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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Bain challenges SA’s government ban
Water cuts shut down High Court
Public spats threaten business integrity – AFSA CEO
Vodacom’s court battle over ‘secret’ spectrum deals begins
SIU’s bid to set aside R45.6m contract dismissed
Jordaan and co-accused question court’s interpretation
Eskom threatens municipalities over R4.9bn debt
School seeks to reverse headmaster's appointment
KZN schools under fire for alleged corporal punishment
Some Pepfar projects cleared to restart
High-level meeting to address SABC Bill controversy
Godongwana urged to scrap health promotion levy
Bela Act will transform sector – Deputy Minister
Concern over criminal use of unregistered SIM cards
Hospitals earmarked for NHI pilot rollout – Motsoaledi
Higher burden now to justify expropriation – expert
AfriForum treason case ‘legally unfounded’
‘Almost 400 Sapo branches vacant’ – Minister
Battle over party leadership postponed
Cape Town Mayor backs short-term rental tax
Schreiber saluted for visa progress
Commission probes vehicle purchase complaints
Saftu lodges complaint over Kunene remarks
SA colouring book targeted in Jerusalem raid
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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Röntgen v African Bell (Insolvency)
Xiamen Fuxia v MR Trading (Criminal)
In Court
Modack claims he borrowed money to snare top policeman
Nafiz Modack claimed he borrowed money from the bank to set up a trap to prove that the former Western Cape head of detectives Jeremy Vearey was corrupt. He says the operation was so top-secret that it was not put ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Mental health probe delays rat poison murder case
Defence calls for acquittal of three charged with insurance ‘hit’
Free State firm convicted of fraud
Panday’s tax fraud trial date set
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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Axiom Ince collapse accused to stand trial in 2027
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 ...
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Durban metro policeman gets 20 years for killing girlfriend
* Durban Metro policeman Sizwe Ngema (28) has pleaded guilty in the KZN High Court (Durban) to the March 2024 killing of his girlfriend, Constable Yolanda Biancha Khuzwayo (24) who was his colleague. Ngema was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment for ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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BOOK REVIEW
DEVENISH ON INTERPRETATION: CONSTITUTIONAL INTERPRETATION (VOLUMES 1 & 2)
DEVENISH ON INTERPRETATION: CONSTITUTIONAL INTERPRETATION (VOLUMES 1 & 2)
G Devenish | Vol. 1 Print ISBN: 9781485133643; Vol. 2 Print ISBN: 9781485152668
Devenish on Interpretation (Volumes 1 & 2) offers a comprehensive, updated analysis of statutory and constitutional interpretation in ...
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