
'Everything is contaminated.'
– Henriette Van Eck, mother of Michael van Eck, testifies on the effect of his murder on her family and life after Charné van Heerden was found guilty of the crime. Her co-accused Maartens van der Merwe is being tried separately
'Politics will be kept out of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's marriage to Ms Locadia Tembo, as their families belong to rival political parties.'
– Zimbabwe's Herald online comments on Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai's marriage to Tembo, who supports the rival Zanu-PF
'The people have entrusted us with a mission and if we abandon it now, it would be a betrayal of the people.'
– Senior Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) member General Mukthar al-Mulla on the latest uprisings in Cairo
'We will not delay the elections. This is the final word. They will be conducted according to the original dates.'
– Another senior SCAF member, Major General Mamduh Shahine
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At a Glance
* Former national athletics captain Arnaud Malherbe has been suspended from all athletics for 33 months after Sascoc convicted him on a charge of insulting athlete Caster Semenya. Malherbe claimed on his blog before the 2009 World Championships in Berlin that Semenya was an hermaphrodite.
– Beeld
* Modification of the Drager breath alcohol test – found to be faulty earlier this year – will set a national precedent should the courts accept the changes. The Western Cape Department of Transport and Public Works has been tasked by the High Court and the national Transport Department to modify the Drager breathalyser to meet court standards so that breath alcohol test results are again admissible in cases against alleged drunk drivers.
– Sunday Tribune (subscription needed)
* Witnesses and N igerian authorities said yesterday that at least four people were killed in an attack on a north-eastern city that left churches and businesses burnt to the ground. The attack happened on Saturday night in the city of Geidam in Yobe State, which sits near the country's arid border with Niger.
– New York Times
* The third World Human Rights Moot Court Competition will be presented in Pretoria on 8 and 9 December by the University of Pretoria's Faculty of Law, with the support of SA regional office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. All law faculties were invited to submit heads of argument on the basis of a hypothetical case. Based on the assessment of the heads of argument by a panel of experts, three teams from each of the five UN regions were invited to participate in person in the semi-finals and final round in Pretoria in December. For more details see www.up.ac.za/law or contact the organiser, Cherryl Botterill, at cherryl.botterill@gmail.com
– Legalbrief Today
* A Potchefstroom woman is claiming R600 000 from the North West MEC for Health after her right breast was allegedly wrongly removed in 2006. Thandi Vana (37) does not have money for reconstructive surgery. Vana says in court papers she visited a state hospital in Potchefstroom and the Tshepong Hospital in Klerksdorp several times.
– Beeld
* Opposition parties are demanding reassurances from Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe that government's planned R1trn nuclear power station tender – the biggest tender issued in SA – will not be 'mired in corruption' as was the R70bn arms deal. 'The multibillion-rand arms deal, which was just a fraction of this cost, was mired in corruption,' said DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko.
– The Times
* President Jacob Zuma's office has announced that Judge Chimanlal Narotam Patel had been appointed as the Judge President of the KZN High Court. The office of the President also said that Judge Khayelihle Kenneth Mthiyane had been appointed as the Deputy President of the Supreme Court of Appeal with effect from 1 December.
– The Times
* Botswana's girls are turning to local clinics and hospitals near the border to terminate pregnancies, SA's Limpopo health department said on Thursday. Shoki Mokobane, statistics and research population unit manager, said a survey by the department found there was an increase in the number of teenage girls crossing the border to terminate pregnancies. 'They said in their country it is not allowed to terminate pregnancy, it is regarded as crime.'
– News24
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BOOKSHELF
Rough Guide to Nelson Mandela
Max du Preez
Penguin. R120
Nelson Mandela is everyone's favourite hero. He has been extensively written about in recent years, so it is a brave task to take on yet another book, and Max du Preez is the right man to do it. Du Preez has interviewed Mandela several times and has made a lifetime study of the historical and political landscape of South Africa. The little asides inserted into the biographical text are interesting, more so than the text for me as I am already quite familiar with Madiba's biographical details. 'What's in a Name?' tries to demystify the complicated naming process Mandela was subjected to. 'Xhosa Initiation' speaks of ritual circumcision, 'Kaiser Matanzima' tells of Mandela's cousin and political enemy. 'Fort Hare University' speaks about some of its more famous alumni. 'City of Gold', 'Gandhi in Africa' and 'Walter Sisulu: In the shadow of Mandela' are self-explanatory. 'Where are they now?' traces what became of the Rivonia Road trialists. 'Triumph' tells the story of Sophiatown. There are many more. This is a lovely book about South Africa's greatest living treasure.
– Moira de Swardt
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Latest judgments online
Supreme Court of Appeal
E Claasen v MD Bester: Extinctive prescription – knowledge of legal conclusion not a fact for purpose of s 12(3) of the Prescription Act 68 of 1969.
Judgment
Gazit Properties v Botha NO & others: Insolvency – interpretation and application of s 29(1) of Insolvency Act 24 of 1936 – meaning of the phrase 'in the ordinary course of business' – payment made in terms of valid underlying contract by due date unaffected by illegality of the insolvent's business.
