Two court disputes test SA’s commitment to rule of law
Strong views were expressed at a seminar on South Africa and the ICC in Cape Town last week that South Africa should remain in the court. This is to both bolster international justice when it is under threat and to prove to the world – after the Zuma era – that South Africa remains committed to the rule of law. The seminar was organised by the Wayamo Foundation and the Africa Group for Justice and Accountability.
Don’t pull South Africa out of the ICC, judges urge Justice Minister Masutha
South Africa could help counter the global vacuum of respect for international law by supporting the International Criminal Court, says former Justice Richard Goldstone, who with Judge Navi Pillay has urged Justice Minister Michael Masutha not to withdraw the country from The Hague-based court.
Signs of an ANC shift on withdrawal from ICC
Differences within government and the ANC about South Africa’s withdrawal from the International Criminal Court could mean that the parliamentary process now under way might yet come to naught – but don’t expect much open debate on this before next year’s general elections.
Brics summit ‘almost collapsed’ because of legal threat against heads of state – Masutha
Justice Minister Michael Masutha has admitted that the Brics summit in Johannesburg last month “almost collapsed” because a group of South African lawyers threatened legal action against some heads of state attending the gathering.
South Africa and international justice – Charting the way forward
The Africa Group for Justice and Accountability (AGJA) and the Wayamo Foundation will hold a one-day public symposium at the Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel on 29 August 2018, under the banner of “South Africa and international justice – Charting the way forward”.
3RD ANNUAL JOAN KAGEZI MEMORIAL LECTURE REPORT
On 13 April, Wayamo Foundation Director Bettina Ambach and Deputy Director Mark Kersten participated in the third annual Joan Kagezi Memorial Lecture on the theme of “Combating International and Transnational Organised Crime: Lessons Learnt and Best Practices”. The Wayamo Foundation had the privilege of co-organising the event with its partners in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. The event celebrated the life of Joan Kagezi, a senior prosecutor in Uganda’s International Crimes Division, who was assassinated in March 2015. “A reason for organising this Memorial Lecture is to immortalise the memory of Joan so that her death does not bring an end to what she fought for. We are all here to say that it is not okay to kill a human being. We are here to say it is not okay to kill a mother in front of her children and to say it is not okay to kill a prosecutor or a law enforcement officer. And it is definitely not okay to kill one of us and expect that it will be business as usual. It is not okay and it cannot and will not be business as usual until the perpetrators and the killers of Joan Kagezi are