What they said

Mosbah’s lawyer, Hela Ben Salem, told Reuters, “The verdict is a major shock, and it is part of a broader effort to dismantle civil society groups and shift responsibility for the state's failure to address the migrant issue onto these groups.” She also described the ruling as “a shocking judgment that has nothing to do with the case” and said it sends “a clear message: community work is suspect in the eyes of the current regime.” The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and the World Organisation Against Torture said her prosecution is “part of a broader pattern of intensifying repression of civil society in Tunisia,” citing cases against rights defenders, media “smear campaigns” and restrictions on NGOs working on migration.

The court found that the Notice of Motion did not meet Order 51 Rule 13 of the Civil Procedure Rules of Kenya (2010), which requires a specific notice statement to appear at the foot of every motion application. The supporting affidavit was also found to be defective for not complying with Order 19, Rules 4 and 5.

Justice Mwamuye said both the motion and the affidavit appeared to be machine-generated, raising broader concerns about the use of artificial intelligence in legal filings.

“Computer-generated documents or outputs of ‘artificial intelligence’ cannot be a proper substitute for human-drawn documents,” the judge said. “A party must draw and file their documents on their own accord and by their own hand or through their legal representatives.”

While the judge noted that the defects were largely technical, he ruled they were serious enough to warrant striking out the application. However, the petitioner was allowed to file a fresh application and affidavit that meet the required legal standards.

Last winter, doctors diagnosed the man with primary biliary cirrhosis and warned that without a liver transplant, he was unlikely to survive beyond a year. His parents sold their home to help cover medical costs, while his wife remained at his side as his primary carer.

Tests later showed that the wife was an almost perfect donor match, with compatibility exceeding 95%. But when asked to undergo surgery, she refused, telling doctors and relatives that she suffered from a severe fear of needles and surgical procedures.

The refusal caused a rift within the family, with he husband accusing her of wanting him to die and dismissing her caregiving, while his parents pressed her to reconsider. He later claimed to have uncovered evidence that she had previously undergone surgery and routine blood tests without difficulty.

A suitable liver from a brain-dead donor was eventually found, and the husband survived after a successful transplant. 

When confronted afterwards, the wife admitted that her claimed phobia was an excuse, saying she feared surgical risks and worried that their children would be left without a mother if something went wrong.

The husband subsequently filed for divorce, arguing that her refusal amounted to abandonment and a failure of marital duty. The case went to court, where judges rejected his claim.

In its ruling, the court said organ donation was a matter of personal bodily autonomy and could not be forced, even between spouses. It also found that the husband’s coercion and verbal abuse had undermined the marriage.

The couple later agreed to divorce, with the wife retaining custody of their children. According to local media , she also continued to provide financial support for the husband’s recovery, as the case sparked widespread online debate, much of it in defence of her decision.

The petitioner urged the court to direct authorities to take urgent steps to reduce the risk of catastrophic damage. 

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta rejected the plea with a dose of dry humour: “So we should relocate everyone to the moon or where?” the judges asked, noting that such matters lie firmly within the government’s policy responsibilities, not the court’s.

When the petitioner pointed to a recent major earthquake in Japan as justification for intervention, the bench responded: “First we have to bring volcanoes into this country, then we can compare it with Japan,” implying that India’s geological conditions are fundamentally different.

The petitioner insisted that authorities should at least be required to prepare for potential disasters. The court disagreed. “That is for the government to take care of. This court cannot do it. Dismissed,” the bench said.

Attempts by the petitioner to rely on recent media reports were also brushed aside. 

“These are newspaper reports. We are not bothered about them,” the bench said, stressing once again that questions of seismic risk, infrastructure safety and disaster planning fall under executive decision-making, not judicial oversight.

Kenya’s High Court on December 11 issued temporary orders halting the implementation of the $1.6 billion Kenya–US Health Cooperation Framework. The ruling came after the Consumers Federation of Kenya filed a petition warning that the agreement could permit the transfer of confidential medical and epidemiological data belonging to citizens. The orders suspend any steps to operationalise the pact “insofar as it provides for or facilitates the transfer, sharing or dissemination of medical, epidemiological or sensitive personal health data.” The legal challenge, filed under HCCHRPET/E809/2025, marks the first major attempt to scrutinise the deal signed on December 4. 

AfDB and KCB sign $150m green financing package

The African Development Bank Group and KCB Bank Kenya have entered a $150 million partnership to expand climate-smart investments and green lending in Kenya. The deal includes a $100 million subordinated debt facility to strengthen KCB’s Tier II capital and a $50 million transaction guarantee to cover non-payment risks on letters of credit. The collaboration supports KCB’s commitment to allocate 25% of its portfolio to green initiatives by 2031, targeting renewable energy, infrastructure and agriculture. AfDB East Africa Director General Alex Mubiru praised the partnership as a boost for Africa’s green transition. KCB Managing Director Annastacia Kimtai said the bank aims to deepen its role in financing energy transition, e-mobility and climate adaptation. Last year, KCB issued $402 million in green loans, increasing its green portfolio to 21.32%.

Danish Queen begins three-day state visit to Kenya

Denmark’s Queen Mary arrived in Nairobi on the night of December 9 for a three-day official visit, her second trip to Africa in two months. She was received at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport by Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Affairs Minister Musalia Mudavadi, alongside Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano. During her visit, the Queen will tour conservation projects for endangered species at the coast, inspect waste-management and circular-economy initiatives, and attend meetings at the United Nations Office in Nairobi. The trip aims to strengthen cooperation between Kenya and Denmark in renewable energy, climate action and environmental protection.

Study reveals most homicide victims in Kenya killed by people they knew

A National Crime Research Centre study has found that Kenya recorded more than 1,000 homicides over the past year, with most victims killed by people they knew. Of the 1,011 cases analysed, eight in ten victims had a prior relationship with their attackers. Men were often killed in disputes involving land, cattle rustling, mob justice and alcohol, while women were mostly victims of domestic conflicts and intimate-partner violence. Nairobi recorded the highest number at 80 cases, concentrated in informal settlements such as Starehe, Mathare, Kayole, Embakasi and Kariobangi. Rural counties, including Kilifi, Homa Bay, Narok and Trans-Nzoia, also reported high levels of fatal violence linked to land and inter-communal disputes. The report warns that economic pressures, substance abuse and weakened community support systems are fuelling preventable confrontations.

Kenya launches National Plastics Action Partnership

Kenya has formally joined the Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP), establishing the Kenya National Plastics Action Partnership (NPAP Kenya) in a deal presided over by Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs Korir Sing’Oei on December 10. The collaboration positions Kenya within a 25-country network advancing solutions to plastic pollution affecting more than 1.5 billion people. The partnership aims to accelerate Kenya’s transition to a circular plastics economy, building on the country’s environmental milestones, including the 2017 ban on plastic bags—which eliminated an estimated 6.2 billion bags—and the 2020 prohibition on single-use plastics in protected areas. Kenya has also championed the EAC Single-Use Plastics Bill, which seeks to harmonise environmental regulations across the region to curb cross-border plastic leakage.

Instead, he was enrolled in a boarding school in the country after being sent there in March 2024. 

The court decided that the boy, whose identity has been withheld, must remain in Ghana until he completes the equivalent of the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE).

According to court documents, the boy’s parents decided to relocate him as a “protective measure” due to concerns about his behaviour in London. These concerns included repeated school absences, unexplained cash, and possession of a knife. The teenager denies involvement in any criminal activity or gang affiliation.

The case came to light after the boy contacted the British High Commission in Accra and the UK-based charity Children and Family Across Borders. The charity facilitated his connection with the International Family Law Group, which represented him in court. He described himself as “scared and desperate” and expressed a strong desire to return to the UK.

In February 2025, the court sided with the parents, citing the risks of returning to the UK. However, in June, the Court of Appeal granted the boy’s request for the case to be reconsidered. The latest judgement upheld the original decision, determining that his return would further disrupt his education and family stability.

“I am acutely aware that the conclusion I have reached does not accord with [his] wishes and how that will feel for him... [He] has the talent, ability and intelligence to make this work together with his family. It will be difficult, but they all have the common aim for [him] to return to live with his family," said Judge Mrs Justice Theis. 

Now nearly 15, the boy remains enrolled in a school in Ghana and is working toward completing his GCSEs.

He describes his experience in Ghana as distressing, stating he was “living in hell” and “desperate” to return to the UK. He reported feelings of social isolation, noting he does not speak Twi, has difficulty making friends, and suffers from social anxiety.

The boy's mother has said that she would be unable to care for him in the UK at this stage. “It is really hard to be away from him... I feared and continue to fear that if he were to come back now, he could end up dead. I know he does not see it like that…” she said.

James Netto, the boy’s solicitor from The International Family Law Group,  told Global South World shortly after the boy had won his appeal in June, that the case hinged on the fact that he had been misled about the purpose of his travel and “his very strong wishes to return to his home, which is in London.”

Following the new ruling, Netto stated that the boy’s “position remains unchanged: he wants to return home.”

The duo was arrested after a cleaner reported strange noises, prompting an investigation. Authorities said they were caught with a live chameleon and several items described as “assorted charms” — including a red cloth, white powder of unknown origin, and an animal’s tail.

