February 2014 ~ Jaba

UGANDA: Supreme Court sets March 4 for hearing of rebel MPs’ case

KAMPALA: The Supreme Court has set March 4 for hearing of an application in which four former ruling party MPs are seeking to temporarily halt a Constitutional Court order kicking them out of Parliament until their appeal is heard and determined. The setting of the date follows last week’s orders by court to the Speaker of Parliament, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, to stop the MPs from accessing and or...

Binding 'pre-nup' law for couples proposed

Couples in England and Wales would be able to legally agree the terms of a divorce before marrying, under a new law being put forward. The Law Commission believes making pre and post-nuptial agreements legally binding will make it easier for couples to manage their finances after a split. Currently, married couples and civil partners can make agreements but courts do not always uphold them. The...

Rwanda court opens trial of first genocide suspect transfered from ICTR

[JURIST] The trial of the first suspect to be transferred from the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) to the Rwandan national court system began Wednesday. The Tanzanian-based UN tribunal transferred Jean Bosco Uwinkindi in April 2012 to stand trial for his role in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. Uwinkindi, a former Pentecostal preacher is accused of genocide and crimes against humanity...

CCM wants Zanzibar Constitution reviewed

Dodoma. Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) wants the 10th amendment of the Zanzibar Constitution reviewed, particularly those areas that have been criticised for reportedly undermining the supremacy of the Union Constitution. The current union system is perceived to be weak because the Constitution has been belittled, the party argues in its push for rejection of the proposed three-government system...

Case put off as accused person falls sick

A PAKISTANI who is cocharged with smuggling live wild animals out of the country, Kamran Ahmed, has fallen ill as the case stalled. Principal Resident Magistrate In-Charge Simon Kobelo adjourned the case until March 21, 24 and 25 to enable the republic to field more witnesses. Advocate Edmund Ngelema told the chamber court that his client was seriously ill and that his blood sugar was...

Turkish president signs law increasing government control over judiciary

[JURIST] Turkish President Abdullah Gul approved a law on Wednesday which increases government control over the appointment of judges and prosecutors in the country. The new law [Reuters report] grants the Ministry of Justice [official website] greater control over the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) [official website, in Turkish], an independent body responsible for appointing members...

Lee Rigby murder: Adebolajo and Adebowale jailed

Michael Adebolajo has been given a whole-life term and Michael Adebowale has been jailed for a minimum of 45 years for murdering Fusilier Lee Rigby. Adebolajo, 29, and Adebowale, 22, drove into Fusilier Rigby with a car before hacking him to death in Woolwich, south-east London, in May last year. The judge, Mr Justice Sweeney, said Adebolajo's was one of those "rare cases" warranting a whole-life...

German court scraps 3 percent EU Parliament election threshold

Germany’s top court has abolished a rule that said political parties need at least 3 percent of the vote to enter the EU Parliament. The court has said the hurdle infringed on parties’ rights to equal opportunities. ........................... The Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe on Wednesday ruled that the current 3 percent threshold required to secure seats in the European Parliament is unconstitutional,...

Witness testifies seeing wildlife loaded in plane

A PROSECUTION witness in the case in which four people are accused of smuggling wild animals out of the country has told Moshi Resident Magistrate Court that the animals were loaded and transported to Qatar without required documents. Mr Robert Nyanda (48), who was a clamp supervisor at Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA), said he saw the animals, who were loaded without cargo manifest or...

Zambia court acquits top gay rights activist

Paul Kasonkomona found not guilty of encouraging homosexuality after talking about gay rights and AIDS on TV. .............................. A Zambia court has acquitted a prominent gay rights activist charged with an offence against public morality over comments he made on television in support of homosexuals. Paul Kasonkomona's acquittal on Tuesday was hailed by gay rights advocates as...

Tanzania yet to sign anti-piracy protocol

Tanzania is yet to sign the protocol against piracy endorsed by the other East African and Indian Ocean littoral states, it has been learnt. Speaking in Dar es Salaam recently, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Bernard Membe clarified that Tanzania has yet to meet the international standards set by the European Union. The country was urged to sign the protocol some...

Mombasa court renews warrant against Samantha Lewthwaite

A Mombasa court has renewed arrest warrants it had issued against British fugitive terror suspect Samantha Lewthwaite and Kenyan Habib Ghani Saleh alias Osman. Senior Principal Magistrate Richard Odenyo extended the order for police to arrest the two who have been on the run for almost three years. Mr Ghani is believed to be a key Al-Shabaab member who was reported to have been killed last...

Othman wants minor disputes out of court

THE Chief Justice, Mr Mohamed Chande Othman, has called upon residents in Kagera Region to utilize the Appeals Chambers which are now available at the Bukoba High Court. He made the call on Monday when he officially opened the first session of the Court of Appeal at the Bukoba High Court. Chief Justice Othman also advised residents in the region to settle some of the disputes out of court to...

