African Leaders embarrassing African Court judges

7 December, 2012

  The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights’ (African Court’s) 27th ordinary session being in Port Louis, Mauritius ended on the 7th of December. Not much is known about this court and African leaders are partly to blame for this sad state of affairs. The court’s 11 judges, 5 …» Read More

Malawi: Protecting Rights of Same-Sex Couple

2 November, 2012

Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga were arrested on 28 December 2009 and charged with violating sections 153 and 156 of Malawi’s Penal Code prohibiting carnal knowledge against the order of nature and gross indecency between males.  They had held a traditional engagement ceremony two days prior to their arrest, a …» Read More

Malawi: Mandatory HIV testing of alleged sex workers

31 October, 2012

In November 2009, police in Mwanza arrested alleged sex workers, eventually charging them under section 192 of the Malawi Penal Code for ‘spreading disease’. These women were subjected to mandatory HIV tests and their HIV status was subsequently disclosed in open court proceedings.  The case was brought by 11 women …» Read More

Malawi: Right to Bail for Terminally Ill Remandees

27 October, 2012

The case law in Malawi deemed that bail should only be granted in cases of terminal illness and only if the illness could not reasonably be managed in prison. It also dictated that bail should be granted only for terminally ill detainees, who contracted their illnesses before they were imprisoned, …» Read More

Malawi: Strengthening the Writ of Habeas Corpus

SALC is using the writ of habeas corpus to challenge Malawi’s authority to detain. The applicant, Mavuto Anthony, has been detained for 5 years without a trial. He has been denied bail on a number of occasions. The writ of habeas corpus is rarely used in Malawi and in cases …» Read More