African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights - 2024

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11 judgments

Citation	Judgment date
November 2024
Van Heerden and Another v Republic of South Africa (Communication 747/21) [2024] ACHPR 14 (6 November 2024) Applicant alleged judicial bias against self-represented litigants; Commission found no violations by the respondent state. Judicial impartiality; self-represented litigants; right to be heard (Article 7); exhaustion of local remedies; summary dismissal of leave to appeal; application of domestic procedural law; no established discrimination under Articles 2 and 3.	6 November 2024
October 2024
Letuya and Others v Republic of Kenya (Ruling) (Application No. 010/2024) [2024] ACHPR 9 (16 October 2024) Court dismissed applicants' eviction application for lack of personal jurisdiction due to respondent's missing Article 34(6) declaration. Jurisdiction – Personal jurisdiction – Article 34(6) Declaration required for individuals to access the Court; Application treated as new despite link to earlier case; Preliminary examination under Rule 49(1); Lack of declaration renders application inadmissible.	16 October 2024
Ghannouchi and Others v Republic of Tunisia (Ruling) (Application No. 004/2023) [2024] ACHPR 2 (3 October 2024) Provisional-measure requests to release a detained political opponent and secure his candidacy were dismissed pending merits. Provisional measures – prima facie jurisdiction – requirements of extreme gravity, urgency and irreparable harm – provisional relief cannot duplicate merits – requests requiring assessment of domestic proceedings fall to the merits.	3 October 2024
Rahmani and Others v Republic of Tunisia (Ruling) (Application No. 008/2024) [2024] ACHPR 7 (3 October 2024) Court ordered provisional stay of a decree and presidential dismissals to protect judicial independence pending merits. Human rights — Provisional measures — Article 27(2) Protocol — extreme gravity, urgency, irreparable harm; Judicial independence — separation of powers — executive power to dismiss judges; Stay of implementation of law and presidential decree; Prima facie jurisdiction under Charter and Protocol.	3 October 2024
Slimane v Republic of Tunisia (Ruling) (Application No. 007/2024) [2024] ACHPR 5 (3 October 2024) Publication request on presidential candidacy was moot; other election-related provisional measures dismissed as merits issues. Electoral law – provisional measures – mootness of publication request – requirements for provisional measures: extreme gravity, urgency and irreparable harm – merits-related electoral challenges (sponsorship requirement, Bulletin No. 3, validation of rejected candidacies, composition of electoral management body) not suitable for provisional relief.	3 October 2024
August 2024
Ambe (Represented by Shadrack Tebeile) v Republic of South Africa (Communication 758/21) [2024] ACHPR 15 (2 August 2024) Communication inadmissible for failure to exhaust local remedies after default judgment rescission; Articles 56(5) and (6) unmet. Admissibility — Article 56(5) & (6) African Charter — exhaustion of local remedies — rescission of default judgment reopens domestic proceedings — leave to appeal dismissals do not equate to merits adjudication.	2 August 2024
June 2024
Ngoge v Republic of Kenya (Communication 432/12) [2024] ACHPR 12 (3 June 2024) Communication admissible for most claims due to undue domestic delays, but Commission found no violation of the African Charter and dismissed reliefs. • Admissibility — exhaustion of local remedies — undue prolongation by judicial authorities; • Human rights — right to participate in government (Article 13) and equality (Article 3); • Fair trial — right to hearing, appeal and trial within reasonable time (Article 7) — judicial delays and bench composition; • Prohibition of torture and degrading treatment (Article 5) — requirement of cogent evidence; • Remedies — Commission declines relief where no Charter violations established.	3 June 2024
May 2024
Community Law Centre and Others (on behalf on the Five Victims) v Federal Republic of Nigeria (Communication 564 of 2015) [2024] ACHPR 1 (23 May 2024)	23 May 2024
Masupha & Others v Kingdom of Lesotho (Communication 480/14) [2024] ACHPR 13 (3 May 2024) Blanket exclusion of first‑born daughters from chieftainship is unlawful sex discrimination; State must reform law and customary practice. Human rights — Gender discrimination — Customary succession — African Charter and Maputo Protocol — Commission’s contentious jurisdiction over Protocol — Obligation to eliminate discrimination in law and custom — Recommendation to amend Chieftainship Act to permit first‑born daughters’ succession.	3 May 2024
March 2024
Acleo Kalinga (represented by Rhys Davies & Ben Keith International Human Rights Advisors) v Uganda (Communication 376/09) [2024] ACHPR 10 (8 March 2024) Respondent State violated Articles 1, 5, 6 and 7 through torture, arbitrary detention and denial of fair trial. Human rights — Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies — Remedies unavailable where victim’s health, finances and well‑founded fear prevent return; Merits — Torture and ill‑treatment; Arbitrary arrest and prolonged incommunicado detention; Denial of access to counsel and prompt judicial review; State’s duty to investigate and provide reparation; Remedies: investigation, prosecution, compensation, apology, safeguards and training.	8 March 2024
J (Represented by the Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA) & Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV & AIDS (KELIN)) v Namibia (Communication 734/19:) [2024] ACHPR 11 (8 March 2024) State breached due-diligence obligations by failing to prevent, investigate and prosecute trafficking and discriminating against the victim. Admissibility — exhaustion exception where domestic remedies ineffective; Trafficking & sexual exploitation — State due-diligence to prevent, investigate and prosecute; Article 5 African Charter — cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and trafficking; Articles 2 and 18(3) — substantive equality and multiple discrimination of women; Remedies — investigations, prosecutions, legislative reform, compensation determination by domestic courts, reporting requirement.	8 March 2024