The Southern Africa Litigation Centre is celebrating a significant victory for married women in eSwatini, after the country’s high court ruled Friday that the existing common-law doctrine discriminates against women and denies their constitutional rights to equality. “Marital power refers to the archaic common law doctrine that a husband has…
The opposition in Malawi says there are more than 600 witnesses who may testify in the case challenging the results of the May 2019 presidential election, one that saw President Peter Mutharika gain a disputed second term. The country’s highest court began the hearings Thursday with testimony from Saulos Chilima,…
Zambia’s President Edgar Lungu is the latest African leader expected to make another bid to stay in power, after a constitutional court decision Friday that paves the way for a possible third term in 2021. Lungu, who has presided over an increasingly repressive Zambia since 2015, will be able to…
The Nigerian people were cheated out of an estimated USD$6 billion when a 2011 oil rights deal enriched its own officials but really benefited two international oil majors – Royal Dutch Shell and the Italian Eni – instead of Nigeria, according to a report released Monday by London-based NGO Global…
A planned inauguration for President Emmerson Mnangagwa will be held on Sunday, now that Zimbabwe’s Constitutional Court has ruled his July 30 election will stand. Court Justice Luke Malaba presented the decision in favor of Mnangagwa, who won with 50.8 percent of the vote over Nelson Chamisa, the Movement for…
Zimbabwe’s Constitutional Court will hear on Wednesday the presidential election results challenge filed by opposition candidate Nelson Chamisa and his Movement for Democratic Change Alliance party. The hearing moves forward in a nation on edge, following the initial July 30 election that gave Zanu PF President Emmerson Mnangagwa the slimmest…
In Zimbabwe, the inauguration of President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been postponed following a legal challenge to the July 30 election that gave Mnangagwa a narrow win. “Our legal team successfully filed our court papers,” said Nelson Chamisa, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance candidate who has consistently refused to…
At a time when press freedoms are under fire in many African nations, the small southern kingdom of Lesotho took a big step forward this week as the country’s Constitutional Court ruled that criminal defamation – in this case involving a journalist – is unconstitutional. The case centered on publisher…
Cameroonian-American writer and scholar Patrice Nganang is home safely in the United States, after a sudden reversal by authorities in Cameroon saw his release from prison and quick deportation. “Finally home, tired,” said Nganang in a Facebook post late Thursday, as his travels from Cameroon to Washington D.C. and New…
Cameroonian-American writer and scholar Patrice Nganang has remained in prison in Yaoundé over the holidays, ahead of a January 19 court date. Nganang was first detained at the Douala airport, where he checked his bags and planned to board a flight to Zimbabwe on December 6. His wife reported that…
Executives of Royal Dutch Shell and Italian oil major Eni will stand trial in Milan on corruption charges tied to a widely investigated Nigerian oil rights deal dating back to 2011. An Italian judge on Wednesday set a March 5 date for the case against Eni’s current CEO Claudio Descalzi,…
The presidential runoff election planned for Tuesday in Liberia is postponed until further notice, following a Supreme Court decision that directs the National Election Commission to investigate complaints originally filed by Liberty Party candidate Charles Brumskine. The court’s decision at the eleventh hour follows accusations made in the wake of…
Kenya’s election board chief issued an emotional statement late Friday, describing the violence directed at his poll workers and commission staff while appealing for peace amid the chaotic election process. “Yesterday some of my staff were hijacked and some were tortured,” said Wafula Chebukati, chairman of the Independent Election and…
A new presidential election will move forward in an edgy Kenya tomorrow after a last-minute legal challenge ended in a non-ruling by Kenya’s High Court judges – most of whom did not show up. Chief Justice David Maraga said the court could not hear the case because of a lack…
A federal judge in the United States has ruled to block President Donald Trump’s latest version of a travel ban that affects people from Chad, Libya and Somalia, as well as five other nations including Syria. The decision by U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson in Honolulu, Hawaii, prevents the ban…