Weekly Legal News Watch

Issue no:875 IBA - The global voice of the legal profession. Monday 01 June 2020

View in browser Not a subscriber? Today's Headlines Subscription is FREE.

Register here

Regional News: Former first lady’s bail revoked

Graft accused blamed for economic woes CLICK TO UNSUBSCRIBE Tensions soar after Chinese nationals murdered

Africa International: Deep divisions over graft-accused AfDB boss • Visit the Legalbrief Africa site Senegal scraps ‘unbalanced' treaty • Contact Us • Advertise with Us Top Rwandan genocide suspect denies any role • About IBA General: Bowmans expands its Africa footprint • IBA Membership Uganda sued over Lake Victoria flooding • International Practice Diploma (Distance Police target lockdown violators Learning) • Terms & Conditions Africa Analyses: Expat backlash reshapes Chinese perceptions How conspiracy theory gained traction Arrest of genocide fugitive brings some closure

Africa Focus

Criminal: A tale of three tragedies …

‘I will code what I really want to say to Donald Trump. It's two words … it begins with “f” and it ends with “you”.’

– Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Quotes of the Week

16 June 1976: 13-year-old Hector Peterson is shot dead by police in Soweto 'The murder of George Floyd in and a full-blown revolution to end Apartheid begins. Minneapolis has sent a wave of grief and anger around the world. The US was built on African 17 December 2010: The self-immolation of Tunisian Mohamed Bouazizi who slavery and indigenous genocide had his fruit confiscated by a municipal inspector was the catalyst for the and remains a fundamentally escalation of protests that spread across the Middle East and became known racist country.' as the Arab Spring. – Analyst Imraan Buccus

25 May 2020: The murder of black Mineapolis resident George Floyd by a ‘We are happy, it's important that these restrictions are lifted. We white policeman has sparked violent protests across the US that has thrown are waiting for the date of his the nation into unprecedented chaos. return. We will welcome him.’ – The Ivorian Popular Front Party (FPI) spokesperson The common thread is that the senseless deaths of three unknown people in Franck Anderson on news that different parts of the world sparked massive revolutions that dramatically the International Criminal altered the political landscape and re-wrote history. In just one week, notes Court said the country’s former Legalbrief, the US has been ripped apart by an incident that now threatens President Laurent Gbagbo can leave Belgium under certain the White House and President Donald Trump. Africa’s testy relationship with conditions following his the US (which began 520 years ago) has been in sharp focus since George acquittal last year over post- Floyd was crushed to death on a Minneapolis street. election violence that killed 3 000 people. US embassies across Africa have taken the unusual step of issuing critical Book Review statements, saying no one is above the law. The statements came as the head of the AU Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, condemned the ‘murder’ of The Murder of Ahmed Timol: Floyd and noted that the continental body rejects the ‘continuing My Search for the Truth discriminatory practices against black citizens of the USA’. A report on the By Imtiaz A. Cajee Jacana. $20 News24 site notes that Mahamat ‘strongly condemned’ the murder and extended his condolences to the victim’s family and loved ones. And Kwesi Follow Ahmed Timol’s nephew, Quartey, deputy chairperson of the AU Commission, said ‘Africa demands a Imtiaz Cajee, on his 20-year full investigation into this killing’. TIME reports that the US ambassador to journey to find his uncle’s killer Congo, Mike Hammer, highlighted a tweet from a local media entrepreneur and bring him to justice. In 1971, who said ‘your country is shameful … how many black people must be a state inquiry found that Timol, killed by white police officers before authorities react seriously?’ held by the apartheid security Hammer said he was ‘profoundly troubled’ by the killing and ‘no one is above branch on the 10th floor of John Vorster Square, committed suicide the law’. Similar statements were tweeted by the US embassies in Kenya and by jumping to his death. Forty-six Uganda, while the embassies in Tanzania and Kenya tweeted a joint years later, a new inquiry found statement from the Department of Justice office in Minnesota on the that Timol was murdered. Only investigation. one man remained alive who could Full report on the News24 site tell the truth, a lowly clerk from Full TIME report the police, who was in the room when Timol was pushed. Joao And SA’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has condemned Floyd’s ‘ruthless has now been charged murder,’ saying it represented a deep tradition of racial prejudice and violence with murder and defeating and or against African Americans by law enforcement. A report on the EWN site obstructing the administration of justice. The book is a wonderful notes that the EFF’s Vuyani Pambo said they welcomed the arrest of the evocation of a time and places; policeman Derek Chauvin, who is facing charges of murder and manslaughter. Johannesburg, London, Mecca, The party has also called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to Moscow. The last years of Timol’s immediately convene a meeting with representatives of the US in SA. life, the woman he loved, and his Full report on the EWN site commitment to a non-racial and free SA. His last days are detailed In neighbouring Zimbabwe, the government has summoned US ambassador here; the roadblock that was set Brian Nichols to explain remarks by US national security adviser that up to catch him and his treatment Zimbabwe was stoking anti-racism protests in the country. US National by the security police. Not content Security Adviser Robert O’Brien, in an interview with American broadcaster with finding his uncle’s murderer, Cajee has been on a quest for ABC, said foreign adversaries – including China and Zimbabwe – taking justice for other murdered victims advantage of the ongoing protests and mentioned Zimbabwe and China. BBC of apartheid, whose killers never News reports that he warned that ‘they would not get away with it’. applied to the TRC and who were Zimbabwe's Foreign Minister Sibusiso Moyo said Harare intended to remind never charged, despite the the ambassador that it respected the sovereignty of other nations. information being available. Cajee Full BBC News report investigates the possible deal that was done between the National A HuffPost reports notes that South African celebrity Trevor Noah, who is a Party and the ANC during the early household name in the US, on Friday hit a nerve by saying US police ‘are 90s, and asks how it is possible looting black bodies’. The Daily Show host asked ‘how many George Floyds that so many murderers and torturers were not prosecuted. He are there that don’t die?’ ‘Imagine to yourself if you grew up in a is clear that now is the time to find community where every day someone had their knee on your neck. If every these people and prosecute them. day someone was out there oppressing you, every single day, you tell me The book is unputdownable, and what that does to you as a society, as a community, as a group of people and one that will leave you deeply when you know it’s happening because of the colour of your skin.’ touched. Full report on the HuffPost site Full Review

