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Winter School confronts the crisis of democratic constitutionalism in Africa

21 August 2024 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied

Law Winter School 2024 — Participants in the Winter School on African Constitutionalism had the opportunity to acquire the latest knowledge and information on African constitutionalism.

The African Network of Constitutional Lawyers (ANCL) and the Faculty of Law of the University of the Free State (UFS) recently hosted a Winter School on African Constitutionalism titled Confronting the 'Crisis' of Democratic Constitutionalism in Africa. According to Khanya Motshabi, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Public Law and Strategy Lead: UFS Reparation Hub at the UFS, the 2024 Winter School is a first for Africa.

Motshabi said the aim of the winter school, which was attended by members of the UFS University Management Committee, academia, students, experts in constitutional law, law practitioners, and justices of the Constitutional Court of Zambia, was to gather prominent and emerging African intellectuals, practitioners, judges, and policy drivers to assess the state of democratic constitutionalism in Africa. “We wanted to explore the progress and failures of the past decades, place African developments in a global context, analyse current problems, and propose solutions for building an African version of democratic constitutionalism that reflects its unique circumstances, challenges, experiences, and popular preferences,” he commented.

Prof Anthea Rhoda, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic, attended the event, providing opening remarks and emphasising the alignment of the winter school with the university’s Vision 130. She highlighted the university's commitment to social justice and its broader mission to impact society by addressing persistent social problems and fostering transformation across the African continent. “Our vision alludes to the fact that universities are expected to play an important role in providing skills, building the economy, solving persistent social problems, and transforming our post-apartheid society,” she remarked, adding that the discussion and input of this winter school are not only focused on South Africa, but also aim to confront the issue of democratic constitutionalism across the African continent.

Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation, who also attended the event, said, “This is a highly prestigious meeting that brings a great gathering of African scholars and judges from an apex court in Zambia to Free State soil. A meeting such as yours offers excellent opportunity to think more deeply about African constitutionalism that triggers further engagement on continental development, law, society, and politics.”

Prof Reddy also commented on the theme of confronting the crisis of democratic constitutionalism: “You engage an important theme and topic. ‘Crisis’ is an important word and presents possibilities. Not only does it describe the challenges and dangers of wicked problems facing us, but central to its meanings are also the opportunities at our disposal.”

Decline in constitutional democracy

The ANCL and the UFS Faculty of Law are concerned that although constitutional democracy has grown over the past 30 years, it has declined in the past decade. Regimes maintain the appearance of democracy while ignoring its fundamental principles, such as free and fair elections and the rights to speech, expression, and association. Anyango Oyieke, ANCL Secretary-General, noted that effective constitutional democracy requires not only institutional arrangements, but also an active civil society, strong political parties, and a culture that tolerates differences and exercises power with restraint.

Motshabi and Oyieke believe that despite varied democratic experiences in Africa, many countries have seen a decline in democratic governance marked by constitutional manipulation, intimidation, flawed elections, and military coups. Even where elections are credible, the winner-takes-all mentality undermines governance and delivery of basic needs. High levels of insecurity, stalled poverty reduction, and worsening youth unemployment contribute to a preference for military regimes over democracy. Motshabi and Oyieke observe that the African Union and Regional Economic Communities struggle to fulfil their democratic promises, undermining the legitimacy of democracy and putting constitutionalism and governance in crisis.

The event addressed several key thematic areas, including the development of a theory of African constitutionalism, examining the historical context of constitutionalism and nation-building, and integrating decolonisation within constitutional theory. Discussions also covered human rights and constitutionalism, the establishment of institutions to secure democracy, how effective dictators think, and the use of constitutional petitions as tools to entrench constitutionalism. Additionally, the role of elections and electoral processes in a constitutional democracy was explored, along with the impact of undemocratic changes of government on the principles of constitutionalism.

Valuable insights on African constitutionalism

Frontline constitutional scholars of African descent and colleagues from around the world brought the latest knowledge and valuable insights into African constitutionalism.

Dr Gerard Kamga, Division Coordinator: Research and Postgraduate Programmes in the Free State Centre for Human Rights and Programme Director for Research and Postgraduate Studies in the Faculty of Law, delivered three sessions. The first two sessions explored The Mechanics of (Un)Constitutional Power Transfer in Postcolonial Africa: the case of Françafrique. Dr Kamga’s third session addressed Currency, Constitutionalism, and Sovereignty. On the second day, Prof Charles Fombad, Professor of Law and Director of the Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa at the University of Pretoria, presented on Towards a Theory of African Constitutionalism. Prof Danie Brand, Director of the Centre for Human Rights and acting Judge of the High Court of South Africa, contributed a presentation on Constitutionalism and Transformation in Africa.

