South Africa
University battered by tampered Wilgenhof report
Stellenbosh University will convene a council meeting on Friday over allegations that the report which influenced council's decision to close the controversial Wilgenhof residence, was tampered with. This after retired Constitutional Court Justice and current Chancellor Edwin Cameron alleged ...
Read More
R1.4bn Eskom graft case transferred to High Court
The corruption case against former Eskom fugitive Michael Lomas was yesterday transferred to the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) where he will appear on 3 December. TimesLIVE reports that Lomas made a brief appearance in the at the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial ...
Read More
SA files its genocide memorial with the ICJ
SA yesterday filed its memorial, its substantive charge of genocide against Israel, to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). According to article 49(1) of the rules of the court, the memorial ‘shall contain a statement of the relevant facts ...
Read More
Mandla Mandela refused UK visa over Hamas stance
SCA reviews school racial slur claim
‘Shadowy’ company bags R428m hospitals oxygen tender
BHI investors livid over accused’s travel clearance
Police committee wants audits for SAPS management
SA to push for trillion-dollar deal at COP29
New deputy chairman for climate commission
PSA alarmed after Eastern Cape mortuaries inspection
Civil servants expected to reject 4.7% wage hike offer
PPF disputes constitutionality of NHI Act
Judges Matter laments delay in Mogoeng inquiry
Banxso victim launches urgent liquidation application
Hospital not liable for leg amputation
Creecy urges RAF to ditch legal challenge
Plight of crucial waste pickers flagged
State to focus on infrastructure – Masondo
Enyobeni bouncer admits to abandoning her post
New strategies following mass shootings – Masemola
Pesticide responsible for Soweto children’s deaths – Minister
‘Absent’ teacher wins reinstatement bid
New standard for investment portfolios announced
Numsa to appeal BMW judgment
SA-Ukraine visa waiver agreement stalls
ANC members required to complete mandatory course
Shortage of 250 000 places for Grade R pupils – Gwarube
Online betting hits casinos hard
Policy Watch
Parliamentary: Committee calls for skills audits for police
Parliament’s Police Committee has recommended skills audits for senior police management to ensure a fit-for-purpose service that is responsive to current and future needs of the SAPS, reports Wyndham Hartley.
The committee made the recommendations in its Budget Review and Recommendation ...
Read More
Case Law Briefs
Botha v Smuts (Privacy v Freedom of expression)
Constitutional Court: Botha v Smuts and Others Judgment: 9 October 2024 Keywords: Privacy law ̶ Information in public domain ̶ Voluntary public disclosure of information ̶ Scope of privacy protection for information in public domain ̶ Right to freedom of expression ...
Read More
Rademeyer v Ferreira (Prescription)
Constitutional Court: Rademeyer v Ferreira Judgment: 25 October 2024 Keywords: Prescription Act 68 of 1969 – Sale agreement – Breach of contract – Specific performance – Right to claim damages Summary: The case concerned a property transaction in Gqeberha where Mr Ferreira was subdividing his property for ...
Read More
Pringle v Mailula (New evidence, Harassment Act)
SCA:
Pringle v Mailula
Judgment: 25 October 2024
Keywords: Magistrate's Courts’ powers to consider new evidence in terms of ss 9(2) and (3) of the Harassment Act – Whether accepting further evidence the Magistrate's Court compromised the ...
Read More
TransAsia 444 v Minister of Mineral Resources
Scalabrini Centre v Minister of Home Affairs (Non-refoulement)
In Court
Attorney charged with ‘buying’ teen
A 35-year-old attorney from Heidelberg (Gauteng) is facing a string of charges alongside a woman who allegedly ‘sold ‘ her 13-year-old daughter to him for R160 000. According to a Netwerk24 report, the man appeared in the Gauteng High Court ...
Read More
Klawer man guilty of teen's murder
The Western Cape High Court has found Daniel Smit guilty of killing 13-year-old Jerobejin van Wyk, News24 reports. The teenager was killed in February 2022 after he and a friend were accused of stealing fruit from Daniel Smit's property ...