Regional News

DRC: Judge in high-profile graft trial dies A Congolese judge handling the graft case against Vital Kamerhe, a former top aide to President Felix Tshisekedi, has died. Judge Raphael Yanyi died shortly after being admitted to a Kinshasa hospital on Wednesday. ‘The judge was a victim of a heart attack. He was not murdered, he was protected by the police,’ said police spokesperson Sylvano Kasongo. This after residents staged a protest outside the judge's home, claiming they suspected foul play. The East African reports that the day before he died, Yanyi had presided over Kamerhe's $50m graft trial in a makeshift court set up within Kinshasa's central prison compound. As previously reported in Legalbrief Today, Kamerhe is charged alongside two others, Lebanese businessman Jammal Samih and Jeannot Muhima, a senior aide to Tshisekedi. They have all pleaded not guilty to the charges. The trio is accused of siphoning funds intended to finance major works under the plan that Tshisekedi launched after he took office in January last year. The funds were earmarked for the construction of 4 500 pre-fabricated homes. Full report in The East African DRC: Militia leader arrested DRC authorities have arrested a militia leader who is one of the main suspects in the murder of two UN experts in 2017. BBC News reports that he has been identified as Trsor Kankonde. A US national, Michael Sharp, and a Chilean-born Swede, Zaida Catalan, were murdered while investigating human rights abuses in the Kasai Region. Kinshasa has blamed the killings on the militia. Full BBC News report Lesotho: Former first lady’s bail revoked Lesotho's Court of Appeal has revoked the bail granted in February to Maesaiah Thabane, the wife of former Prime Minister Thomas Thabane. The New York Times reports that Maseru deputy police commissioner Paseka Mokete said Thabane was currently out of the country with her ‘sick husband’, but would be arrested when she returned. Mokete said police did not need to wait for a court decision to re-arrest Thabane. She has been charged with ordering the murder of Thabane’s previous wife, Lipolelo Thabane, in 2017. At the time Lipolelo was going through a bitter divorce with Thabane. They have both denied any involvement in her killing.

See A Matter of Justice below Full report in The New York Times Namibia: Graft accused blamed for economic woes The state has accused the suspects implicated in the multi-million-dollar ‘Fishrot’ bribery scandal of having contributed to the country's economic problems. ‘They (accused) have killed the economy. They directly contributed to the demise of the country's economy,’ stated prosecutor Cliff Lutibezi. New Era reports that Ricardo Gustavo, one of the suspects in the matter, is applying for bail. He is a former Investec Asset Management manager and the director of Namgomar Pesca Namibia. He has been charged along with former Fisheries Minister Bernhard Esau, former Justice Minister Sacky Shanghala and three others. As previously reported in Legalbrief Today, the suspects are accused of colluding with Icelandic seafood company Samherji and receiving kickbacks for fishing quotas. The bail application continues. Full New Era report South Africa: Customary marriages only dissolved by divorce – SCA A customary marriage one simply walked away from years ago without dissolving it through a divorce remains valid even after death. Such a marriage cannot also be rendered invalid because an estranged spouse went ahead and entered into a civil marriage with another person. Instead, it is the civil marriage that is null and void because it was entered into while the customary union remained undissolved. The Star reports these are findings of a landmark judgment delivered by Judge Clive Plasket at the SCA. The court ruled over a legal battle between two wives of the late Tlou Coliphta Phago, who died intestate in 2012. Matsatsi Monyepao – whom Phago married in 2010 and lived with until his death – wanted the SCA to declare invalid his marriage to Mokgaetji Ledwaba. Phago married Ledwaba in a customary marriage in 2007 and separated from her in 2008, leaving her in their matrimonial home with their minor child.