Uganda: Parliament approves six High Court judges

Kampala: Parliament’s Appointments Committee has cleared the six judges to serve in the High Court. The committee chaired by the Speaker of Parliament, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, cleared four High Court judges, including Ms Patricia Basaza Wasswa, Jessica Ayebazibwe, David Matovu and Margaret Mutonyi. Mr Asaph Ntengye Ruhinda, formerly the Registrar of Courts, and Ms Lillian Tumusiime were...

Museven signs Anti-Homosexuality bill into law

President Museveni has finally assented to the Anti-Homosexuality bill. The bill now becomes a law. While signing the bill at state house Entebbe, the president said that he has signed the bill because scientific research proved that Homosexuality is by nurture and not nature, hence it can be fought. "A study done in Sweden showed that 34% were homosexuals as a result of nurture not nature''...

President Museveni's full speech at signing of Anti-Homosexuality bill

President Museveni today assented to the anti-homosexuality bill, making it a law amidst debate and controversies from Western powers and Human rights activists. The President stressed that despite US president barrack Obama getting disappointed with the signing of this bill, We (Ugandans) have also been disappointed for a very long time too by the policies of the west that do not make us "happy". He...

Ex-Ilala director charged with murder

FORMER Ilala Municipal Executive Director Gabriel Kaziyashule Fuime (61), appeared before the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam last Friday where he was charged with four counts of murder in respect of a building that collapsed in the city centre early last year. Fuime was not allowed to enter any plea before Senior Resident Magistrate Augustina Mbando because his case will...

Court hears evidence on Tanzania reps to EALA case

The East African Court of Justice (EACJ) First Instance Division heard evidence from two witnesses of the Applicant-Anthony Calist Komu on a matter concerning elections of representatives of Tanzania to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA). The case was filed by Anthony Calist Komu, a member of a Political Party Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA), against the Attorney General...

4 in court over loss of 3.4bn/-

Four people including two employees of the Medical Stores Department (MSD) yesterday (20/02/2014) appeared before Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam charged with seven counts, including abuse of position and occasioning loss of 3.4bn/-. The MSD employees are Sylvester Matandiko who is Director of Zonal Operations North and Acting Director General and Sadiki Materu who is a Quality...

Ukraine President Yanukovich impeached by the Parliament

Parliament votes to dismiss Viktor Yanukovich and sets early election for May 25, while jailed opposition leader freed. Ukraine's parliament has voted to remove President Viktor Yanukovich from office, hours after he abandoned his Kiev office to protesters and denounced what he described as a coup. The impeachment, which was backed by 328 of the 447 deputies, argues that Yanukovich abused...

Thailand court declares anti-protester laws unconstitutional

[JURIST] The Civil Court of Thailand on Wednesday ruled that orders targeting anti-government protesters from the Prime Minister and a Special Security Command Center under the special security law known as the Internal Security Act were unconstitutional, violating the protesters' constitutional rights. In addition to ruling on the constitutionality of the special orders, the court upheld the state...

Mexico lawmakers introduce marijuana legalization bill

[JURIST] A group of left-wing Mexican lawmakers from the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) introduced a bill on Tuesday to legalize marijuana in an effort to curb cartel violence. Since Mexican President Felipe Calderon launched a crackdown on drug cartels in 2008, Mexico has faced a wave of violence that has resulted in an estimated 70,000 deaths and 26,000 disappearances. PRD members plan...

German court sentences Rwandan ex-mayor on genocide charges

A German court has sentenced a former mayor to 14 years in prison for his role in the Rwandan genocide. It was the first trial connected with the genocide to have taken place in Germany. .................................. On Tuesday, a court in the central German city of Frankfurt sentenced the former mayor of Kiziguro in Rwanda to 14 years' imprisonment for complicity in genocide. The 56-year-old...

Dar actress Lulu denies killing actor Kanumba

BONGO Movie Actress, Elizabeth Michael Kimemeta, alias Lulu, denied killing her lover, Steven Kanumba, when she was arraigned at the High Court in Dar es Salaam. She had been summoned to the court to answer a manslaughter charge she is facing following the death of Kanumba in 2012. Judge Rose Temba, who conducted the proceedings, adjourned the matter to next session when the full trial will take...

UN rights experts urge repeal of Kenya marital property law

[JURIST] Experts from the UN Working Group on discrimination against women in law and practice [official website], along with several other special groups within the UN, urged [press release] Kenya on Monday to repeal sections of the Marriage and Property Act [text]. According to the experts, the provisions effectively deny women the right to marital property upon divorce or death of their spouse...

Karzai orders rewrite of latest Afghanistan anti-women law

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has ordered changes to a law called a setback for women's rights. The law had already been passed by both houses of parliament, which are dominated by conservatives and tribal chieftains. ............................... On Monday, Karzai ordered amendments to legislation criticized for depriving abuse victims of legal protection. Both houses of parliament had passed...

Turkish lawmakers approve bill increasing control over judiciary

[JURIST] Turkey's parliament on Saturday passed a law giving parliament more control over how judges are appointed. Amid protests over suspected government corruption and even violence inside parliament [Al Jazeera report] the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) [party website] pushed through the bill giving the Justice Ministry more control over the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors...