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How should municipalities in South Africa be governed, and how are they financed? What are their powers and what are their service delivery obligations? How do national and provincial governments relate to them? How do municipalities procure goods and services and what is the legal framework for managing land use? And how does South Africa’s local government system compare with systems elsewhere in Africa?

"The University of the Western Cape (UWC) proudly acknowledges the contribution of Professor Benyam Dawit Mezmur – a renowned scholar in the Dullah Omar Institute (DOI) in the Faculty of Law – to the Vatican’s global safeguarding efforts against child sexual abuse." - UWC

Prof Jaap de Visser, South African Research Chair in Multilevel Government, Law and Development at the Dullah Omar Institute, University of the Western Cape, is one of LGIU’s top 25 thinkers in local government.

The Dullah Omar Institute and the Faculty of Law at the University of the Western Cape, in collaboration with the Omar Family, are honoured to present the 15th Dullah Omar Memorial Lecture.

Want to be at the cutting edge of justice and human rights in Africa? This course opens up vital debates on how power is exercised through detention and criminal justice - and how law can be used to challenge abuse, inequality, and corruption.

The following articles are available in this issue:

This report highlights the impact of criminal, security and other exceptional laws and policies that are deemed discriminatory, exclusionary, and incompatible with international human rights standards in select Francophone and Lusophone African countries, notably, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, and Mozambique. The countries were chosen due to their distinct legal traditions, each shaped by different colonial legacies, which adds depth to the comparative analysis. In each country, archaic laws remain embedded within their Penal Codes, many of which have little relevance in today’s context. In addition, newer laws have been introduced and are actively enforced by local and national governments, often with a discriminatory impact particularly on marginalised groups. In addition to examining criminal, security, and exceptional laws, the country reports also explore the historical and political context, constitutional and legislative reforms over the past 25 years, the broader legal framework, relevant regional and international human rights instruments, and the roles of oversight and monitoring bodies.

From groundbreaking research and landmark lectures to advancing human rights, local governance, and socio-economic justice – 2024 was a year of impact and innovation.