Plasket found in Ledwaba’s favour on the nullity of the civil marriage, on grounds that it was registered while her customary union to Phago was undissolved. The Star says Plasket dismissed Monyepao’s argument that her husband's customary marriage to Ledwaba got dissolved in 2008. ‘There is no factual basis for finding that Ledwaba’s customary marriage to Phago was terminated – presumably by divorce – in 2008,’ said Plasket. ‘Monyepao placed no admissible evidence before the court of first instance to establish this fact.’ Plasket pointed out that according to legislation, customary marriages can only be dissolved by divorce. ‘In order for the marriage to have been brought to an end prior to the death of Phago, it would have been necessary for a decree of divorce to have been issued in terms of section 8 of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998,’ he said. Full report in The Star (subscription needed) Zambia: Tensions soar after Chinese nationals murdered Police in Zambia have arrested three people suspected of murdering three Chinese nationals. The suspects are accused of dragging the bodies into a factory and setting it alight. Home Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo has promised a full investigation into last Sunday's ‘barbaric’ crime at the Chinese- owned Blue Star clothing factory. The attack comes amid a controversial crackdown in the capital, Lusaka, on Chinese businesses accused of discriminating against Zambians. BBC News reports that Chinese factory managers have been accused of forcing employees to sleep at work to stop the spread of coronavirus. Lusaka Mayor Miles Sampa has been leading an operation to close Chinese-owned businesses, including barber shops and restaurants, after locals complained about discrimination. Zambia's Foreign Affairs Minister Joseph Malanji has attempted to reassure foreign investors, saying ‘this is something regrettable’. The Global Times reports that the Chinese Embassy condemned the ‘appalling and vicious act of violence’ and demanded that the Zambian authorities resolve the matter. Full Global Times report Full BBC News report Zimbabwe: Health Ministry promotes medicinal cannabis industry Zimbabwe’s Health Ministry has announced that all local and foreign investors promoting the production of cannabis will be offered 100% ownership of their farms and licences to improve competitiveness. The government approved the production of cannabis for medicinal purposes in 2018. Last year, it announced that 37 investors had shown an interest in farming the crop. Health Minister Obadiah Moyo said following a ‘high-level’ Cabinet meeting, the decision was taken ‘to improve the competitiveness of the sector both regionally and globally’. ‘In order to regularise the policy changes, a draft Investment Stabilisation agreement is being reviewed by the Attorney-General's Office. The finalisation has been delayed somewhat due to the focus in controlling the global Covid-19 pandemic.’ New Zimbabwe reports that a joint venture between the government and a private firm (Alternative Health Oils) has seen the state ceding its 40% share ‘leaving the private firm in total control of the entity’. Full New Zimbabwe report

Africa International

State capture: Chinese hands in Gupta loco deal rip-off The involvement of Chinese players in the great rip-off of SA taxpayers to the huge benefit of the Guptas is revealed in the latest investigation by amaBhungane. In two forensically-detailed reports the Chinese hand in kickback contracts worth R9bn paid or pledged to the Guptas and their associates is revealed. The pages of a sheaf of paper detailing offshore banking data tell the story of how Transnet’s ambitious plan a decade ago to renew its locomotive fleet was repurposed to extract loot systematically and on an unprecedented scale. Eight kickback agreements, most made public for the first time, and an analysis of the bank data show that by late 2016, Gupta front companies had received at least R3.7bn, two fifths of the promised R9bn. After 2016, notes amaBhungane, the bank data goes dark. The kickbacks were paid by two locomotive manufacturers now merged to form CRRC Corporation, the Beijing-based conglomerate that boasts of being the world’s largest supplier of rail equipment. But the money came from ordinary South Africans via Transnet. It followed a simple formula: whatever Transnet paid the CRRC companies, they paid the Guptas a cut of, usually 21%. The Gupta-CRRC heist spans distinct Transnet orders for 95, 100, 359 and 232 locomotives, plus relocation and maintenance add- ons, with an aggregate value of about R42bn – what amaBhungane describes as a twisted monument to the extent of their capture of the rail utility and the collusion of its executives, board members and politicians. The kickback agreements reveal the complicity of CRRC officials at the highest level. This, suggests the report, does China no favours as it battles to establish itself as a champion of the developing world and to overcome the perception its firms bribe more readily than their Western counterparts. CRRC and the Guptas have greeted the revelations with silence. CRRC is listed in Hong Kong and Shanghai but the Chinese state is its controlling shareholder, notes the report. How the heist went down Full amaBhungane analysis General: Gas conversion deal with Russia in the making SA and Russia are again considering an energy partnership – this time non- nuclear – according to Mineral Resources & Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe in a Sunday Times report. It says SA has entered into discussions with Russian gas utility Gazprom to build a multibillion-rand plant to convert natural gas into electricity, in apparent violation of tender laws. Officials from the Department of Mineral Resources & Energy (DME) and the Central Energy Fund (CEF) met a delegation from the Russian company to discuss the proposed development. Two senior executives said the delegation from Gazprombank, a subsidiary of state-owned Russian gas giant Gazprom, was accompanied by arms deal fixer Fana Hlongwane. They said the meeting was facilitated by Mantashe, but he reportedly denied this. Plans to build a liquefied natural gas plant at the Coega Industrial Development Zone in Nelson Mandela Bay have been announced, but the Public Finance Management Act does not allow government departments to give preferential treatment to potential bidders, notes the report. However, though the project is still undergoing feasibility studies and the government has yet to put out a call to potential bidders, a memorandum of co-operation has already been signed between PetroSA and Gazprombank to ‘co-operate with each other and jointly evaluate the development, construction and operation of the … project and … explore other opportunities for mutual co- operation as the relationship progresses’. Mantashe reportedly said the discussion were nothing more than ‘meetings with potential investors who have money’. However, Mantashe also told the Sunday Times that if it was up to him, ‘Gazprom would have been working at Coega by now. There is nothing suspicious with the Russians, they have money and they want business.’ Two state energy company executives reportedly said Gazprombank’s delegation made an unsolicited bid to finance and build the plant, but Mantashe denied this. Full Sunday Times report (subscription needed)

Mantashe and CEF chairperson Dr Monde Mnyande have been accused of imposing the appointments of senior executives in the state-owned energy company and one of its subsidiaries. According to a Times Select report, it appears Mantashe appointed Dr Ishmael Poolo as CEF chief executive after ignoring recommendations from its board to appoint one of two candidates who performed better in interviews and psychometric tests. Poolo takes up his position today. A document presented to the CEF board on 28 February recommends the appointment of another candidate, arguing that he was the most experienced and competent. The document recommends that should he be unsuitable, the next suggested candidate be appointed as the CEF’s new CEO. The document shows that out of the four candidates who underwent psychometric tests, Poolo performed the worst. However, in an undated letter Mantashe appoints Poolo. Mantashe said he was legally entitled to appoint the CEF’s CEO. Meanwhile, at the Strategic Fuel Fund (SFF), documents indicate that Mnyande allegedly irregularly orchestrated the conversion of Godfrey Moagi’s contract as acting CEO into a permanent five-year contract. Mantashe denied any wrongdoing in the conversion of Moagi’s contract, saying the decision was taken to the SFF board which unanimously endorsed it. Full Times Select report (subscription needed) Corruption: Deep divisions over graft-accused AfDB boss The US and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have fallen out over allegations of corruption against the bank's Nigerian head, Akinwumi Adesina. The board of governors of the 55-year-old institution last week met to discuss whether to bring in an outside investigator to probe his conduct just days after the US rejected an initial inquiry that cleared him. The prospects of an independent probe comes only three months before he was expected to be re-elected unopposed at the AfDB’s AGM in August. BBC News reports that the allegations of ‘impunity and bad governance’ from unnamed employees have exposed a rift between Adesina and AfDB staff. US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin personally signed a letter to the board rejecting an internal investigation that cleared Adesina. ‘Mnuchin's move is significant because it has now cast a limelight on governance issues and on (the) importance of an independent investigation to uphold the integrity of the AfDB,’ said Barbara Barungi, the bank's former lead economist on . Besides the core 54 African countries, the US is one of the 27 non- regional members of the AfDB and its second largest shareholder. Full BBC News report Criminal: ICC grants Gbagbo permission to travel The International Criminal Court has granted former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo permission to leave Belgium under certain conditions following his acquittal last year over post-election violence that killed 3 000 people. Gbagbo, the first head of state to stand trial in The Hague, and his deputy Charles Ble Goude were cleared in early 2019 of crimes against humanity – eight years after his arrest. A report on the News24 site notes that Belgium had agreed to host Gbagbo after he was released under strict conditions, including his return to court for a prosecution appeal against his acquittal. The ICC said Gbagbo could travel, provided the country he was going to agreed to receive him. It is unclear whether he can return to the Ivory Coast, where his Ivorian Popular Front Party is preparing to challenge President Alassane Ouattara's ruling party in elections scheduled for October. Full report on the News24 site Criminal: Life sentence for Rwandan genocide leader Rwanda's High Court sentenced a former mayor to life in prison for his role in the 1994 genocide, which included leading attacks that resulted in the deaths of around 25 000 ethnic Tutsis in his town. Ladislas Ntaganzwa was arrested in the DRC in 2015. A report on the News24 site notes that Rwanda's prosecution authority said he was convicted for 'genocide, extermination as crime against humanity and rape as a crime against humanity'. At the same time, he was acquitted of 'murder as a crime against humanity and direct and public incitement to commit genocide'. Ntaganzwa was the third suspect to be tried in Rwanda, after earlier genocide accused were tried by the UN-backed International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda which closed in 2015. Ladislas Ntaganzwa profile Full report on the News24 site Covid-19 crisis: SA must support the intellectual property pool President Cyril Ramaphosa last month joined 139 other heads of state, former heads of state and other prominent public figures in signing a letter announcing support for ‘The People’s Vaccine’, a global guarantee which ensures that – when a safe and effective vaccine is developed – it is produced rapidly at scale and made available for all people, in all countries, free of charge. Professor Yousuf Vawda and Professor Brook Baker, honorary research fellows at the School of Law, UKZN, add that in a related ‘landmark’ occurrence, a solidarity call to action – creating a global voluntary intellectual property pool for Covid-19-related information and technologies – would be launched. ‘This represents a major boost to the Covid-19 response, ‘by creating a technology-sharing platform which removes access barriers to effective vaccines, medicines, diagnostics and devices.’ Writing on the City Press site, Vawda and Baker say the envisaged technology pool will be voluntary and based on social solidarity. ‘It will act as a repository of all scientific knowledge, intellectual property, test data, trade secret and industry know-how, to be shared on an equitable basis by the global community. It will promote quicker, more efficient and better open- science research and product development. It will mobilise and expand additional manufacturing capacity, and it will help ensure speedier and more equitable access to existing and newly-discovered Covid-19 health products.’

