Tourism-related land rights conflicts in Namibia – the Etosha Case: Tsumib v. Government of the Republic of Namibia

COMMENT Lisa Strube 6 November 2020 Nowadays, it is undisputed that tourism does not only bring positive aspects. Specifically in countries of the Global South, the tourism sector often hides a high potential for conflicts. Imbalanced power relations between the individual actors are the dark side of the travel industry and often lead to human…

Education Qualifications as part of Matrimonial Property

ANALYSIS JOAN SMARTS MUKISA 30 October 2020 Matrimonial property is defined as property jointly acquired during the subsistence of a marriage[1]. The nature of contribution can be direct (monetary) or indirect through offering domestic services.[2] Usually the scope of matrimonial property is already existing property and not future property. This is probably why the legal…

Hapa Kazi Tu! Democratic, Political and Legal Contestations in Tanzania’s 2020 Elections

OPINION Dr Olivia Kokushubila Lwabukuna 29 October 2020 The 2020 Elections actually started in 2015 when the current longest ruling party in sub-Saharan Africa, Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) presidential candidate, John Pombe Magufuli got elected in one of the most contested elections in Tanzania. At the time and to a large extent now, Magufuli presented…

Child Marriage – The Impact of COVID-19 on the Practice of Child Marriage

ANALYSIS Freda Louwes 5 October 2020 The Sustainable Development Goal 5.3 promotes the elimination of all harmful practices, such as child marriage, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation (United Nations 2020). Still, child marriage remains a prevalent global issue. Child marriage refers to any marriage in which at least one of the two…

The legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and our collective responsibility

COMMENT Isabelle Zundel 30 September 2020 It is a major challenge to introduce the notorious Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She was way more than an American jurist. She was the second woman serving the Supreme Court. She is an idol for humans all over the world through her determined, lifelong campaign for women’s rights. Her death…

Peoples’ Rights in Africa: Bridging the Era of Independence Struggles with the Present

COMMENT Cecilia Ngaiza 30 August 2020 Reading through the preamble to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, 1981 (hereinafter referred to as the “Charter”) one may gather an opinion that, peoples’ rights entrenched in the Charter were primarily designed to emphasise on total independence and development of the then colonised African societies. Such…

Black Lives Matter

Prof. Dr Thoko Kaime 24 June 2020 The Chair of African Legal Studies expresses deep solidarity with the protests against structural racism and its daily manifestations in the USA, in Germany and elsewhere around the world. We firmly support the struggles for justice, equality and the protection of the rights of black people and people…

Renee Bach – Fighting post-colonial power structures through litigation

OPINION Isabelle Zundel and Prof. Dr Thoko Kaime, 15 June 2020 Renee Bach, a young white American woman with evangelical background, came to Uganda in 2007. Straight out of high school, she had little professional training and even more trifling experience. Yet she was able to found “Serving His Children” a non-governmental organisation (NGO) which…

Achieving justice for victims of gross human rights in Sudan

COMMENT Prof. Dr Kaime and Lena Scheibinger, 4 June 2020 Significant step in the al-Bashir indictment In February 2020, the Sudanese government indicated its intention to hand over Omar al-Bashir, the country’s former strongman to the International Criminal Court in The Hague to face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Arrest warrants against…

Falsified registrations threaten child rights

OPINION Gift Gawanani Mauluka, 18 May 2020 In light of the fresh Presidential election scheduled for 2nd July 2020 in Malawi, there has been an increase of human rights abuses and violations. One of these is the opening up of the National Registration Bureau (NRB) to children who have not reached the official age of…