Osinbajo Leaves for Arusha to Attend African Court of Justice Forum

• To hold bilateral talks with Tanzanian counterpart

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo departs Abuja Sunday for Arusha, Tanzania to attend the formal opening of the 2022 Judicial Year of the African Court for Human and Peoples’ Rights.

The court had, at its 15th anniversary in 2021, resolved that: “As a means of enhancing its visibility and engaging as many stakeholders as possible, it will convene a solemn ceremony at the commencement of the first of its four sessions of each year to mark the official opening of the judicial year.”

The vice-president, according to a release by his media aide, Laolu Akande, has been designated as the Guest Speaker at the inaugural event to be attended by leaders from across the continent and beyond.

Osinbajo will speak on the theme: ‘The African Court and the Africa we want.’
The overall objective of the ceremony, according to the court, is to provide a forum for interaction with member states, key judicial authorities, inter-governmental, semi-governmental and non-state actors; exchange of ideas; and reflection on the work of the court for the year.

Eventually, the event will expectedly spur an “enhanced understanding by stakeholders of the work of the court,” and an “increased interaction with key judicial authorities on the continent and key stakeholders,” according to statement by the court.

The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights was established pursuant to the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, adopted in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on 9th June 1998.

The protocol came into force on January 25, 2004. The court became operational in 2006, and officially started working in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and later moved to its current seat in Arusha, Tanzania.

The mission of the court is to enhance the protective mandate of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights by strengthening the human rights protection system in Africa and ensuring respect for and compliance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, as well as other international human rights instruments, through judicial decisions.

The court is made up of justices drawn from the continent by election and is currently led by Lady Justice Imani Daud Aboud of Tanzania as its President.

Others include Justices Blaise Tchikaya (Vice-President) – Republic of Congo; Ben Kioko – Kenya; Rafaâ Ben Achour – Tunisia; Ntyam Ondo Mengue – Cameroon; Marie Thérèse Mukamulisa – Rwanda; Tujilane Rose Chizumila – Malawi; Bensaoula Chafika – Algeria; Stella Isibhakhomen Anukam – Nigeria; Dumisa Ntsebeza – South Africa; and Sacko Modibo – Mali.

While in Arusha, the vice-president will also hold bilateral talks with his Tanzanian counterpart, Dr. Philip Isdor Mpango.

Osinbajo is expected back in Abuja on Tuesday, March 1, 2022.