Kellelo Justina Mafoso-Guni (born December 8, 1945 in Hlotse,

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

) is the first female lawyer in Lesotho, as well as a former justice of the

African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, also known simply as the African Court, is an international court established by member states of the African Union (AU) to implement provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights ...

and the High Court of Lesotho (where she was the first woman on the Court).

Early life and education

Mafoso-Guni was born in Hlotse on December 8, 1945. She studied law at the

University of Lesotho The National University of Lesotho, the main and oldest university in Lesotho, is located in Roma, southeast of Maseru, the capital of Lesotho. The Roma valley is broad and is surrounded by a barrier of rugged mountains which provides magnifice ...

and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. She became the first female lawyer in Lesotho.

Career

Mafoso-Guni was appointed

Crown Counsel Crown counsel are lawyers, generally in Common Law jurisdictions, who provide advice to the government and acts as prosecutors in cases. In various jurisdictions their title can vary and they could also be known as the Queen's Advocate, King's Advo ...

in Lesotho in 1970. She then moved to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and worked in the civil serve for twelve years. She returned to Africa and was appointed

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

on 28 September 1980, the first woman appointed to the bench. She served there for twelve years. Other sources have erroneously stated that Mavis Gibson was the first female judge in Zimbabwe's history. While Gibson did serve as a judge in Zimbabwe, she was actually the High Court of Namibia's first female judge. Mafoso-Guni returned to Lesotho and was appointed to the High Court of Lesotho, again as the first female judge. In 2006, she was elected as one of the first judges of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights for a four-year term, one of two women alongside

Sophia Akuffo Sophia Abena Boafoa Akuffo (born 20 December 1949) was the Chief Justice of Ghana from 2017 until 20 December 2019. Prior to that, she had already been a Judge in the Supreme Court of Ghana since 1995. Education The daughter of a Presbyter ...

Publications

* *

Judicial writings

* Ntsapo Petlane (Born Makunya) v Mathe Petlane & Another (Duly assisted). CIV/APN/476/9825. August 1999 * R. Potoketsi v. Rex. CRI/A/22/98 . 15 February 1999 * African Oxygen Ltd v. Stm Marketing & Agencies Ltd & Another. CIV/APN/191/99, CIV/APN/270/99. 7 April 2000 * Ned Bank (Lesotho) Ltd v. Sotho Development Corporation (Pty) Ltd. CIV/T/450/99. 23 May 2000 * Rex v. Lisebo Mokhoro. CRI/T/39/96. 24 November 2000. * Theresia Leoma v. Makhang Leoma. CIV/APN/465/99, CIV/APN/520/99. 8 August 2000

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mafoso-Guni, Kellelo Justina Judges of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights 1945 births Living people National University of Lesotho alumni Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Lesotho judges Women judges People from Leribe District Lesotho judges of international courts and tribunals

Early life and education

Career

Publications

Judicial writings

See also

References