“The motive of the crime was to kill the head of state,” magistrate Fine Mayambu said during the court ruling in Lusaka. “The convicts were not only enemies of the head of state but all Zambians.” Both men received a two-year prison sentence with hard labour.

The prosecution claimed they were hired by the brother of opposition MP Emmanuel “Jay Jay” Banda, who is currently on trial for robbery, attempted murder, and escaping from custody.

Witchcraft accusations are not new in Zambian politics. In the ongoing dispute over the burial of former President Edgar Lungu, rumours have circulated that President Hichilema planned to use Lungu’s body for occult rituals. Lungu, aged 68, died in June while receiving medical treatment in South Africa. His death has sparked a disagreement between the government — which wants to bring his body home for a state burial — and his family, who wish to keep the body abroad.

Across Africa, witchcraft allegations can lead to violence or worse. Just two months ago in Burundi, six people were killed after being accused of practising witchcraft.

Belief in witchcraft remains strong in parts of Africa. A 2022 Afrobarometer survey showed that many Malawians not only believe in witchcraft but also support laws to criminalise it.

In Ghana, controversy erupted after a bill passed by parliament in 2023 to criminalise attacks on alleged witches was blocked by then-president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. 

Many victims have been forced to live in camps for safety. Amnesty International reported that over 500 individuals accused of witchcraft were living in camps in northern Ghana as of April 2024.

In South Africa, the law takes a different stance. The Witchcraft Suppression Act, introduced in 1957 and amended in 1970, makes it illegal to claim supernatural powers or to accuse others of witchcraft in ways that cause harm.

“This is a victory for democracy,” one demonstrator said.

Claudia, holding a placard, turned her message outward: “The message I send to Trump is that Brazilian democracy is doing very well, thank you. And it is much better, much more solid than American democracy.”

The celebrations followed Thursday’s landmark ruling from Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court, which sentenced Bolsonaro to 27 years and three months behind bars. Judges found the former leader guilty of orchestrating a plot to annul the 2022 election results, dissolve the courts, empower the military, and even target president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The ruling marks the first time in Brazil’s history that a former head of state has been convicted for attempting a coup, a decision many protesters described as long-overdue justice .

Van der Merwe was denied the right to take his wife Jordaan’s surname, while Bornman was blocked from hyphenating his surname with that of his wife, Donnelly. Both men contended the restrictions violated constitutional guarantees of equality and dignity.

In its judgment , the Constitutional Court agreed, describing the provisions as outdated and rooted in patriarchal assumptions which limits men’s choices and ifringes on their rights to equality and dignity.

The court’s decision affirms an earlier ruling by the Bloemfontein High Court, which had already found the restrictions unconstitutional. It also aligns with submissions by the Free State Society of Advocates, which supported the couples’ case, arguing that the law perpetuated harmful gender stereotypes.

Neither the Minister of Home Affairs, Leon Schreiber, nor the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mamoloko Kubayi, opposed the application.

Under the ruling, Parliament has 24 months to amend the Act and its regulations. In the meantime, men will be allowed to adopt their wives’ surnames, or hyphenate them, when registering a marriage.

The issue was deeply personal for Jordaan, whose surname her husband sought to adopt. She described her name as a connection to family memories, underscoring the human dimension behind the legal battle.

Advocates for gender equality have welcomed the judgment, describing it as a necessary step toward dismantling discriminatory practices in South African law and affirming the right of couples to define their identities on equal terms.

“As you have seen, we are unfortunately witnessing the establishment of a practice that consists of manipulating the justice system to settle political scores. We cannot stress this enough, and it is regrettable for our country,” he added. 

Masra, who served as prime minister between January and May last year, leads the Transformers party and is a prominent critic of President Mahamat Deby. 

He was accused alongside 67 co-defendants, mostly from the Ngambaye ethnic group, of triggering a violent clash between herders and farmers in Logone Occidental in May. The violence left 35 people dead and six others injured.

The former prime minister has denied all charges. He also contested the results of the May 2024 presidential election, in which Chad’s electoral body declared Deby the winner with 61.3% of the vote. Masra placed second, securing 18.53%.

His dispute was that he was deceived, and if he had known he was being sent to boarding school in Ghana, "there would have been no way I would have agreed to it," he wrote to the court. The boy, who had lived in the UK since birth, added that he was "mocked" and "never settled in" at the school in Ghana, and he just wants to go back home.

The High Court in London ruled in favour of the parents who argued that they feared for their son’s safety in London and the relocation wasn’t a form of punishment. 

The court ruled in favour of the parents in February 2025, and in June, the boy won a Court of Appeal bid for the case to be reheard.

Global South World spoke with the boy’s solicitor, James Netto of The International Family Law Group, about the extent of the rights of children under the full custody of their parents.