Motshabi himself led sessions on Confronting the Past: Constitutionalism and the Making of a Nation State and Decolonisation and Constitutional Theory. From beyond South African borders, Prof Azubike Onuora-Oguno, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Ilorin and a solicitor and advocate of the Nigerian Supreme Court, discussed Human Rights and Constitutionalism. Oyieke covered How to be a dictator, which analysed how effective dictators think and undermine constitutional democracy. Prof Wahab Egbewole, Professor in the Faculty of Law and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, as well as senior advocate in the Nigerian Supreme Court, spoke on Unconstitutional Change of Government. Prof Tameshnie Deane, Vice-Dean: Research and Postgraduate Studies of the UFS Faculty of Law, delivered the final session on Constitutional Petitions as a Tool for Entrenching Democracy.

Democratic governance on the continent

Motshabi concluded that the one-week course aimed to fill an important gap by offering participants the chance to acquire the latest knowledge and information on African constitutionalism. The course provided an analytical and critical appraisal of current issues and the unique opportunity to conceptualise solutions while practising the art of networking. By developing a collaborative environment, the winter school not only highlighted the progress and failures of the past decades, but also encouraged the development of innovative solutions tailored to Africa's unique circumstances. This initiative marks a significant step towards building a strong and dependable system for democratic governance on the continent.

News Archive

Research into surrogate milk important to wildlife conservation

2017-05-08

Prof Gary Osthoff from the UFS Department of
Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology,
will soon work on a milk formula for elephants.
Photo: Supplied

Research is being done at the University of the Free State (UFS) to analyse and synthetically imitate the unique milk of various wildlife species. This research is not only of scientific value, but also serves the conservation of South Africa’s wildlife species. At the forefront of this research is Prof Garry Osthoff from the Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology.

Orphaned rhino calf pulled through with surrogate milk
“There is still a lot of research to be done. Naturally the research is of scientific importance, but with surrogate milk having the same composition as the mother’s milk of a specific species, orphaned calves or cubs of that species could be pulled through during a difficult time of weaning. Bearing in mind that exotic animals fetch thousands and even millions of rands at auctions, it goes without saying a game farmer will do everything possible to provide only the best nourishment to such an orphaned animal. In such a case, synthetically-manufactured milk would be the right choice,” says Prof Osthoff.

The fruits of his research were recently demonstrated in Germany when a rhino calf was left orphaned in the Leipzig Zoo. Prof Osthoff’s article: “Milk composition of a free-ranging white rhinoceros during late lactation” was used as a directive for applying surrogate milk for horse foals (which is already commercially available), since the composition of horse and rhino milk largely corresponds. The surrogate milk was used with great success and the rhino calf is flourishing. He mentions that such an orphan is often given the wrong nourishment with the best intentions, resulting in the starvation of the animal despite the amount of cow’s milk it devours.

With surrogate milk having the same
composition as the mother’s milk of a
specific species, orphaned calves or
cubs of that species could be pulled
through during the difficult time
of weaning.

Milk formula for baby elephants in the pipeline
With baby elephants left orphaned due to the increase in elephant poaching for their ivory, several attempts have been made to create a milk formula in order to feed these elephants. To date, many elephants have died in captivity from side effects such as diarrhoea as a result of the surrogate formula which they were fed.

Prof Osthoff recently received a consignment of frozen milk which he, together with researchers from Zimbabwe, will use to work on a milk formula for elephants. They are studying the milk in a full lactation period of two years. During lactation, the composition of the milk changes to such an extent that a single surrogate formula will not be sufficient. Four different formulas should probably be designed.

Prof Osthoff says that of the different species he has researched, elephants are the most interesting and deviate most from the known species.

Although his research to develop surrogate milk is adding much value to the wildlife industry, and although he finds this part of his work very exciting, his research focus is on food science and nutrition. “What is currently authentic in milk research is the study of the fat globules with content, the structure and composition of the casein micelle, and the prebiotic sugars. The knowledge which is gained helps to improve the processing, development of new food products, and development of food products for health purposes,” says Prof Osthoff.

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