Although, as the name of the country suggests, Botswana is populated mainly by Tswana-speaking peoples, it is acknowledged that the most indigenous or aboriginal inhabitants of the country are the San or Basarwa, identified and described in some of the literature as Bushmen. Basarwa also have the less admirable distinction of being perceived and depicted as the most marginalized of all the ethnic groups in the country. Concern about the status, and the political and economic position of Basarwa in Botswana has been expressed in numerous reports and writings, official and unofficial, and at various conferences, seminars and gatherings, national or international.

The contemporary African international community is afflicted by a linguistic dilemma. On the one hand, the African elites are constrained to accept the imperative of adopting the inherited colonial languages in order to gain easy access to the global international community currently dominated by the linguistic condominium of the erstwhile imperial powers. On the other hand, these African elites, propelled by nationalistic sentiments, express in legal instruments a sanguine hope of promoting their indigenous tongues to the rank of official/working languages, not only on the national, but also on the continental scale. This would appear necessary in order to avoid cultural or linguistic suicide. However, in concept and practice, the whole idea seems to have remained in the realm of myth.

Commercial exploration and exploitation of Nigeria's petroleum resources began in 1956 when large deposits of hydrocarbon were discovered at Oloibiri in the present Rivers State of Nigeria. Since the delivery of the first consignment of crude oil to Europe in 1958, activities in Nigeria's oil industry have witnessed a dramatic increase. As the sixth largest producer in OPEC, Nigeria contributes nearly two million barrels of crude petroleum to the global oil market. Petrodollars from the sale of crude oil in the last four decades have brought a phenomenal change in the country's economy. Ironically, the oil industry, which has brought development to many parts of Nigeria, has become a source of misery to the people of oil-producing communities whose existence is now threatened by the scourge of oil pollution.

The availability of credit facilities to both companies and individuals wishing to do business is probably one of the most important facets of the modern world. It is needless to emphasize that the need to create an enabling environment conducive to investment and hence employment creation remains an important goal of the modern state. Credit is at the centre of this mission and as the U.K. Review Committee on Insolvency Law and Practice aptly observed, “credit is the lifeblood of the modern industrialised economy” and “… the provision of credit for trade and industry stimulates production and encourages enterprise as well as helping individuals and businesses over difficult economic times”.

“We have to be realistic and hard-headed about this problem of refugees. We have in particular, to recognise that it is not getting smaller.”

Julius K. Nyerere

Recent constitutional developments in South Africa and political statements by President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe have brought to the fore the issue of social tolerance of homosexual conduct. It is a sensitive issue, and is approached in this article from a legal anthropological angle. A distinction is drawn between situational same-sex activity and a gay lifestyle. Although both constitute homosexual conduct, situational same-sex activity need not imply a gay lifestyle, or even a homosexual orientation.

It is well settled that interest is chargeable only where an agreement expressly or impliedly so stipulates, where statute so provides, or where a mercantile custom to that effect exists. Recovery of interest by banks developed from mercantile customs. These were designed in such a way as to avoid the usury laws which initially outlawed usury but then subsequently allowed interest up to a rate of 10 per cent at the most liberal period before the English Usury Laws Repeal Act of 1854 swept away all restrictions on money lending. Lord Macmillan gave the following account of the recovery of compound interest in Paton v. Inland Revenue Commissioners:

In November 1993, in the case of NPP v. Inspector-General of Police, Archer, CJ., in striking down Ghanaian legislation providing for the licensing of peaceful assemblies, stated rhetorically:

“… police permits are colonial relics and have no place in Ghana in the last decade of the twentieth century. …Those who introduced police permits in this country do not require police permits in their own country to hold public meetings and processions. Why should we require them?”

Over the last three years, possible justifications for the retention of laws requiring that a permit be obtained prior to holding a peaceful assembly have been examined and rejected by the courts of Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Zambia as well as Ghana. In all four jurisdictions such laws were struck down as unconstitutional as being contrary to the fundamental right to freedom of assembly and, additionally, in Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Zambia, the right to freedom of expression. This article assesses the interpretation by the courts of the relevant limitation clauses under the respective constitutions and raises the question of why, within the space of 12 months, courts in West, Southern and East Africa, although unaware of each other's decisions, reached the same conclusion on a law which had been present on the statute books since colonial times. It is suggested that these series of cases signify a turning point in the development of constitutional law in Commonwealth Africa with respect to civil rights.

The Arbitration Act, 1996, provides for the adoption of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) model law on international commercial arbitration as the law of Zimbabwe. The Act also gives legal effect to the 10 June, 1958, Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Awards to which Zimbabwe is a party.

The Constitution of Malawi provides for the establishment of an Office of the Ombudsman with power to investigate cases “where it is alleged that a person has suffered injustice” (article 123(1)). Several points of considerable interest as regards the operation of such an institution appear in the First Annual Report of the Ombudsman for the period 1 January, 1995 to 31 March, 1996.

During its 55th session, the UN Human Rights Committee examined a communication from Bernard Lubuto (Lubuto v. Zambia Communication No. 390/1990) alleging that his rights under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights had been violated. The author of the communication was arrested in February 1980 and sentenced to death on 4 August, 1983, for aggravated robbery. On 10 February, 1988, the Supreme Court dismissed his appeal. The author claimed that the death sentence imposed on him was disproportionate since no one was killed or wounded during the robbery. The Human Rights Committee also considered that die length of die proceedings against die audior might raise issues under Article 14(3)(c).

On 16 April, 1996, the UN Human Rights Committee determined that the 1993 abduction of a military adviser to the then Prime Minister of Zaire, apparently by military intelligence forces, resulted in a violation of the victim's rights to liberty and security of the person under Article 9(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (N'Goya v. Zaire Communication No. 542/1993). It was also found that the victim had suffered cruel and inhuman treatment, in violation of Article 7 of the Covenant, in mat he had been prevented from contact widi his family and with the outside world.

Despite repeated requests to the State party for information concerning the matter, the Committee had received no response. As a result, the Committee made some forceful comments about the responsibility of State parties under the Optional Protocol:

In a referendum in August 1996, voters in The Gambia approved a new constitution. A full analysis of die document will appear in a later issue of die Journal.

The Fourth African Ombudsman Conference held in Khartoum, Sudan in September 1995 agreed upon the establishment of the Africa Ombudsman Centre to be based at the University of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.

The aim of the Hague Conference is the progressive unification of the rules of private international law. Egypt and Morocco are the only African states out of the current 44-strong membership of the conference although several nonmember African states have acceded to the some of the 32 Hague Conventions. These cover a wide range of practical matters of procedure and evidence, jurisdiction, formalities and major aspects of technical co-operation.

Representatives of 13 African countries attended the first such conference in Cape Town, South Africa on 1–3 October, 1996. These were Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Representatives of several members of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) were also present, namely Canada, France, Italy, Portugal, United Kingdom and United States.

Twenty-seven African countries are currently members of the World Trade Organisation. These are, with die date of acceptance:

During the 31 st Ordinary Session of the Organisation of African Unity summit, Heads of State adopted the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty. Each State Party undertakes to (i) renounce nuclear explosive devices; (ii) prevent the stationing of nuclear explosive devices in its territory; (iii) prohibit the testing of nuclear explosive devices in its territory; and (iv) prohibit the dumping of radioactive wastes. Each party also undertakes to declare any capability for the manufacture of nuclear explosive devices; to dismantle and destroy any existing devices; to destroy facilities for the manufacture of nuclear explosive devices or, where possible, to convert them to peaceful uses.