On 6 August 2021, the High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Pretoria), in a Judgment penned by Kollapen J, dismissed a constitutional challenge to the Citizenship Act 88 of 1995 (“the Act”). This challenge was initiated by the Democratic Alliance (“the DA”) and concerned the loss of South African Citizenship through the acquisition of a second nationality.

Unlike the founding counterpart in the United States of America[1], the South African Constitution does not enshrine the right to bear arms – gun ownership is viewed as a statutory privilege principally regulated by the Firearms Control Act 60 of 2000 (the “Act”). On 21 May 2021, the Government published a notice in the in the Government Gazette, formally inviting public comment on the proposed changes to this Act, as detailed by the Firearms Control Amendment Bill, 2021 (the “Bill”).[2]

In 2019 a horrific discovery was made when inspectors attended at a captive lion breeding farm in the North West of South Africa to find more than a hundred lions, among other big cats, suffering from neglect, parasites, mange and various other health ailments. Irrespective of the various ailments, the lions were intended for use in captive hunts and/or to be slaughtered and their various parts sold.

On 4 February 2021, the Constitutional Court handed down judgment in the matter of AmaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism and Others v Minister of Justice and Correctional Services and Others, declaring the Regulation of Interception of Communication and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act 70 of 2002 (“RICA”) unconstitutional in certain respects, and confirming the order of the High Court of South Africa, Pretoria.

The term “sperm donor” usually implies the donation of sperm by a man, which is to be inseminated into the person to whom the sperm was donated, for the purposes of procreation, wherein no parental rights and responsibilities attach to the donor in respect of a child born from the insemination, despite the manner of the insemination.

Over the past six to nine months there has been a disturbing increase in the number of children being bullied at school. Parents are at their wits’ end. Educators, heads of school and governing body members are aware of these problems in their schools and simply do not know how to address them. They, too, are at their wits’ end. The statistics are frightening.

The impending update to the WhatsApp privacy policy has caused significant concern and confusion, with many of its users seeking alternative messaging platforms. Initially scheduled for 08 February 2021, this new policy is due to come into effect on 15 May 2021.

Imagine being trapped in your own home with your abuser. With no escape, and the only way out being a permit allowing you to do so. Terrifying thought, isn’t it? The thing is, for most women in South Africa, this has been their reality since the presidency imposed a nation-wide lockdown in a bid to stop the rapid spread of coronavirus, known as COVID-19.