Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
06 August 2025 | Story Tshepo Tsotetsi | Photo Born2Shoot
Winter School Law
Academics, legal practitioners and students gathered at the 2025 Winter School and Conference on Constitutionalism in Africa to engage on unconstitutional changes of government.

The Faculty of Law at the University of the Free State (UFS), in collaboration with the African Network of Constitutional Lawyers (ANCL), hosted its second Winter School and Conference on Constitutionalism in Africa from 28 to 31 July 2025. 

Held on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus, the event brought together academics, legal practitioners, judges, students, and political leaders from across the continent to engage with one of Africa’s most urgent challenges: unconstitutional changes of government (UCGs).

This year’s theme, ‘Unconstitutional Changes of Government in Africa’, offered a platform for dynamic, relevant, and often difficult conversations. Over four days, participants explored the historical and colonial underpinnings of UCGs, as well as their causes, manifestations, and possible solutions. The programme also encouraged critical and policy-informed discussions that reflected a shared commitment to democratic governance, constitutional accountability, and African-led solutions.

 

A platform rooted in urgency, solidarity, and African solutions

There was a clear sense among speakers and attendees that constitutionalism in Africa is facing a critical moment, and that academic spaces like the Winter School are necessary not only to understand this crisis, but to respond to it. Dr Jacques Matthee, Vice-Dean for Learning, Teaching, Innovation and Digitalisation in the UFS Faculty of Law, captured the broader sentiment: “We are reminded of the power of intellectual community, of dialogue across borders, and of our shared commitment to democratic values, justice, and accountability across the continent.”

He added that what united the participants was not just “a theme of urgent relevance, but also the growing conviction that solutions to Africa’s constitutional challenges must emerge from Africa itself”. The conference, he said, reaffirmed that, “The true impact of a law faculty is not measured by rankings or buildings, but by the values it cultivates and the contribution it makes to society.” Hosting the Winter School, then, became “a living testament to the values of openness, scholarship, African solidarity and justice”.

 

African voices on legal and political instability

The programme was shaped by diverse African voices, offering a range of insights into the erosion and resilience of constitutional frameworks. The Winter School featured keynote addresses by leading scholars in the field of constitutional law. Prof Charles Fombad, Director of the Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa at the University of Pretoria, delivered a lecture on ‘Unconstitutional Changes in Government: Comparative Perspectives, Patterns, Problems and Prospects’. Prof Karin van Marle, Research Chair in Gender, Transformation, and Worldmaking at the University of the Western Cape, explored ‘Unconstitutional Changes in Government: Gender Implications and Preventative Strategies’. Prof Wahab Egbewole, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, presented on ‘Understanding and Predicting Unconstitutional Changes of Government: Megatrends, Causes, Effects and Legacies’.  

Khanya Motshabi, Senior Lecturer in the UFS Faculty of Law’s Department of Public Law and one of the coordinators of the conference, said the theme for this year’s Winter School emerged “almost naturally” from both recent developments across the continent and last year’s theme, ‘Confronting the “Crisis” of Democratic Constitutionalism in Africa’. 

“We had a longish period of democratisation linked partly to the NEPAD initiative, but also to global geopolitical conditions… which created space for the expansion of democratic constitutionalist habit on our continent,” Motshabi explained. “And then a massive regression, which signalled us quite powerfully that constitutionalism in Africa is indeed in crisis.”

 

Academic responses to Africa’s constitutional crises 

Reflecting on the goals of the Winter School, he noted: “We thought it incumbent on ourselves as thinkers on constitutionalism in Africa to be relevant in responding to actual conditions on the continent.” He added that the participants’ engagement reinforced this purpose: “They asked some of the most searching, hardest questions, which means that our concerns are not just parochial scholarly concerns, but concerns that respond to realities and changes in our environment.” The Winter School, he emphasised, aligns with the ambitions of the university itself: “… to be regionally engaged and to make a difference in terms of the development of our societies”.

The four-day programme included panel discussions, keynote lectures, and debates covering judicial independence, democratic backsliding, the militarisation of governance, and fragile transitions. Attendees examined not only how constitutionalism is being undermined, but also how institutions, civil society, and legal scholars might better protect and advance it.

Among those who attended was Prof Azubike Onuora-Oguno, also from the University of Ilorin. “It’s a continuation of a process I have faith in,” he said, reflecting on his second Winter School experience. “The content of the presentations has been rich, engaging, very rewarding. We’re excited for what the future holds. I’m already thinking how 2026 would look like and I can bet you, it will be a blockbuster.”

He added: “Legal cultures are different. You could see that perception and perspective from the different African countries. We need this to shape the Africa we want, building toward the ideal… The continuation of this would ensure that we are doing our bit as academics to build a robust continent where we can interrogate issues, influence policies, and hopefully ground a better Africa.”

News Archive

Names are not enough: a molecular-based information system is the answer
2016-06-03

Description: Department of Plant Sciences staff Tags: Department of Plant Sciences staff

Prof Wijnand Swart (left) from the Department of
Plant Sciences at the UFS and Prof Pedro Crous
from the Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures (CBS),
in the Netherlands.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

South Africa is the second-largest exporter of citrus in the world, producing 60% of all citrus grown in the Southern Hemisphere. It exports more than 70 % of its citrus crop to the European Union and USA. Not being able to manage fungal pathogens effectively can have a serious impact on the global trade in not only citrus but also other food and fibre crops, such as bananas, coffee, and cacao.

The Department of Plant Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS) hosted a public lecture by Prof Pedro W. Crous entitled “Fungal Pathogens Impact Trade in Food and Fibre: The Need to Move Beyond Linnaeus” on the Bloemfontein Campus.

Prof Crous is Director of the world’s largest fungal Biological Resource Centre, the Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures (CBS), in the Netherlands. He is also one of the top mycologists in the world.

Since the topic of his lecture was very pertinent to food security and food safety worldwide, it was co-hosted by the Collaborative Consortium for Broadening the Food Base, a multi-institutional research programme managed by Prof Wijnand Swart in the Department of Plant Sciences.

Reconsider the manner in which pathogens are identified

Prof Crous stressed that, because international trade in products from agricultural crops will expand, the introduction of fungal pathogens to new regions will increase. “There is therefore an urgent need to reconsider the manner in which these pathogens are identified and treated,” he said.

According to Prof Crous, the older Linnaean system for naming living organisms cannot deal with future trade-related challenges involving pests and pathogens. A system, able to identify fungi based on their DNA and genetic coding, will equip scientists with the knowledge to know what they are dealing with, and whether it is a friendly or harmful fungus.

Description: The fungus, Botrytis cinerea Tags: The fungus, Botrytis cinerea

The fungus, Botrytis cinerea, cause of grey mould
disease in many fruit crops.
Photo: Prof Wijnand Swart

Embrace the molecular-based information system

Prof Crous said that, as a consequence, scientists must embrace new technologies, such as the molecular-based information system for fungi, in order to provide the required knowledge.

He presented this very exciting system which will govern the manner in which fungal pathogens linked to world trade are described. This system ensures that people from different countries will know with which pathogen they are dealing. Further, it will assist with the management of pathogens, ensuring that harmful pathogens do not spread from one country to another.

More about Prof Pedro Crous


Prof Crous is an Affiliated Professor at six international universities, including the UFS, where he is associated with the Department of Plant Sciences. He has initiated several major activities to facilitate global research on fungal biodiversity, and has published more than 600 scientific papers, many in high impact journals, and authored or edited more than 20 books.

 

 

Biography Prof Pedro Crous
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B


We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept