Africa

Tthe “Civil Party” brought a case against his “ex-wife” and Bahige Kanywabahize “Bahige”, or together with the ex-wife, the “Accused”, for abandoning the conjugal home and adultery.  The Civil Party and his ex-wife cohabitated as a married couple until she decided to leave their home, obtained a divorce from the Tribunal for the City of Bukavu, and decided to get married to Bahige.  The Civil Party claims his ex-wife abandoned him with the intent to marry Bahige.  The Civil Party seeks customary reimbursement of the dowry he paid to his ex-wife (6,000 zaires, a goat, two case

The “Civil Party” brought allegations of adultery against her husband and the “cohabitant”, claiming her husband abandoned her to live with the cohabitant despite her earlier marriage with her husband in 1980.  The Civil Party and her husband had three children before he moved away.

The Civil Party brought suit on behalf of his 13-year-old daughter and sought criminal sanctions against four men whom he accused of violently raping his daughter.  The four men jumped on her, held her down and one by one proceeded to engage in sexual relations with her when she was returning home from laundering clothes with her little sister.  The case proceeded in expedited fashion as a flagrant intentional crime.  The Tribunal found the four men guilty of violent rape, noting that even if the girl consented, her mere thirteen years of age prevented any clear and free cons

Busudu Tina (“the accused”) was prosecuted by the State for having aborted her pregnancy, punishable under Articles 165 and 166 of the Congolese Penal Code.  She attempted to abort her pregnancy using different methods, including ingesting quinine, manioc infusion, and a product described as ‘cloveganol’, and admitted to the Tribunal that she had aborted a previous pregnancy in 1991.  The Tribunal became aware of the abortion when an acquaintance, worried for the accused’s health, sought assistance despite being sworn to secrecy by the accused.  The fetus was hidden in a laun

In 2000, the Public Service Act was amended to recognize sexual harassment.

This divorce case involved a couple that was married for 25 years. The petitioner-wife filed for divorce due to unreasonable behavior and adultery. She requested custody of their minor child, property rights as the court deemed fit, and that the respondent-husband vacate the marital home, pay a dissolution settlement, and cover court costs. The respondent, who was the family’s primary source of financial support, funded the construction of the parties’ marital home.

The defendant was prosecuted in the Supreme Court of Seychelles for procuring an abortion, violating Section 148 of the Penal Code. The defendant was charged with unlawfully administering pills to induce a miscarriage. She pleaded guilty and expressed remorse for her actions. In sentencing, the Court imposed a two-year suspended sentence together with a monetary fine, taking into account her plea and contrition.

The accused was prosecuted in the Supreme Court of Seychelles for unlawful wounding with intent to inflict grievous harm under Section 219 of the Penal Code. The accused attacked his ex-wife by pinning her down and striking her feet with an axe, causing serious injury. He was charged with intent to inflict grievous harm.

The executive branch of Malawi issued a moratorium to halt the operation of laws that criminalized the sexual practices of same-sex couples. A lower court suspended the moratorium and three separate applicants filed for a continuation of the suspension in the High Court. The Court found that two of the applicants, as clergymen, did not have standing in the case because they were not directly injured by the moratorium.

The appellant was convicted of raping his 12 year old daughter and sentenced to 22 years imprisonment. The Court upheld the sentence in light of the heinous nature of rape as a crime and the importance of society sending a message of severe condemnation of the crime.