Judgment
Law Society of the Cape of Good Hope v H Nel: Attorney – misconduct – alleged contravention of Rule 14.3.14, promulgated under the Attorneys' Act 53 of 1979 – bringing attorneys' profession into disrepute – formulation of charge sheet crucial – evidence not sustaining the charge as formulated – disciplinary proceedings not civil proceedings but sui generis.
Judgment
South Gauteng High Court
Print Media SA & Another v Mins of Home Affairs & Another: Section 16(1), section 16(2) and section 24A(2)(a) of the Films and Publications Act 65 of 1996, as amended, inconsistent with the Constitution and invalid to the extent that they exclude magazines from the protection afforded to newspapers.
Judgment |
Juta Law Latest
Human Rights Under the Malawian Constitution
In 1994, Malawi adopted an unusually progressive Constitution, unprecedented in the country's political and constitutional history. Human Rights under the Malawian Constitution takes stock of the human rights jurisprudence generated by the new Constitution and the new judiciary in Malawi over the past sixteen years. The book examines the largely unreported Malawian cases and legislation and systematically analyses them with a view to constructing a coherent corpus of human rights jurisprudence, which is essential to consolidating democracy, establishing the foundation for the rule of law and ushering in an era of accelerated development in Malawi.
- More information |
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| The views expressed in this newsletter are a reflection of those contained in the original reports to which they are linked, and are not necessarily those of the International Bar Association, Juta and Company Ltd or Legalbrief. |
Disclaimer
Any information, including journalistic articles, in this electronic newsletter is not intended to constitute legal, financial, accounting, tax, investment, consulting or other professional advice or services. Before making any decision or taking any action, which might affect your personal finances or business, you should consult a qualified professional advisor. For more information, please read our Terms and Conditions. |
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Africa Focus
General: The people's revolution – Part 2
A fresh wave of violence has flared through North Africa, months after a series of dramatic uprisings toppled several heads of state. Legalbrief reports that Tunisia, which became the birthplace of the 'Arab Spring' revolution, has seen new protests despite the first democratic election last month. Authorities imposed an overnight curfew in a Tunisian province on Thursday after riots over jobs highlighted the challenges facing the new government in meeting expectations for better living conditions. According to a report on the News24 site, the riots in the Gafsa region followed violence in a nearby region on Wednesday night, when security forces were forced to fire into the air to stop a crowd of protesters attacking a government building. People rioted in two towns in the Gafsa region, 360km southwest of the Tunisian capital, after they were left off a list of people recruited by a local phosphate mining company. They took to the streets because they felt the authorities had failed to recognise their town's contribution to the revolution earlier this year which forced Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to flee to Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, the members of the Constituent Assembly will on Friday officially elect the interim President, who will in turn designate the Prime Minister who will be in charge of forming the new government. Tunisia Live reports that consultations over the new ministers are still in progress, and it is expected that the majority of those appointed will be from Ennahda, the Congress for the Republic and Ettakatol.
Full report on the News24 site
Full Tunisia Live report
In another significant development, Egyptians today (Monday) began voting in the first big test of a transition born in popular revolutionary euphoria that soured into distrust of the generals who replaced Hosni Mubarak. According to a Mail & Guardian Online report, in the nine months since a revolt ended the ex-President's 30-year rule, political change in Egypt has faltered, with the military apparently more focused on preserving its power and privilege than on fostering any democratic transformation. Oppressed under Mubarak, the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist parties stood aloof from those challenging army rule, unwilling to let anything obstruct elections that may open a route to political power previously beyond their reach. The report notes that it is not clear whether voters will punish them for that or whether the Brotherhood's disciplined organisation will enable its newly formed Freedom and Justice Party to triumph over the welter of lesser-known parties and individuals in the race. The report says free elections are an intriguing novelty in a nation where the authorities and security forces rigged polls for decades in favour of Mubarak's now-dissolved National Democratic Party.
Full Mail & Guardian Online report
In a report published today (Monday), the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) called on Egypt's transitional military government, future Parliament, and the Egyptian Bar Association (EBA) to carry out wide-ranging reform to strengthen the rule of law in the country and to address challenges faced by Egypt's legal profession. The 81-page report, Justice at a Crossroads: The Legal Profession and the Rule of Law in the New Egypt, examines the challenges facing lawyers prior to and in the months immediately after Egypt's revolution. The report follows an IBAHRI fact-finding delegation to the country where IBAHRI found that a vibrant legal profession and independent Bar will have an essential role to play in defending human rights and advancing law reform in Egypt but that serious obstacles facing the legal profession must be urgently addressed to ensure it can properly fulfil this role.
Full IBAHRI report
Across the border, Libya inaugurated an interim government on Thursday that must lead a country still reeling from a civil war that toppled dictator Muammar Gaddafi to elections in seven months' time. According to a report on the IoL site, Prime Minister Abdurrahim El-Keib and 18 members of his new Cabinet were sworn in by National Transitional Council (NTC) chair Mustafa Abdel Jalil, each taking their turn to pledge allegiance to Libya with one hand placed on the Qur'an, the Muslim holy book. The inauguration took place two days after the NTC named a Cabinet favouring appointees who will soothe rivalries between regional factions.
