This week — Climate Justice Coalition march, World Diabetes Day and talk on free healthcare for mothers and children

Monday 14 November is World Diabetes Day. The theme for World Diabetes Day between 2021 and 2o23 is “access to diabetes care”, according to the United Nations information page on the observance.

An estimated 422 million adults were living with diabetes in 2014, up from 108 million in 1980. In recent years, diabetes prevalence has risen faster in low and middle-income countries than high-income countries.

“One hundred years after the discovery of insulin, millions of people with diabetes around the world cannot access the care they need. People with diabetes require ongoing care and support to manage their condition and avoid complications,” according to the UN.

On Monday, 14 November, the Constitutional Court delivered its decision as to whether defamation claims against six activists amount to “vexatious abuse of legal process” by the plaintiffs, according to a Facebook post by John Clarke — one of the activists.

The litigation strategy against the activists has been employed by Mark Victor Caruso, the founder of MRC Ltd, an Australian-listed venture capital company; and Zamile Qunya, the founder of the Xolobeni Empowerment Company.  

“MRC owns 56 % of the Xolobeni Mineral Sands Project on the Pondoland Wild Coast and 50% of the Tormin Mineral Sands Project on the West Coast,” according to Clarke.

“The Xolobeni Mineral Sands venture has been successfully stalled in the prospecting rights stage thanks to a high court ruling in November 2018 that found it to be unlawful for mining to proceed without the free prior and informed consent of directly affected local residents.  

“The Tormin Mineral Sands project did receive full mining rights in 2008 but have shown themselves to be hostile to efforts by environmental lawyers and local activists to hold them accountable for alleged non-compliance with environmental legislation.”

The other activists accused of defamation include Christine Reddell and Tracy Davies, who were employed at the Centre for Environmental rights at the time they were accused; Davine Angela Cloete, a local activist from Lutzville, the nearest town to the Tormin mining site; Cormac Cullinan, an environmental attorney; and Mzamo Dlamini, a founder member of the Amadiba Crisis Committee.

“This judgment has major implications. Not only for activists facing lawfare by the powerful, intent on holding the truth hostage for as long as possible, but also for whistleblowers who face similar weaponised use of the law to retaliate against them in Slow suits (Strategic Litigation On Whistleblowers), as well as against journalists who report the truths they speak against power and cop Slam suits (Strategic Litigation Against Media) for doing so,” said Clarke.

Watch the video stream of the Constitutional Court process here.

Also on Monday, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) is in the Johannesburg high court representing Open Secrets in its substitution as a party in a fight for apartheid-era records held by the Department of Defence and Military Veterans.

“This is an almost 10-year-long fight which relates to information that was requested about the policies and practices of the apartheid government during the height of apartheid-era international arms sanctions busting,” according to the Open Secrets press release. 

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“The 95 folders sought contain information concerning dozens of secret apartheid-era military procurement projects as well as visits and liaison with people and organisations in countries such as Argentina, China, France, Israel, Paraguay, Portugal, Switzerland, Taiwan and the USA. These are clearly of enormous public importance for understanding South Africa’s violent past.”

For more information, contact Charné Tracey, attorney at LHR, on [email protected]. 

On Monday at 10am, Section27 and partner organisations hosted a webinar and launched an online publication titled, “Free healthcare services in South Africa: A case for all mothers and children”.

The publication follows a court application by Section27 based on complaints from pregnant women and mothers of young children who were denied access to free healthcare or were required to pay fees to access health services at public hospitals in Gauteng.

“The booklet is a collaborative effort between Section27, Jesuit Refugee Service, Lawyers for Human Rights, Doctors without Borders, Treatment Action Campaign and Centre for Child Law,” according to the event description.

“The webinar will focus on what the law says about free healthcare services for people in South Africa. In addition, it will tackle facts and myths surrounding access to healthcare services, including whether or not migrant persons burden the South African healthcare system.”

For more information, contact Pearl Nicodemus on [email protected] or 0822982636.

Register here.

On Wednesday at 5pm, the 13th Dullah Omar Memorial Lecture is taking place at the School of Public Health at the University of the Western Cape.

The theme for the lecture is “Reimagining Democracy Through a Social Justice Lens: Reflections on Dullah Omar’s Legacy”. The event is an opportunity to celebrate the memory of Dullah Omar, a person who “worked tirelessly towards, and achieved so much, in realising the goals of human rights and democracy”, according to the event description.

“The Dullah Omar Institute and the Faculty of Law honour the late Dullah Omar with a lecture on human rights and democracy in his name. As a fighter for human rights and democracy, he leaves behind a rich legacy on which we draw inspiration and guidance.”

The 2022 lecture is being delivered by Professor Thuli Madonsela, the Law Trust Research Chair in Social Justice and a law professor at the University of Stellenbosch.

Watch the live stream of the lecture here.

On Thursday, 17 November, Maverick Citizen will publish the first instalment of a four-part series examining the collusion and corruption proliferating in the cannabis industry, exposing the charlatans, corporations and self-appointed regulators who are undermining the potential of the industry to benefit poor people.

“This week, on November 18th, the annual cannabis expo starts at the Sandton Convention Centre. However, activists and many producers argue that all is not well with the nascent industry. They complain that since talks started around the legalisation and regulation of cannabis in South Africa, Parliament has been slow to act,” according to the event description.

“They allege that instead of listening to the Cannabis Community, genuine experts, and the activists who started and kept the legalisation ball rolling, Parliament is relying on circumspect parties outside of cannabis culture to make real decisions for a diverse populace with varied needs and disparate means to meet them.”

The series is intended to shine a light on what is happening in the cannabis industry, create greater accountability and restore trust in the industry so that “all people may benefit equally”.



On Thursday at 9am, a “people’s hearing” on electoral reform will be held at the Isivivana Centre in Khayelitsha, Cape Town.

The event is a coordination effort by My Vote Counts, Equal Education and other civil society organisations.



On Thursday at 3pm, the Access Campaign is hosting a roundtable discussion titled, “How can disclosing clinical trial costs increase access to medical products?”

The discussion will explore the practical implementation of disclosing clinical trial costs.

“In addition to the pharmaceutical industry, there are many others that conduct clinical trials, including large-scale phase three clinical trials which are the most expensive. This includes publicly-funded research institutions, as well as non-profits,” according to the event description.

“At this roundtable, we will hear from those directly involved in clinical trials and that are exploring the impacts of disclosing the costs of these clinical trials, as well as from academics, legal experts and advocates that are leading efforts which aim to define how disclosure of clinical trial costs can be done most effectively, and how this can support efforts to increase access to medical products.”

Register here.



On Thursday at 5.3opm, the Southern African Political Economy Series (Sapes) Trust is hosting an online discussion titled, “Back to the Future: A Review of the Post-November 2017 Coup in Zimbabwe”.

Among those speaking at the event are Ibbo Mandaza of Sapes Trust; Sara Dorman of the University of Edinburgh; Tsitsi Dangarembga of the Platform for Concerned Citizens; and Petina Gappah, an international trade specialist.

Join the Zoom meeting here.



On Friday, 18 November, at 10am, the Climate Justice Coalition will be leading a march for “jobs, clean energy and climate justice”.

The march will take place outside the post office at Church Square, Tshwane, Gauteng.

For more information, contact [email protected] or 082 565 2393. DM/MC