Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have exposed more than 200 unqualified magistrates, an official source said Tuesday. A commission of enquiry formed in October to probe the qualifications and recruitment conditions of more than 3,000 magistrates found that hundreds “should not be …
Read More »Macron lays out court revamp to tackle prison overcrowding
Agen, France | AFP | French President Emmanuel Macron unveiled Tuesday a series of court overhauls aimed at finding alternatives to jail, a bid to tackle chronic overcrowding at the country’s prisons. His proposals came on the heels of nearly two weeks of protests in January by prison guards angry over …
Read More »Tanzanian loses appeal to block EPA’s
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The East African Court of Justice has dismissed an appeal filed by Castro Pius, a Tanzanian national, seeking to block the East African Community from signing the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union. The Court said the appellant’s conduct in seeking to …
Read More »South Africa’s ‘Prophet of Doom’ fined for spraying insecticide on followers
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | A South African court has fined a self-styled prophet who sprayed his followers in the face with insecticide as a supposed cure for illness. Pastor Lethebo Rabalago was found guilty by a court in the northwest town of Limpopo of five charges of grievous assault …
Read More »Republican memo alleges Justice Dept, FBI abuse of power
Washington, United States | AFP | Republican legislators released Friday a highly contentious memo alleging that the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice abused their powers to spy on President Donald Trump’s election campaign. – Key findings – Based on classified materials, the four-page memo claims that …
Read More »THIS WEEK: Judges conference focus on extending justice to the disadvantaged
THIS WEEK: Judges conference focus on extending justice to the disadvantaged Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Judges on Jan.22 embarked on a week-long conference to brain storm on how to improve Uganda’s justice system. Held at Speke Resort Munyonyo, Paul Gadenya the registrar of courts said that the gist of …
Read More »Museveni explains underfunding in judiciary
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | President Museveni has asked Uganda’s judiciary to prioritise cases of murder, sexual crimes, commercial cases and land over others because of scarce resources. “Scattering the little resources we have is very dangerous. When we do this, we do not achieve anything. Homicide, rape, Commercial and …
Read More »Journalists protest Philippine move to close news website
Manila, Philippines | AFP | Philippine journalists took to the streets Friday in support of a news website facing state-enforced closure, accusing President Rodrigo Duterte of trampling on press freedom. The government withdrew the corporate registration of the Rappler website this week and has summoned its chief executive to answer …
Read More »Six anti-Trump inauguration day protesters not guilty
Washington, United States | AFP | Free speech activists and opponents of Donald Trump on Friday welcomed the acquittal of six protesters charged over unrest on the US president’s inauguration day. They were among more than 200 people accused in connection with the January 20 protests, some of whom have …
Read More »Why not have an East African Supreme Court to decide?
Justice Kasule’s decent proposal on presidential election petitions Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Two weeks after Kenya’s repeat election held on Oct.26, Justice Remmy Kasule of Uganda’s Constitution Court, bounced a novel idea off another distinguished legal brain in the region— Dr. Willy Mutunga, former chief justice of Kenya. Justice …
Read More »