Read More
Vearey’s testimony in Modack trial postponed
The testimony of former Major-General Jeremy Vearey has been put on hold at the Western Cape High Court as the defence lawyer for Nafiz Modack is not yet ready for the cross-examination. A Cape Argus report says this was revealed ...
Read More
Constable’s 262 bank cards looted during 2021 riots – Hawks
Financial officer accused of stealing R1m from school
Today's Analyses
Why the Press Council expelled Independent Media
The Press Code of Ethics and Conduct does not stand for absolute free speech – it stands for ethical and responsible free speech. ‘Safeguarding something means protecting it from abuse. Safeguarding free speech thus necessarily entails holding those who abuse it ...
Read More
Lawmakers must rethink unfair dismissal regime
‘If recent reports on progress made by the labour law reform task team are correct, employers should not hold their breath for sweeping changes that may make it easier to do business in SA. The proposed changes appear to be ...
Read More
A Matter of Justice
Zambia’s judiciary in turmoil amid political tussles
After a recommendation by Zambia’s Judicial Complaints Commission (JCC), three Constitutional Court judges have been removed from Office by the President, Hakainde Hichilema. Marked ‘confidential’, that report by the JCC has, however, been made public by some unknown person. Now ...
Read More
Africa
Ugandan ex-commander jailed for war crimes
Thomas Kwoyelo, a mid-level commander in the notorious Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group, has been sentenced to 40 years in prison in Uganda for war crimes including murder, rape, enslavement, torture and kidnap. Radio France Internationale reports that ...
Read More
Commonwealth heads agree to reparations dialogue
Commonwealth leaders have agreed the ‘time has come’ for a conversation about reparations for the slave trade despite the UK's desire to keep the subject off the agenda at a two-day summit in Samoa. A document signed by 56 ...
Read More
Keen interest in Botswana’s national poll
Botswana’s governing party – in power for almost six decades – is trying to pull off a trick in tomorrow’s general election by using a phrase normally associated with long-suffering opposition groups. BBC News reports that the Botswana Democratic Party ...
Read More
Africa battered by ratings bias – Tshabalala
World
BHP denies liability in dam collapse case
Mining giant BHP has rejected a £36bn mass claim of liability for Brazil’s worst environmental disaster by telling the UK High Court that it was not the operator of the dam whose collapse caused the damage. A Law Gazette report ...
Read More
Head injury claims numbers increase
Lawyers acting in head injury claims for retired sportspeople have added another batch of 50 individual cases to proceedings. A Law Gazette report notes that the service by London practice Rylands Garth comes despite an ongoing Solicitors Regulation Authority probe ...
Read More
Brokers breached transparency duty, court hears
The UK Court of Appeal has opened the door to billions of pounds worth of claims for mis-sold motor finance after finding dealers in breach of their fiduciary duty to customers. A report on the Legalfutures site notes that as ...
Read More
Today's Briefs
CIT fugitive rearrested
* A 50-year-old man who absconded while on bail for serious charges appeared in the Somerset West Magistrate's Court yesterday after being rearrested in Johannesburg. A multidisciplinary team arrested Milton Vundla last week. He was initially arrested in 2021 with ...
Read More
Department defends McKenzie
* The Department of Sport, Arts & Culture has defended Minister Gayton McKenzie's absence from the 2024 ICC Women's T20 World Cup final the Proteas lost against New Zealand in the UAE on 20 October. Build One SA leader ...
Read More
Balwin sees profits plummet
* Property developer Balwin has suffered a major blow to its earnings, with profits down almost 60% for the six months ended 31 August 2024. Group revenue dropped 28% to R852.7m, while profit for the period tanked 57% to R76 ...
Read More
Two appear over Bishop Lavis massacre
* The murder, attempted murder and possession of unlicensed firearm charges against one of the three accused arrested for their involvement in Thursday night’s bloody massacre of seven people in Bishop Lavis has been withdrawn. The Bishop Lavis Magistrate’s Court was ...
Read More