‘The People’s Vaccine’ will rely in part on the Unitaid-sponsored Medicines Patent Pool (MPP), which negotiates with patent holders for open, non- exclusive licences on life-saving medicines for low- and middle-income countries. Vawda and Baker say previously, the MPP prioritised treatments for HIV, hepatitis C and TB by facilitating licences to generic manufacturers to increase production and distribution of the medicines to enable affordable access. The authors note that SA is a major beneficiary of the MPP, and the massive roll-out of its antiretroviral drugs programme would ‘not have otherwise been possible’. Under its new expanded mandate, the MPP would pursue equitable licensing of Covid-19 medical products to benefit the entire globe. The authors thus call on Ramaphosa to ‘promptly’ declare SA’s support for the solidarity call to action on the Covid-19 technology pool. ‘At the same time, we remind Ramaphosa that there is work to be done at home amending SA’s Patents Act, and instituting emergency measures to temporarily suspend patenting of Covid-19 medical products and to provide for automatic or mandatory compulsory licences on such products should voluntary measures prove unsuccessful.’ Full analysis on the City Press site Tax: Senegal scraps ‘unbalanced' Mauritius treaty Senegal has scrapped its with Mauritius as debate rages over the island 's impact on developing economies. The West African nation had previously threatened to cancel the double non-taxation treaty if certain conditions were not met. It claims the agreement, signed in 2004, had cost it $257m in lost tax revenue over 17 years. It marks the first time that Senegal has scrapped a bilateral tax treaty. ‘The problem with this tax treaty is that it was unbalanced,’ Magueye Boye, a Senegalese tax official told the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). Mauritius' revenue authority and financial services commission did not respond to ICIJ's questions. In July 2019, ICIJ and journalists from 18 countries published Mauritius Leaks, which showed how multinational companies, often aided by major accounting and advisory firms like KPMG, used Mauritius to avoid paying taxes in some of the world's poorest countries. In the 2018 West Africa Leaks investigation, ICIJ revealed that a Canadian engineering giant avoided paying up to $8.9m in taxes to Senegal with the help of a shell company in Mauritius. ICIJ statement Criminal: Top Rwandan genocide suspect denies any role Suspected genocide kingpin Félicien Kabuga last week denied playing a role in the Rwandan massacres. 'All of this is lies. I have not killed any Tutsis. I was working with them,' Kabuga told a French court during his bail hearing. As previously reported in Legalbrief Today, the 84-year-old businessman was arrested this month in a suburb in Paris after 26 years on the run. He is accused of backing and arming ethnic Hutu militias who slaughtered about 800 000 people in 1994. Kabuga founded and funded the notorious Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines, a Rwandan broadcaster that actively encouraged people to search out and kill anyone who was from the Tutsi ethnic group. In 1997 he was indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda on seven counts, including genocide and crimes against humanity. BBC News reports that Kabuga's denial in court was his first public comment in more than a quarter of a century. A report on the EWN site notes that his lawyer Laurent Bayon told the court that his client was too elderly and sick to be transferred to The Hague and should be tried in France. 'This court is just saying 'go and get judged elsewhere but not here'. It wants to hand him over him without consideration for his age and health, which could have irreversible consequences,' he said.

