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15 February 2025 Legal News Watch

South Africa


Ramaphosa warns of ‘harsh global wind’

President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday called for national unity after SA’s new land-expropriation laws and foreign policy came under attack from US leader Donald Trump. Legalbrief reports that he emphasised that South Africans know the pain of forced removals and, as ... Read More

UK paedophile challenges bail laws at ConCourt

The Constitutional Court yesterday heard arguments in a challenge self-confessed paedophile Iain Wares has brought to the country's laws around bail for those who have been found liable for extradition to stand trial abroad. Wares (85) has been accused ... Read More

SCA overturns ruling due to ‘miscarriage of justice’

Convicted attempted murderer Siyanbonga Ngcobo has been acquitted by the SCA after Acting Justice Nkosinathi Chili found the court proceedings were a failure of justice as the presiding magistrate’s open-mindedness had been ‘compromised’. A Cape Argus report says Ngcobo was ... Read More

Policy Watch


Finance: Regulation for PPPs amended

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has, in terms of the Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (Act No. 1 of 1999), amended the National Treasury Regulation 16 (NTR 16) which applies to Public Private Partnerships, reports Wyndham Hartley. ‘Government recognises the importance ... Read More

Legislation: Ramaphosa signs Plant Health Bill

President Cyril Ramaphosa has assented to the Plant Health Bill which sets out measures to combat plant pests that are of concern to domestic agriculture and may have an impact on SA’s ability to export agricultural products, writes Wyndham Hartley. In ... Read More

Case Law Briefs


Swaggers House of Beauty v Dorfling (Restraint of trade)

Western Cape High Court: Swaggers House of Beauty v Dorfling Judgment: 26 November 2024 Keywords: Contract – Commercial – Restraint of trade for hairdresser – Whether a protectable proprietary interest existed – Relationship between stylist and client highly personal and ... Read More

Osbourne v Eman and City of Cape Town

Western Cape High Court: Osbourne v Eman and City of Cape Town Judgment: 10 February 2025 Keywords: Property law – Property bought at sale in execution with occupant refusing to leave – Appeal against eviction order – Prevention of Illegal ... Read More

Energy Master Builders v Ivanicevic (Mandament van spolie)

Western Cape High Court: Energy Master Builders CC v Ivanicevic and Sugabird (Pty) Ltd Judgment: 21 January 2025 Keywords: Civil procedure – Mandament van spolie – Possession not established – Commissioner of oaths’ wording found adequate Summary: Energy Master Builders ... Read More

In Court


Suspected killers remanded in custody

One of the two men accused of killing nine people in a tavern shooting in Mpumalanga has maintained his innocence. Bongani Nkosi and Mduduzi Lubisi appeared in the Kabokweni Magistrate’s Court outside Mbombela on Wednesday to apply for bail. The ... Read More

Khayelitsha man convicted of raping child

Siphiwo Mdekazi was yesterday found guilty of kidnapping and raping a nine-year-old girl in 2022. News24 reports that the Khayelitsha Regional Court dismissed his version that he found her playing outside late at night and decided to let her stay ... Read More

Today's Analyses


Courts emphasise traditional leaders' limited powers

Traditional leaders are being stripped of autocratic powers that are a legacy of colonialism and apartheid, says Ramabina Mahapa, a senior associate at Concentric Alliance. ‘Courts repeatedly emphasise a consensual, voluntary and consultative form of customary law. They can no ... Read More

Ghost employee fraud must be curtailed

The ghosts in SA’s public sector payroll system may be invisible, but their impact is all too real. As the Labour Appeal Court ruling in Gauteng Department of Education vs General Public Service Sectoral Bargaining Council demonstrates, exorcising them will require ... Read More

Africa


African leaders to make new push for reparations

African leaders meeting in Ethiopia this weekend are to launch a new push for slavery and colonial reparations, but can expect to be stonewalled by former colonial powers, most of which have ruled out making amends for historical wrongs. While ... Read More

Ghana's ex-Finance Minister declared a fugitive

Ghana’s Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has declared former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta a fugitive, placing him on its wanted list for failing to appear for questioning on multiple corruption investigations. This dramatic turn of events comes amid the John ... Read More

DRC urges court to act against Rwanda

The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (AfCHPR) has begun hearing a case filed by the DRC against Rwanda for alleged violations of the rights of Congolese in the eastern part of the country. The case was filed in ... Read More

World


Judge okays Trump's federal buyout programme

Donald Trump’s buyout programme for federal employees can proceed, a federal judge ruled this week. A report in The Guardian notes that the move paves a path forward for the 65 000 government workers who have volunteered to resign under ... Read More

New US AG sues over 'Green Light Law'

In her first news conference as US Attorney-General, Pam Bondi lambasted the Biden administration for its immigration policies and announced that she had sued several state leaders, and would sue more if they don’t co-operate with federal immigration efforts. A ... Read More

Türkiye exonerates three Gezi Park demonstrators

Following an extensive legal proceeding characterised by global apprehension regarding justice and human rights, Türkiye has finally exonerated three individuals among those convicted in the Gezi Park demonstrations, signifying what Amnesty International refers to as the conclusion of a ‘chronicle ... Read More

Today's Briefs


Froneman bows out

* Long-time Sibanye-Stillwater CEO, Neal Froneman, has announced his retirement effective from the end of September this year. Richard Stewart, the company’s current chief regional officer for southern Africa, who joined the company in 2014, will be appointed CEO designate and ... Read More

Protest over school bullying

* A video showing a St Alban's College grade nine pupil being pushed around and water being poured over him by a matric pupil sparked a protest led by the EFF outside the school yesterday. The private school in Pretoria ... Read More

King sends SOS to Ramaphosa

* AmaZulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini fears for his life and has appealed to President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene after his security detail was slashed by more than half from 12 protectors to five. The king asked Ramaphosa for his urgent intervention ... Read More

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