“What we were arguing is that… the older a child becomes and grows into a young person, into teenage years, into their adolescence and adulthood, the parental control, the parental rights over that young person, is diluted ever so often. And there's lots of case law that we have about young persons, if they understand what's going on, they can consent themselves to say medical treatment or issues concerning their religion or schooling or health care or housing,” he told Ismail Akwei in an interview.

James Netto added that the real conflict in this case is the parents admitting to deceiving the boy to move to Ghana as a form of protection, which “was the issue that the judge struggled with.”

“It was a huge shock to the parents. I think the court and all the lawyers in the room have a tremendous amount of sympathy for them, but they also have a tremendous amount of sympathy for him as well. I don't envy the judge who had to make the decision at the first time round because it is such a finely balanced polemic issue,” he said. 

“It came down to his strongly held wishes and feelings, the fact that his parents had deceived him into travelling as well. That was a very big factor, both for the first judge and also for the Court of Appeal. And also it was his very strong wishes to return to his home, which is in London. It's impossible to say what the court would have done in other circumstances, but it's not a UK versus Ghana case,” he said.

According to James Netto in an email shortly after the interview, they expect the date of the final hearing to be fixed on June 30, 2025 or later, and the family is considering mediation outside of the court.

Watch the full interview attached above.

Despite the numerous allegations against Diddy, his defence team stands by its previous comments that the rapper is bouncing back stronger.

"He's doing fine (Sean "Diddy" Combs). You know, Dr King called it the law of unintended consequences. So sometimes the more you push a person down, the stronger they get and so he's making an adjustment. He had his family here today to support him. We really want to put an end to all of the clowning that we see on the Internet. This is a serious proceeding with serious consequences, and all of us are addressing it accordingly," Diddy's lawyer Anthony Ricco told the press on Thursday.

The charges against Combs stem from an extensive investigation into allegations of sex trafficking and racketeering. Federal prosecutors have accused the music mogul of orchestrating a network that exploited individuals for commercial sex acts.

R&B singer Cassie Ventura filed a lawsuit against Sean "Diddy" Combs in 2023, accusing him of repeated physical abuse, sexual exploitation, and rape throughout their decade-long professional and personal relationship.

In November 2023, the two reached an undisclosed settlement, while Combs firmly denied the accusations.

Cassie's lawsuit opened a plethora of legal actions against the 54-year-old rapper by more than 100 people including singer Dawn Richard.

The Court's decision clears the path for Zuma to contest the presidency under the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK), a party he joined after leaving the African National Congress (ANC).

The Electoral Commission’s decision to disqualify Jacob Zuma last month from running for office was due to a contempt of court conviction,according to the BBC . The commission argued that the constitution prohibits individuals convicted of crimes and sentenced to over 12 months in prison from holding public office.

In 2021, the former president received a 15-month jail sentence for refusing to testify in a corruption probe, but he was released after serving only three months due to health reasons.

However, Zuma’s lawyers argued that his conviction was related to civil rather than criminal matters

The former president aged 81, though running on the ticket of the MK opposition, was once a prominent member of the ruling party, ANC which Nelson Mandela once led. He served as president from 2009 to 2018 before resigning amidst corruption allegations.

Jacob Zuma, who sees himself as the rightful successor to the ANC's revolutionary legacy, is running on the ticket of the MK party named after the former military wing of the ANC.

While South Africa’s Electoral Commission has acknowledged the court order, it has requested the court to justify its conclusions.

“In order to understand the basis of the conclusions reached in both matters, it is important that reasons are provided. We will accordingly request the Electoral Court to hand down reasons for the orders made,” the media statement read.

South Africa's upcoming general election on May 29 is anticipated to be fiercely contested, and expected to be a historic moment in the country's democracy.

“The application was launched by Werner van Wyk and his spouse, Ika van Wyk. During Mrs van Wyk's pregnancy, Mr van Wyk applied to his employer for the 4-month maternity leave benefit. The employer refused on the basis that its maternity leave policy did not provide for persons other than the birthing mother to receive the maternity leave benefit,” South African law firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyer in a statement said.

Bafana Khumalo, co-executive director of Sonke Gender Justice, a South African gender rights organization also said in a statement, “We welcome this landmark judgement which is contributing to growing our jurisprudence on the quest for shared care work in families. Although we did not get all that we prayed for, we are nevertheless gratified that the court was persuaded on the key asks by the legal teams. This is groundbreaking and will go a long way in influencing a positive attitude towards shared care work.’’

As of 2021, The Gambia, Kenya, Seychelles, South Africa, and South Sudan are the five countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to offer fathers 14 leave days, which is the most among the 48 nations in the region. Twenty of the countries in the region do not have laws that grant fathers paternity leave, according to a 2022 World Bank report.