See Africa Analyses Full BBC News report Full report on the EWN site Félicien Kabuga profile Litigation: Dos Santos seeks to revoke court order Angola's billionaire former first-daughter Isabel dos Santos and her husband are seeking to revoke a court order that froze their assets last year as part of a massive corruption probe. Dos Santos and her Congolese husband Sindika Dokolo are accused of diverting billions of dollars from Angolan state companies during Jose Eduardo dos Santos' term in office. A report on the News24 site notes that a court in December froze their bank accounts as part of a crackdown on graft President Joao Lourenco. The couple's lawyer Walter Tondela told AFP he had filed a case against Angola's public prosecution for ‘presenting false documents’. ‘The magistrate ... falsified the documents that deceived the court to the point of making this decision illegal and unconstitutional,’ Tondela said. She has been charged with numerous crimes, including mismanagement, embezzlement of funds, and money laundering during her stewardship of the oil giant Sonangol. Prosecutors estimate that she and Dokola diverted up to $5bn from the state. Full report on the News24 site Criminal: Zambia pardons US gay couple President Edgar Lungu yesterday pardoned two men who were jailed last year for having sex with each other. Their 15-year sentence triggered a diplomatic row, which ended in the recalling of the US ambassador in Zambia. BBC News reports that Japhet Chataba and Steven Samba were among nearly 3 000 prisoners pardoned. The High Court in Lusaka last year convicted the men for having sex 'against the order of nature' after a hotel worker had spotted them through an open window. US ambassador Daniel Foote was chastised for saying he was 'horrified' by the case. The government accused him of using US aid as a leverage. Full BBC News report Criminal: Trafficked Nigerians deported from Lebanon Fifty trafficked Nigerian women have been rescued from Lebanon and returned home. Nigeria's Foreign Minister said they have all been placed in quarantine as a precaution against coronavirus. The country's anti-trafficking agency will interview them about their ordeal after their isolation ends. A Nigerian domestic worker in Lebanon was recently rescued after being advertised for $1 000 on Facebook. Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, tweeted his thanks to the Lebanese authorities for their financial and logistical support in making the evacuation possible. Julie Okah- Donli, the head of Nigeria's National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, said the victims would receive assistance with rebuilding their lives. An undercover BBC News investigation in Kuwait last year established that domestic workers were being illegally traded online. Full BBC News report

General

Bowmans expands its Africa footprint The Covid-19 pandemic sweeping the globe is not stopping Bowmans from expanding its Africa footprint. Less than a year after it announced it was opening a new office in Mauritius and entering into an alliance with Assefa & Associates Law Office in Ethiopia, the firm announced yesterday that it is expanding into Malawi and Zambia, notes Legalbrief. The move has been described as ‘a bold step in uncertain times’. Chairman and senior partner Robert Legh says: ‘Now, more than ever before, we are focusing on our vision of being the pre-eminent African law firm serving our clients wherever they are on the continent.' As a result of these developments, the Bowmans brand is now present in eight key African countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, SA, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia with nine of its own offices in seven jurisdictions. Uganda sued over Lake Victoria flooding Five Kenyans have sued the Ugandan Government for allegedly failing to control flooding around the shores of Lake Victoria which resulted in the displacement of about 50 000 residents. Former president of the Law Society of Kenya, Isaac Okero, and four others are accusing Kampala of breaching the East African Community Treaty and the Nile Basin Comprehensive Framework Agreement on how much water should be released. They are backed by the Lake Victoria Basin Commission and the Kenyan and Tanzanian Governments are named as interested parties. ‘We plead for the prayers and orders that Uganda is responsible for the compensation of loss and/or damage suffered by the applicants,’ Okero stated. The East African reports that the applicants accuse Eskom Uganda Ltd of increasing or reducing the volumes of water flowing from the lake ‘based on how much is needed to meet Uganda's electricity demand’. Furthermore, they claim the Owen Falls dam was built in 1954 after Uganda and Egypt signed agreements that Uganda would not interfere with the flow of the world's longest river. Full report in The East African Mozambique deports foreign sex workers Police in Mozambique have deported 43 alleged sex workers who were arrested for violating coronavirus restrictions. They included Zambians and Zimbabweans who were detained last week. About 109 people were arrested for violating the State of Emergency rules in Beira city. BBC News reports that Mozambique has recorded 227 positive cases of Covid-19, 12 of which are in Sofala Province. President Filipe Nyusi has extended the State of Emergency for another month citing rising cases. During the State of Emergency movement within the country is restricted, schools are closed and foreigners are not allowed into the country. Full BBC News report Police target lockdown violators Zimbabwean police say they have detained 40 000 people for breaking lockdown restrictions. The suspects have been warned, fined or imprisoned. The majority were arrested after travelling more than 5km (from their homes) or failing to wear masks. BBC News reports that the country has been in lockdown since 30 March. Coronavirus cases remain relatively low with 56 cases recorded, 25 recoveries and four deaths. Full BBC News report

Two Zimbabwean journalists arrested while investigating the abduction of three opposition party members have been released on bail. Frank Chikowore and Samuel Takawira, working for the online news outlet 263Chat, had been held on the grounds that they had breached Zimbabwe's anti-coronavirus social distancing rules. 'The magistrate granted them US$20 bail each,' said Kumbirai Mafunda, a spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights. A report on the News24 site notes that the pair was 'ordered not to interfere with witnesses and continue to reside at the addresses they gave the police until the matter comes to an end'. Chikowore and Takawira were arrested on Friday at a private hospital where they were conducting interviews with an opposition lawmaker and two party officials who had been assaulted. Full report on the News24 site

The Anti-Corruption Trust of Southern Africa (ACT-SA) has expressed concern over reports of an increase in alleged corruption by Zimbabwe’s police and soldiers. In a statement received by Legalbrief, it warns that the behaviour of ‘corrupt public officials’ could impact on donor aid. It warned that police and soldiers are soliciting bribes in exchange for ignoring violations of Covid- 19 regulations. South African human rights lawyer Gabriel Shumba, who is an ACT-SA trustee, said ‘laws and regulations on corruption busting are not an end in themselves’. ‘Implementation and enforcement are critical. Government and civil society must strengthen partnership to ensure good governance, especially in so far as the protection of whistle-blowers is concerned,’ he said.

