Gender, traditional issues case put on hold

A report in The Mercury says Sidwell Nwamitwa successfully applied for the court to postpone his female cousin Tinyiko Nwamitwa Shilubana’s challenge for chieftainship of the Valoyi tribe, arguing that the government funding she had received for her entire case had put him an ‘unfair’ disadvantage. Nwamitwa’s counsel, Lucky Bokaba, argued that either the State Attorney should stop representing 65-year-old ANC MP Shilubana or the government should also provide funding for his client. Constitutional Court Chief Justice Pius Langa said the case was ‘a very important matter, not only to the people who are sitting here in the court, but to the whole nation, because it deals with law, it deals with the Constitution, it deals with customary issues’. Langa said directions about the further conduct of the matter and the reason for the order would be issued as soon as possible, according to a report on the IoL site. Bokaba told the court Shilubana had three senior counsels on her legal team: ‘In a nutshell, I don\'t feel comfortable and prepared to do justice to this matter alone.’ Shilubana has asked the Constitutional Court to overturn a ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal denying her claim to be chief. Full report on IoL site Full report in The Mercury (subscription needed)