Full report on the IoL site
Meanwhile, Libya has priority to try the most prominent son of Muammar Gaddafi, said International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo. According to a report on the News24 site, on an official visit to Tripoli, Moreno-Ocampo said Libya had every right to try Saif al-Islam who was arrested 10 days ago. 'The primacy is for the national system. If they want to do it, we are not competing with them,' the report quotes Moreno-Ocampo as saying. 'We do it when they cannot do it,' he noted. 'As soon they can do it, we stop. This is the system, and it's what we are discussing here.' The report notes Moreno-Ocampo said as long as Libya conducted appropriate investigations and presented its findings to ICC judges 'the rules say they can do it'.
Full report on the News24 site
The US ambassador to the UN says the US had feared a killing spree in Libya was about to happen earlier this year along the lines of Rwanda's 1994 genocide. A report on the News24 site notes Ambassador Susan Rice said she heard the 'strong echoes of 1994' when Muammar Gaddafi said his forces would kill rebel supporters in Benghazi. President Barack Obama was determined not to watch 'another predictable horror unfold', she says, according to the report which notes Rice said that the world failed to save civilians in Rwanda and Sudan's Darfur region, but did not fail in Libya. Rebel forces – supported by US and Nato air power – closed in on Gaddafi and killed him in October, the report states.
Full report on the News24 site
Meanwhile, the victory of an Islamist Party in Morocco's parliamentary elections appears to be one more sign that religion-based parties are benefiting the most from the new freedoms brought by the Arab Spring. Across the Middle East, parties referencing Islam have made great strides, offering an alternative to corrupt, long-serving dictators who have often ruled with close Western support. That's according to a report on the News24 site which notes that the Justice and Development Party dominated Morocco's elections through a combination of good organisation, an outsider status and not being too much of a threat to Morocco's all-powerful king. By taking 107 seats out of the 395 seats, almost twice as many as the second place finisher, the party ensured that King Mohammed VI must pick the next prime minister from its ranks and to form the next government out of the dozen parties in Morocco's parliament.
Full report on the News24 site
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General Law Reports
DRC: Tensions high as polls open
Polls opened in the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) national elections today (Monday) after a campaign marred by violence – including clashes on Saturday that left at least two people dead. According to a Mail & Guardian Online report, the Central African giant has 32m registered voters. Final rallies were cancelled due to clashes between rival supporters, security forces opened fire on crowds and main presidential challenger Etienne Tshisekedi was prevented from campaigning. A report on the News24 site notes that SA Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu's motorcade was stoned in the DRC at the weekend. Sisulu visited the DRC ahead of today's parliamentary and presidential elections, which had been marred by violence in the run-up to voting day. Her motorcade was attacked en route to Kinshasa's international airport on Saturday. Across the nation, observers said election officials were scrambling to get equipment to remote polling stations. The last conflict in the mineral-rich state officially ended in 2003 but the country remains plagued by pockets of instability. According to a report on the IoL site, incumbent Joseph Kabila is tipped to win a new five-year term running for the ruling People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy against a divided opposition field of 10 challengers. His main rival is veteran opposition leader Tshisekedi (78), running for the Union for Democracy and Social Progress.
Full Mail & Guardian Online report
Full report on the News24 site
Full report on the IoL site
In another development, armed men today attacked vehicles carrying ballots to a polling station in the south-eastern city of Lubumbashi. The Telegraph reports that the attackers swooped at about 3am on a convoy of eight jeeps and fled when police escorting the vehicles opened fire, wounding some of the assailants. Two jeeps carrying nearly 1 000 ballots caught fire and burnt in the attack, notes the report.
Full report in The Telegraph
South Africa: ConCourt judgment on Zimbabwe report imminent
The Constitutional Court will hand down judgment in the Mail & Guardian's bid to make President Jacob Zuma release a report on Zimbabwe's 2002 elections when it sits in Johannesburg tomorrow (Tuesday). A report on the News24 site says the publication is using the Promotion of Access to Information Act to get the report by judges Sisi Khampepe and Dikgang Moseneke, who observed the elections at the request of former President Thabo Mbeki. The matter was heard by the Constitutional Court in May and the Mail & Guardian submitted that it did not agree that the judges were diplomatic envoys – another reason cited by the Presidency to not hand over the report.
Full report on the News24 site
South Africa: Political disputes facing SA courts troublesome – judge
Cape High Court Judge Dennis Davis claims the increasing extent to which SA's courts are being drawn into disputes of a political nature has massive implications for the country's judges. A Weekend Argus report says Davis, who is also Judge President of the Competition Appeal Court, noted a trend of 'politics migrating to the courts'. He said the termination of the Scorpions unit and its replacement by the Hawks; the extension of the term of office of the Chief Justice; the appointment of judges to the Cape High Court; the appointment of the National Director of Public Prosecutions; the challenge of the arms |
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