Tanzania has summoned the top official at the US embassy to object to an advisory that warned of ‘exponential growth’ of Covid-19 cases in the country. The embassy's ‘health advisory’ published this month contained inaccurate information, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. A report on the News24 site notes that it claimed that ‘many hospitals’ in Dar es Salaam ‘have been overwhelmed in recent weeks’. 'This is not true and could cause panic among Tanzanians and foreigners,' the Foreign Ministry noted. President John Magufuli has repeatedly downplayed the gravity of the pandemic, and it has been a month since the last official data reflected 480 cases and 16 deaths. Full report on the News24 site

A report on the News24 site notes that 441 repatriated Malawians, including several Covid-19 patients, fled quarantine and isolation sites in Blantyre. They had been bused from SA on Monday, where they were left stranded after the country closed its borders in March to limit the spread of coronavirus. Twelve of the migrants were staying in an isolation centre after testing positive for the virus at the border and the rest were quarantined at a football stadium where they were awaiting further test results. 'If most of them have Covid- 19, then we are facing very difficult times ahead,' said district health officer Gift Kawaladzira. Malawi has recorded just 101 coronavirus cases so far, including four deaths. Full report on the News24 site Benin and Ivory Coast withdraw AfCHPR declarations Benin and Ivory Coast have become the latest countries to withdraw their declaration to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (AfCHPR). This after the AfCHPR issued provisional measures ordering both states to avoid the exclusion of opposition candidates from upcoming elections. However, The East African reports that authorities in Benin said they communicated their withdrawal on 16 March, long before the court's decision was made. And the Ivory Coast announced that it was withdrawing from the court last month, after the tribunal ordered the government to suspend an arrest warrant for former Prime Minister Guillaume Soro. However, both countries remain party to the court's protocol. As a result, once the withdrawal takes effect, the court will still be able to hear complaints against it, but only those submitted by the African Commission, other state parties to its protocol and African intergovernmental organisations. The two countries join Rwanda and Tanzania who officially withdrew their declarations in 2016 and 2019 respectively. ‘The court expressed concern and deeply regretted the action of the two states (Benin and the Ivory Coast). It reiterated its commitment to independence, objectivity and loyalty in the discharge of its mandate,’ said registrar Robert Eno. The report notes that the latest withdrawal will likely mean that only six AU countries (Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Ghana, Malawi, Mali, and Tunisia) will allow individuals and NGOs to have direct access to the court. Full report in The East African

Africa Analyses

Covid-19 crisis: Expat backlash reshapes Chinese perceptions A black version of the Chinese flag swept across African Twitter this month, as users replaced their avatars to express their anger at the government of China. They were outraged not only by widespread reports of coronavirus- related discrimination against Africans in China, but also by claims on Chinese state media that the allegations were ‘groundless rumours’. Posting under the hashtag #BlackChina, Dennis Kiplomo, a nurse from Kenya, tweeted: ‘We expect the kind of hospitality we give to Chinese here in Africa, be reciprocated in their home country.’ Another user in Kenya, Peter Kariuk, wrote: ‘We need a united Africa which will not be slaves of #BlackChina.’ As previously reported in Legalbrief Today, many Africans were last month subjected to forced coronavirus testing and arbitrary 14-day self-quarantine, regardless of their recent travel history. Numerous expats were left homeless after being evicted by landlords and rejected by hotels under the guise of virus containment measures. Traditionally, Beijing has portrayed racism as a Western problem.

Although many African countries have become heavily economically entwined with Beijing, the Guangzhou scandal exposes the gap between the official diplomatic warmth Beijing offers African nations and the suspicion many Chinese people have for Africans themselves. CNN reports that Paul Mensah, a Ghanaian trader who has been living in Shenzhen for five years, says the treatment of Africans in China during the Covid-19 pandemic has shaped his perceptions of racial attitudes in the country. ‘I thought racism was inherent in America, but I never thought people in China would do this,’ he said. There have have been no reports of people in Guangzhou being held accountable for their actions against Africans, and the Constitution has had little effect in protecting China's own ethnic minorities. Full CNN report Covid-19 crisis: How conspiracy theory gained traction Microsoft founder Bill Gates is the new bete noire for conspiracy theorists worldwide, including in Africa where a Kenyan politician's false online post has fuelled the spread of misinformation. Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko in March published an old video of Gates warning about the consequences of a future pandemic, with the caption ‘Bill Gates told us about the corona virus 2015 (sic)’. A report on the EWN site notes that Sonko's post generated so many interactions among his 2m Facebook followers that it remains the most prolific global post about Gates in the Covid-19 era. That’s according to social media analysis tool CrowdTangle. So far, it has been shared more than 1m times and has garnered 38m views on social media. The post highlights the role played by local public figures in spreading false or misleading claims in different parts of the world, according to the Washington-based Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab), which studies disinformation globally. ‘They typically travel beyond ... niche communities when an influencer, such as a prominent celebrity, or even mainstream media source, amplifies them,’ DFRLab's Zarine Kharazian is quoted as saying. He added that ‘once they've achieved this level of spread, they migrate across languages’. Full report on the EWN site

Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina appears to have made a U-turn regarding the coronavirus remedy he claimed his country had developed. As previously reported in Legalbrief Today, Rajoelina last month launched a local herbal tonic which he said could prevent and cure coronavirus. This was disputed by the WHO and Madagascar’s National Medical Academy also cast doubt on the efficacy of the artemisia-based drink, saying it had the potential to damage the health of patients. Michelle Sahondrarimalala, a director of Madagascar’s judicial studies department, denied claims that the ‘remedy’ would be injected into patients. Full BBC News report Criminal: Arrest of genocide fugitive brings some closure Hassan Jallow, the former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), has addressed the significance of the arrest of fugitive Felicien Kabuga, saying ‘justice is very important in bringing closure to the great tragedies of genocide’. As previously reported in Legalbrief Today, Kabuga outwitted genocide prosecutors for more than 25 years by using 28 aliases and powerful connections across two continents. The 84- year-old had been on the run for so long that the international tribunal set up to bring to justice those responsible for the 1994 genocide had ceased to work. However, he was eventually hunted down in Paris last weekend. In a wide-ranging Al Jazeera interview, Jallow, who is Chief Justice in The Gambia, said the US had assisted with the process by placing a $5m reward on Kabuga's head. ‘It is part of their policy to help the cause of international criminal justice. They set up the Rewards for Justice programme. It was very helpful. It encouraged a lot of people to come forward with information which led to the arrest of many fugitives,’ he said. Jallow addressed the role that criminal trials play in the healing process, saying ‘you need other elements such as healing in the community to bring closure’. ‘In the course of my time as prosecutor at the ICTR (between 2003 and 2015), I saw the worst in human beings and I saw the best,’ adding that 'there were good moments when we saw evidence of many Hutus risking their lives in order to save Tutsis’. Full Al Jazeera report

Following Kabuga's arrest, there has been growing concern about the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals which was set up to perform the remaining functions of both the Rwanda tribunal and the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia. Kabuga has asked to be tried in a French court. In an analysis in The Conversation, Jonathan Beloff states that Rwandans are sceptical of the tribunal ‘just as they were of its predecessor’. ‘Rwandans don’t trust the international community’s intentions for justice. This has been fuelled by the ineffectiveness of delivering justice and reconciliation for those affected by the genocide. Genocide survivors would, therefore, ideally want Kabuga to be prosecuted in Rwanda. But this won’t be possible – for legal and for political reasons. On the legal front, Rwanda’s National Public Prosecution Authority has already publicly stated its commitment to helping the tribunal. On the political front, the Rwandan Government needs to balance domestic apprehension with diplomatic relations. Turning its back on the tribunal could stir up a hornet’s nest and hurt fragile relationships with countries, like France.’ Beloff believes that Rwandans perceive international-based justice as aiding the conscience of the international community, which failed to intervene before or during the genocide. ‘Many Rwandans believe they’re trying to remove this guilt by promoting justice for international audiences rather than for victims.’ Full analysis on The Conversation site

A Matter of Justice

Criminal: Lesotho former first lady's bail hearing tainted Lesotho’s former first lady, third wife of former Prime Minister Thomas Thabane, has been charged with murdering the PM’s second wife. Though Maesaiah Thabane was granted bail by the country’s Acting Chief Justice, an Appeal Court – consisting of three ‘outside’ judges – has now found the bail decision tainted by ‘gross irregularities’. After a virtual hearing due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the three judges declared the bail decision invalid and ordered that a further bail hearing be urgently convened to resolve the issue. In its decision the court stressed the importance of the dispute over the validity of the grant of bail to Lesotho as a ‘constitutional democracy under the rule of law’, writes Carmel Rickard in her A Matter of Justice column on the Legalbrief site. The judges took note of the ‘high status’ and political power wielded by Maesaiah, urged that matters such as this should take place in open court rather than in judicial chambers as has become the norm in Lesotho, and that transparency should characterise such hearings in the interests of the people of the country and the rule of law. In particular, the judges expressed concern that well-established key issues for consideration in bail matters such as the likelihood of interference with witnesses and the prospects of convictions were not taken into account before bail was granted. Nor were any reasons provided by the Acting CJ for her decision to grant bail. Lesotho judgment A Matter of Justice

© Juta and Company (PTY) LTD 2020

Terms and Conditions | Contact Us